PH Orthopedic Center in need of more specialists, resident doctors 

The Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) on Thursday said it is facing a manpower shortage and is in need of more specialists and resident doctors. 

“Ang pinaka nagiging problema namin ay ang staffing. Maaari pong mas kailangan pa po namin ng espesyalista at mga residente,” said POC medical center chief Dr. Jose Pujalte Jr. in an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.

(Our biggest problem is staffing. We may be in need of more specialists and residents.) 

The hospital official added that some of its nurses are also taking opportunities abroad. 

“At hindi po natin maalis na ang mga nurses po natin ay pumapasok at pagkatapos ng isa o dalawang taon ay nagre-resign, sapagkat sila ay hinahanap sa abroad,” said Pujalte. “Pero maliban doon, tuloy-tuloy ang mataas na moral ng mga empleyado sa Philippine Orthopedic Center.” 

(And we cannot avoid the fact that our nurses enter [the service] and then resign after one or two years because they are sought after abroad. But aside from that, the morale of the employees at the Philippine Orthopedic Center remains consistently high.) 

But the POC said that aside from providing residency programs, the hospital upskills its doctors through fellowships. Pujalte said that orthopedic doctors can undergo fellowships on muscular tumors, hand surgery, and arthroplasty. 

“Bilang isang apex medical center ay hindi lang po nagbibigay ng residency programs sa orthopedics, anesthesia, and rehabilitation medicine, meron na po kaming mga tinatawag na fellowship  programs,” said Pujalte. 

(As an apex medical center, we don't just provide residency programs in orthopedics, anesthesia, and rehabilitation medicine; we now have what we call fellowship programs.) 

“Ito yung subspecialization, ibig sabihin po ay kung ang orthopedic surgeon o yung rehab doctors ay gusto pang magdalubhasa no, katulad po ng fellowships po sa tumor, sa hand surgery, sa trauma, sa arthroplasty,” he added. 

(This is subspecialization, which means if an orthopedic surgeon or rehab doctor wants to specialize further, for example, there are fellowships for tumors, hand surgery, trauma, or arthroplasty.) 

According to the Asia Pacific Orthopedic Association, there are 797 orthopedic surgeons in the Philippines as of 2022. — BM, GMA Integrated News