'Grant professional licenses to respiratory care practitioners'
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/22/2008 7:06 PM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
A group of Filipino respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) urged the Philippine government and lawmakers to pass a law that would professionalize their ranks.
“I would like to appeal for help and support from our officials from the Philippine government, to the executive branch, to the legislative branch, to pass a bill that would help professionalize or license the Filipino RCPs who in the past 20 years have been unlicensed,” Noel Tiburcio, chair of the Emirates Association of Respiratory Care Practitioners (EARCP) .
In a report filed by Vivien Napeñas for Balitang Middle East over the weekend, she said that while Filipino RCPs are needed in various hospitals in the UAE and in the Middle East, they still fear of losing their jobs because they are not licensed and not recognized by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
“The threat is forthcoming, and the respiratory practitioners in the UAE and the Middle East are in danger of being disenfranchised in this part of the world,” Tiburcio said.
Respiratory therapists are responsible for taking care of patients suffering from cardio-pulmonary diseases.
Officials of the Philippine embassy supported the EARCP, which hopes to help unite all RCPs in the Emirates and to promote, uphold and professionalize and achieve excellence in the field of respiratory care.
A website (www.earcp.com) was also launched to unite all members and provide useful information for a better respiratory care practice.
The EARCP has a membership of around 140 practitioners in the UAE. It has already coordinated with the International Respiratory Care Council as its international affiliation. -- Reports from Vivien Napeñas, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau, Abu Dhabi
