“We totally support PNA-ERSA in its efforts to unite Filipino nurses in the Eastern Province. In fact, we've secured a permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the general assembly,” said Labor Attaché Adam A. Musa of POLO-ERO.
He had noticed the PNA-ERSA members formed a group to tend to the sick and to uplift their careers.
“Being members of a group will definitely make them feel more secure in their job so they can render the best service to their patients. I wouldn't be surprised if many of them would be perceived as a Florence Nightingale,” Musa said.
Florence Nightingale was an English nurse known for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War (1856-1856) where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was known as “The Lady with the Light” because of her habit of making rounds at night to visit wounded soldiers.
Arlene C. Navarro, vice president for internal affairs and chairman of the organizing committee, said that during the general assembly a campaign drive for membership will be held. PNA-ERSA was formed only last August, and now has 100 members.
Navarro said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Pag-Ibig Fund would also render services to Overseas Filipino Workers.
“The afternoon will be spent socialization among the members. There will be a 'Battle of the Brains' and raffle draws. The event will also be a launching pad for the convention in June,” he said.
PNA-ERSA President Mary Jane P. Tupas, a recipient of the National Blas Ople Award in 2007 and nursing director at the 120-bed Mohammad Dossary Hospital in Alkhobar, said the convention was scheduled to take place in the second week of June.
“The PNA in Manila requires that groups affiliated with it hold a convention at least twice a year. This means the PNA-ERSA will hold a second convention in December,” said Tupas.
During the convention, for which Vicki Belo of the Belo Medical Group in Manila will be invited, various activities on nursing and nurses' benefits will be announced. For their benefits from the PNA, nurses pay an annual membership fee of SR70.
“There will also be a seminar on the latest developments in nursing and technology as part of the program on continuing education,” said Tupas.
She added that the convention would also be “an opportunity for the 100 PNA-ERSA members working in 30 hospitals, clinics and health centers in the region to get in touch with each other and foster camaraderie among them.”
Counterpart groups in Riyadh and Jeddah will also be invited to attend.
