Nursing faculty is named best mentor in health research by DOST-PCHRD

Associate Professor Dr. Janet Alexis A. De los Santos is now back-to-back hailed as the 2023 Best Mentor in Health Research in the Undergraduate Students Category in the National and Visayas Cluster.

On March 25, 2024, at the Philippine International Convention Center, Dr. De los Santos received two plaques and two separate cash prizes amounting to a total of PhP 200,000 from the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD).

The awarding of the 2023 Best Mentor in Health Research was the main highlight of the 42nd Anniversary of DOST-PCHRD.

After being declared the winner in the Visayas Cluster, Dr. De los Santos did not expect to be selected as a national winner for the same title. 

“It still feels surreal up to this day. I did not expect that I would also emerge as the National Winner. My counterparts from the outer clusters have big names, and positions, and hail from the most prestigious universities in our country. I was already happy and contented being a cluster winner, but the Lord is good! He made it happen. I am deeply honored that the DOST-PCHRD selection committee had me as the national winner for the undergraduate category. I feel blessed that they noticed my humble contributions to mentoring students and colleagues in the profession, especially in Health Research. I am also grateful for the unwavering support and encouragement from all of you, my professional colleagues and acquaintances," she began.

According to this multi-awarded nursing researcher, the selection process started at the regional level. The selected nominee was recommended to the cluster level and will be evaluated under three categories: (1) Undergraduate, (2) Graduate, and (3) Early Career Researcher. 

The criteria for the selection included the research indicators such as the number of research mentees guided, advised, or mentored and the years of mentoring experience which accumulates 44% of the total scoring percentage.

The track record in research including published peer-reviewed journals, awards received for the research, and paper presentations in conferences and workshops constituted 21%.

As well as the dedication to promoting research (20%) and contributing towards a supportive research environment such as providing research opportunities (10%) and the other 5% from the utilization of research results into policies and actions such as training modules developed, teaching manuals, or even relevance of research results in health care delivery to name a few.

“I was lucky to have been selected as Visayas Cluster Winner for the 2023 Best Mentor for Health Research - Undergraduate Category,” Dr. De los Santos shared.

Another round of evaluation happened to select a national winner from the three categories, and again, Assoc Prof. De los Santos emerged as the national awardee in the undergraduate student category.

“I hope this win will open opportunities for me, my students, and co-faculty in the College of Nursing and the entire VSU family. If given the chance, I wish to do more for my mentee’s development. I am hoping for VSU to have a more supportive and enabling environment for both faculty and students. I would love to expose my students to research conferences, presenting their papers not only here in the country but soon we can send them abroad to compete. I also hope that VSU faculty members will receive reskilling and upskilling training sessions to make them productive in research, writing, and dissemination through presentations and publications in reputable indexing bodies. These efforts will not only enhance our individual capabilities but also contribute significantly to the advancement of health research in our country,” she concluded.

Recently, the International Association for Human Caring (IAHC) Awards and Scholarship Committee granted Dr. De los Santos as a recipient of the Vicente Teves Locsin, Jr. Award. This award is to inspire students, practitioners, researchers, and faculty members to study and advance the integration of technology and caring in nursing from the perspective of the Theory of Technological Competency as Caring in Nursing. 

On top of that, last year, Dr. De los Santos was enlisted in the World Top 2% Scientist by Elsevier as the most cited researcher in the field of nursing and public health. She was the first-ever Viscan to reach that far in her research undertakings.

Previously, she was also one of the Distinguished Health Researchers in Eastern Visayas in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Aside from that, Dr. De los Santos was Top 3 most cited researchers in the university according to the AD Scientific Index.

Dr. De los Santos is the second #ProudViscan to receive the award after former VSU President Dr. Edgardo E. Tulin won the Best Mentor in Health Research award by the Philippine National Health Research System in 2009. 

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