Striving to Put Filipino Nurses in the Forefront of Healthcare
After six runs, we at the GFNR is very pleased to get on board for the October edition no less than the most visible nurse leader in the Philippines.
As a national president of the Philippine Nurses Association, Dr. Leah Primitiva Samaco-Paquiz is on a regular media and travel circuit representing the Association in advocacy, lobbying, among other things. The latest involvement is on the Association's stand in highly-critical Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) . (Editor's note: Under the JPEPA, only 400 Filipino nurses and 600 caregivers would be allowed into Japan in the first two years, subject to re-negotiation thereafter. Filipino nurses and caregivers would have to undergo a six-month language training.)
Well, our leader is ever ready in the battlefield.
Dr. Paquiz got her Master of Arts in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees from Trinity University of Asia. A consistent scholar, she finished her Doctor of Education, major in Educational Administration and Master of Public Health from the University of the Philippines.
Her fruitful and best years were spent as the dean of Trinity University of Asia, St. Luke’s College of Nursing, known today as one of the No. 1 in the 2007 Philippine Nurses Licensure Examination. She shared her passion and potentials for nursing to Adamson University and the Systems Technology Institute as the Founding Dean of the College of Nursing.
In 2003, she worked in the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a member of the Technical Committee on Nursing Education.
She served ADPCN for the past nine years from 1997 up to 2006 holding different positions as an officer and member of the Board of Directors.
In 2004 and 2006, while serving as Governor of NCR Zone 2, she was the VP for Programs and Development of the Philippine Nurses Association and was the Over -all Chairperson of the 82nd and 84th Foundation Anniversary, 47th and 49th Nurses Week Celebration and Annual Convention with an evaluation rating of Excellent.
Her fruitful and best years were spent as the dean of Trinity University of Asia, St. Luke’s College of Nursing, known today as one of the No. 1 in the 2007 Philippine Nurses Licensure Examination. She shared her passion and potentials for nursing to Adamson University and the Systems Technology Institute as the Founding Dean of the College of Nursing.
In 2003, she worked in the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as a member of the Technical Committee on Nursing Education.
She served ADPCN for the past nine years from 1997 up to 2006 holding different positions as an officer and member of the Board of Directors.
In 2004 and 2006, while serving as Governor of NCR Zone 2, she was the VP for Programs and Development of the Philippine Nurses Association and was the Over -all Chairperson of the 82nd and 84th Foundation Anniversary, 47th and 49th Nurses Week Celebration and Annual Convention with an evaluation rating of Excellent.
Before she became a Dean, she served the community and the Filipino people as a Public Health Nurse in the Department of Education Culture and Sports, Division of City Schools, Quezon City.
She ventured to know how it is like to be in other countries, so she worked as a Staff Nurse in Goldwater Memorial Hospital, Roosevelt Island, New York. But because of her strong national identity and love for country, she came back to serve her native land.
On her non-nursing involvement
She loves to serve the Lord. She has served as a Choir Director for ten years and performed even in Meralco Theater and the Phil Am Auditorium. Now, she is teaching Children’s Choir that includes her two grandchildren ageing seven and five.
She worked for the plight of sexually abused children, the abuser and the family of the abused and abuser as a whole. She was the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for ten years of the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse, and served as its President at the end of her term.
At present, she is the President of St. Luke’s Nurses Alumni Foundation, Inc. She is also the President of the Pastoral Council of the Filipino Evangel Christian Church.
From 2002 up to 2005, she was the International Consultant for Nursing Education and Nursing Practice in Rumah Sakit Immanuel and the College of Nursing in Bandung, Indonesia
With her quest for knowledge, she represented her beloved Philippines to other countries and did paper presentations in Switzerland, United States, Israel, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Japan.
She was given the award “TANGING PAGPAPAHALAGA sa Paglilingkod sa Kapwa sa Larangan ng “Welfare and Charitable Services” from the Malabon City Government.
However, the most coveted of all her accolades is an ideal family. She is a loving wife to Engineer Samuel Paquiz, a businessman, she is a doting mother to Titus, a businessman, Haya, a doctor, Faye, a lawyer and Paul, an account executive. She is the Lila (grandmother) of three active and intelligent children, Alexine, Jolo and Ram.
Her never ending quest in life: believing in the nursing profession; striving to put nurses in the forefront of healthcare, and very important, is serving God, country and the people.
