Health Secretary Francisco Duque revealed that he is considering the proposal to tap around 1,500 medical graduates to help in the country’s fight against the coronavirus disease or COVID-19.
Senator Francis Tolentino has proposed to the DOH and the Professional Regulatory Commission or PRC to allow these students to help in COVID-19 pandemic even if they have yet to get their licenses.
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“It is a very good recommendation and we are studying the specific provision of the law that we can implement as soon as possible,” Duque told GMA News.
Tolentino said that there’s provision in the law that states that medical students should render services in time of pandemics or national emergencies.
“Medical students who have completed the first four years of medical course, graduates of medicine, and registered nurses are allowed to render medical services upon authorization by the Secretary of Health without need of a certificate of registration,” Tolentino said.
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The scheduled licensure exams were postponed because of the COVID-19 threat. The DOH reported that there now 501 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, of which 33 have died while 19 people have recovered from the virus.
