It is not just for personal gain but a testament to what CNU has accomplished through time.

This is the core message of Dr. Daisy Palompon, Vice President for Academic Affairs, when she was interviewed after receiving the 2019 Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing Award.

“This particular award is actually not for personal recognition alone but basically it’s more of telling the world that you have to recognize Cebu Normal University as a Gerontology Nursing Education provider in the Philippines and even for our potential students from outside the country,” she said.

Palompon received the award given by the National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE) last November 13, 2019 in time for the 2019 NHCGNE Leadership Conference on Aging held at the Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas, USA.

The Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing is a program of Hartford that aims to recognize leadership of nurse educators working in the academe who have worked or taught Gerontological Nursing Education. Gerontology is a study that deals with older persons in different settings.

According to Palompon, the nominees of the award were screened in terms of educational qualification, research accomplishments related to older persons improving the quality of life or the care for older persons, and contribution to the development of Gerontology Nursing Education in the country they are in.

“This is indeed one of our accomplishments as a University having considered and distinguished care for older persons for the many years that the Philippines has grown into what we are now,” she said.

“This is a proof that the international community has recognized what we have been doing in terms of shaping our nurses to become more sensitive and to be experts in the care of older persons,” Palompon said.

“The award in itself is not just an affirmation of my personal accomplishment but more of the affirmation of the world to the quality of education that Cebu Normal University has provided throughout the years,” she added.

Two Filipino nurses were awarded this year from 59 recipients across the globe. Another Filipino awardee is Dr. Lydia Manahan from the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila. Palompon is the second recipient of the award in CNU after Dr. Laurence Garcia received the same accolade in 2018. The award is held annually which started last year during the Leadership Conference.  

CNU is the first academic institution to offer Gerontology Nursing as a specialization in the masters and doctorate programs in the Philippines amid the scarce number of gerontology nurses and geriatric physicians.

“We are happy that even if the trend has not started yet, CNU has started it already,” Palompon said. (JDF)

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