Higher Quality Nursing Schools

Based on recent results of the Nursing Board exams, the passing percentage is less than 50%. If we want higher quality nursing graduates, we need higher quality nursing schools. It feels very frustrating for fresh nursing graduates (or graduates from any other course which requires passing the board exams) to study at least 4 years in college, only to fail their board exams. I mean, what happens next for them? Is it entirely the students' fault that they were ill prepared?

The article below talks about the Board of Nursing openly admitting that the quality of nursing education in this country generally needs improvement. This does not take away anything from those schools who already have high standards of learning. This actually means we need the elevate our minimum benchmark of education so more nursing students become successful in their chosen career path.

BON member admits need to uplift quality of nursing grads

There is a need to uplift the quality of nursing education to produce more competent graduates as in the past three years, the national average passing percentage of nursing graduates who took the Nursing Board Exam did not reach 50 percent, a member of the Board of Nursing (BON) from the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) bared.

Yolanda Arugay, a BON member from the PRC said that the Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination is given twice a year, one in June and the second one in November but since 2006, results of the board showed the national average passing percentage only ranged between 43 to 47 percent.

Last November, 88,649 nursing graduates took the board exam but only 39,455 examinees passed or a passing rate of 44.51 percent.

Antonio Pascual, Vice-President of the Association of Deans of the Philippine Colleges of Nursing - Cebu Chapter (ADPCN) said there are several factors behind the performance of nursing examinees but that their group is having regular dialogues on how to improve the quality of nursing graduates and enhance competence and skills of nursing students.

One of the factors cited by Pascual on the low performance of an examinee is adjustment to a strange place where the test is held. "Examinees come from varied regions so they still need to adjust" to the testing place which is only natural.

Pascual said that nursing schools should have stricter entrance screening of students wanting to take up nursing if the course is really suited for them. This is the challenge of the academe if we want to uplift the quality of nursing graduates, according to Pascual.

Pascual said each school has its own policy on college admission for nursing but that other schools require IQ Test, Attitude Test and English proficiency where one has to pass the entrance tests before being admitted to the college of nursing.

Communication skills is very important where English is the universal language so nurses should have excellent communication skills while attitude test is needed since nurses must exercise maximum patience in dealing with all kinds of people from all walks of life, this is said.

Pascual advised new nurses to always continue and enhance their competence and learn new ways of approaching care as new technologies are always applied while the current clinical nursing is moving towards evidence-based practice which requires nurses to be critical thinkers and effective decision makers.

Over 2,000 new nurses mostly from Central Visayas and neighboring provinces took their oath yesterday afternoon in Cebu as professionals and members of the Philippine Nursing Association.

Arugay bared there are 460 nursing schools in the country while a moratorium has been implemented on the opening of a new nursing course in any school.

Article Source: PIA-Cebu/FCR