New lady on the block joins the healthcare industry
OFELIA Odilao-Bisnar, the newly appointed president of Makati Medical Center College, believes in weaving together traditions and innovations to better educate students.
Odilao-Bisnar knows all too well that for their students to become globally competitive, it is necessary to equip them with new skills and updated courses, without MMCC having to veer away from its original strength, which is nursing.
“Our ultimate goal is to provide a genuine holistic, quality education that will equip our students with all the knowledge and skills relevant to the times that will make them qualified globally,” Odilao-Bisnar explains.
“At the same time we strive to develop graduates into becoming compassionate servant leaders who are ready to expend their best work as patient care providers,” she further adds.
This is why after 38 years of continued innovation, MMCC is again implementing changes that will further bring the institution at the forefront of healthcare education. These changes include the expansion of its course offerings to include B.S. Psychology and B.S. Radiologic Technology, in an effort to better provide students with the necessary tools to become globally competitive.
Currently, MMCC is renowned for its intensive, highly specialized education on B.S. Nursing and its students’ performance in the Nursing Licensure Examinations has been consistently in the high passing rate of over 90 percent average in last seven years.
MMCC has likewise produced board top placers, while many of its alumni are wellplaced in various hospitals, communities and organizations where they are at present employed.
“Having a globally competitive healthcare education and training, one that is responsive to the times and attuned to the latest medical systems and procedures, could help enhance the graduates career placement opportunities and ensure their quality performance on the job,” Odilao-Bisnar says.
“With these expansion and transformations, we continue to serve our country and the world by educating and providing qualified and worldclass health professionals and maintain a strong commitment to social responsibility through our community health services and medical missions,” she further notes.
MMCC also offers new and updated certificate courses such as Healthcare Services (Tesda Certified), Emergency Medical Services, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, and Palliative and Hospice Care. Nurse Managers Enhancement Program and other nursing specialized courses are also in the pipeline.
The ICSEC-Kaplan review courses available year-round are NCLEX-RN, CGFNS, USMLE (Medicine) 1, 2 and 3, NBDE (Dental) 1 and 2, TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, GRE, LSAT (Law) and SAT.
“Generally, our direction-setting are two-pronged. Internally, we enhance our resources, and by that I just do not mean our finances as a company but our advantages as an educational institution like our academic offerings, instruction methods, learning resources, and organizational structure including the continuous skills development of faculty and staff,” Odilao-Bisnar explains.
“Externally, we build and strengthen alliances with other institutions to serve various objectives,” she further says.
Recently, MMCC began its partnership with Philippine Institute of Naturopathic Sciences and De La Salle Family Life and Wellness Institute for a multi-disciplinary curriculum.
It is also partnering with Lifeline for the Emergency Medical Services course, which will be launched by last quarter of the year.
“Several international partnerships are also in the pipeline for joint course offerings. And of course, we are a member of Metro Pacific Investment Group’s hospital and education network. We have set up student exchange program with schools in the net- work,” Odilao-Bisnar further says.
Prior to joining MMCC in 2012 first as management consultant and eventually as president and CEO, Odilao-Bisnar was with the Asian Institute of Management.
She brings with her to MMCC more than 25 years of extensive management experience, mainly in the areas of the academe, marketing, business developmen, relationship management and organizational development among others.
Founded in 1975, MMCC was initially the Makati Medical Center School Division, which offered a one-year Health Aides vocational training program to deserving high school graduates who did not have the opportunity and economic means to pursue a degree in nursing.
Since then, the school has expanded to offer various programs such as BSN Supplemental Program, Associate in Health Science Education, among others.