New Nursing Curriculum

I have been hearing a lot of fuzz about this new nursing curriculum imposed upon by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) effective this coming academic year. Luckily, I stumbled upon this fruitful and enlightening article from Inquirer.net that states and I quote:

Schools buck new nursing curriculum

By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:54:00 05/23/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- The largest consortium of private schools on Thursday demanded that the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) immediately stop implementation of the new nursing curriculum, saying its imposition was done without consultation and the curriculum posed too much of a burden on students.

The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) described CHEd’s Memorandum Order No. 5 released last week which directed nursing schools nationwide to add new subjects and increase hospital hours for students starting this school year, as a “disastrous” policy that would do more harm than good.

The order had added 28 units and three summer classes to the nursing curriculum’s 169 units. Practicum hours would also increase to 2,703 hours from the current requirement of 2,142 hours, Cocopea said.

CHEd said the new policies were aimed at further honing students’ technical knowledge and skills, making them more competent and competitive to employers.

Unfair to students

But Cocopea said the imposition of additional subjects was unfair to schools and students.

It also accused CHEd of failing to consult schools and colleges about the new policies. “Due process was clearly not observed,” the organization said.

Fr. Rod Salazar, Jr. SVD, Cocopea chair and president of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), urged the suspension of the order until after all stakeholders had discussed ways of improving nursing education.

“We are appealing to CHEd to suspend the implementation until we have considered in depth and at length how we can truly improve the quantity and quality of the nurses we educate,” Salazar said.

The additional units would also increase the financial burden of students and parents and cause a logistical problem to hospitals and colleges, the group said. It pointed out that there might not be enough hospitals to satisfy students’ need for hands-on learning.

“We have barely two months to go before the academic year will start and we, as heads of our respective institutions and educational associations, feel that the implications of the proposed changes in curriculum are too heavy for our educational system to implement this soon,” Salazar said.

Cocopea officials said implementation of the curriculum may prompt many students to discontinue pursuing nursing careers.

Fr. Joel Tabora SJ, CEAP regional director and president of the Ateneo de Naga University, said, “It is a disastrous policy. It will make us choppy and will force students to drop out.”

Cocopea is composed of 2,500 schools, colleges and universities.

Honestly, this so-called "new" curriculum is, to some extent, unfair and painful to every one concerned. I'll try to dissect the matter at hand for a clearer and better picture. But, do take note that this is from my standpoint only and I am not an expert on the technical aspects of the nursing academe and profession. Here goes nothing... :)

1. To the parents - 5 years of nursing education=5 years of pain-staking tuition fee that increases every year. Trust me on this one. During my 1st year in college, my tuition fee was around Php22,000. 6 years later, it increased dramatically to about Php36,000. Astounding, right?


2. To the students - More duty hours and more work load. Come on! All work and no play makes a wise man super dull. Study hard. Party harder. Pray the hardest. Haha. :)


3. To the Nursing institution - Increased need for clinical instructors, classrooms, and specialty facilities to train their staff and students. With the current exodus of Pinoy nurses to greener pastures abroad, there will be a significant decrease in the number of highly qualified professors to educate the next generation of nurses. Not to mention the increased expenses to properly operate the institution itself. Gosh!


4. To the health care industry - Augmented duty hours does not necessarily mean better nurses in the future. I have often observed in the past that staff nurses educated from other nursing schools with a greater number duty hours are, at times, inconsiderate and often disregard the fundamental stuff, which are essential to the nursing profession. Do the math, okay?


5. To the government - Continuous escalation of nurses per year yet there are less hospitals for employment. This is the bloody part. There are thousands of nursing graduates every year and yet there are no vacancies for practice. Seriously, I have tried to apply to various institutions here in the metro. Unfortunately, there are no vacant positions available. Unemployment s*cks big time! Argh!

Well, with all of that crappy stuff said, I seriously think that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) should definitely reconsider its so-called "new and efficient" curriculum. I mean rebuffing the current nursing curriculum during this trying times does not exactly produce immediate and lasting results necessary to redeem our aching profession. Why can't they try to close down sub-standard nursing schools all over the country for a change?! That is easier than just imposing a new program and it will absolutely procure clearer and superior results at the soonest possible time.

Coffee, anyone? :D