By Rachelle Nessia

Dumaguete City (16 January) -- The provincial government here has cooked up a scheme to lure private doctors to work in the government-run Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) as government physicians leaving the country to work as nurses abroad are expected to become massive this year.

A residency training program for doctors will be implemented this year to entice private doctors with a field of specialization to act as consultants and trainers of in-house and resident-trainee doctors at NOPH.

The developed after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved last year an ordinance authorizing the provincial government to hire private doctors what will train in-house doctors or employees of NOPH and resident-trainees or doctors who will undergo training for specialization for four years while at the same time working at the hospital.

Integrated Provincial Health Officer Ely Villapando said four consultants are will man the program, of which only the program chairperson and training officer will receive a monthly honorarium of P23,000 each as the other two have committed to volunteer their services.

Resident-trainees will each receive P20,000.

Villapando said the program will initially focus on surgery, obstetrics and gynecology. However, NOPH had already started a similar training in the surgery department years ago and the current program would strengthen it more, he said.

Last year, seven doctors at NOPH left to work as nurses abroad and Villapando expects more state doctors to leave this year as almost all of the 47 NOPH doctors are now registered nurses.

"Of course we cannot stop doctors from going abroad, but with the program, we hope to lure doctors who would like to improve their skills and competence," said Villapando.

Provincial Board Member Marcelo Adanza, principal author of the ordinance, said he hopes the program will effectively avert a critical shortage of government doctors in the province. "Time will come when our doctors with specialization at NOPH will all leave for abroad. That is why we are preparing for it," says Adanza.

Also, the provincial government allocated a P1 million as scholarship grant for Doctor of Medicine at the newly-opened medical school of Silliman University, with the government shouldering the expenses plus P2,500 monthly allowance.

The scholars are obliged to work in government hospital for two years in every year of scholarship should they become doctors.