Filipino is British hospitals’ Nurse of the Year

The Philippine embassy cites Medran as a good example for OFWs.

CALAPAN—A Filipino from this Oriental Mindoro city  was named Nurse of the Year during the 2011 Star Awards of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH).

Teodoro “Junjun” Medran Jr., 38, a clinical charge nurse at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in the United Kingdom, was chosen from over 60 nominees, mostly British, by patients, colleagues and a board of judges that included member of parliament Nicolas Soames, a grandson of the late prime minister Winston Churchill.

Following the award, Medran said in an e-mail that he was cited by the Philippine Embassy in London for being a good example for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and struggling parents.

Medran has also been nominated for the Blas Ople Bagong Bayani Award

2011, which recognizes the role of OFWs in fostering high standards of responsibility, efficiency and integrity among overseas workers; and in promoting the welfare of OFWs.

Now on its second year, the Nurse of the Year award is given by the BSUH National Health Services in cooperation with The Argus newspapers.  Last year’s awardee was a Briton.

The BSUH is described in its web site as the regional teaching hospital operating across two sites: the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Medran said the award was a recognition of the hard work and professionalism of Filipino nurses and OFWs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs estimates that 250,000 Filipinos live in the UK.

As clinical charge nurse, Medran said part of his job was to certify dead patients who, sometimes, did not have relatives. “I make sure I am with them (before they die), holding their hands, reciting prayers. I always whisper in their ears my wish that they be reunited with the Lord in heaven,” he said.

“I always make my patients happy by singing love and joyful songs to, at least, ease their anxiety.  There’s so much from within to share,

like love-filled childhood,” he said.

Medran said he learned his empathy for others from his father, who would give away even the food he was about to eat if somebody asked for it. His father believed the giver was more blessed than the recipient.

A graduate of Arellano University at 18, Medran went to the UK in 1999, after working at the Lung Center of the Philippines for six years, then  the Philippine Heart Center for two years. He  was also a college lecturer while waiting for the board examination results.

“Almost half of my life was spent in the hospital so I said, ‘Why not treat everyone as a family member, too?’ It must really be a calling because I continue to be excited everyday in doing the same job,” he said.

He saw his work as more than just caring for the human body and saving lives.  “To touch the soul and emotion of another,  I always put myself in someone else’s shoes and always feel that I am a member of the families of my patients.  When they are lonely or without visitors, I like feeding them if they can’t feed themselves and making them look good by giving them a shave and cutting their hair.  I believe that if they look good they will feel good,” he said

Former patients who returned to the hospital would always ask for him upon admission. Medran would give them a hug, happy to see that they had recovered.

He said, though there were challenges, his courage and strong faith in God enabled  him to overcome the obstacles.

Medran is married to another nurse, Cindy Laroco of Baguio City, who works in the same hospital. They have three children: Michaela Argenta, 6; Thea Mikayla, 5; and Theodore, 3.