The 5th year in NURSing?

this article was taken from one of my best resources. I hope all nurses would have their own share of opinion. Article is from January of 2009.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) proposal of 5 years in Nursing Curriculum received negative criticisms not only from the students and parents, but also to other sectors in the government.

CHED confirmed that they are in the process of reviewing the advantage and disadvantages of the said proposal. According to CHED Chairman Emmanuel Angeles, the review of proposal will end next month and the final decision is set by the end of March this year.

Angeles believed it is “more economical” for students to take a five-year nursing course. With review sessions already integrated in the fifth year, Angeles said students no longer have to pay for expensive review sessions outside of school.

This issue came out in the news last January 2009.

My Opinion:

The proposal of an additional one year in the Curriculum of Nursing is not a very good sign. Four years in college and in learning the nursing curriculum is enough. The very thought of having another year in nursing makes me think of all of the parents who would save up money and resources to give a better future for their children. A lot is at stake, Money, Time, Energy, Resources, everything. An additional one year course will never make any nursing student pass the board examination perfectly. It seems to me that the 5th year in nursing is just a way to add up money to the school, especially to most schools with a very high tuition fee. Think about it. Those top schools in the metro, should engage in learning experiences of the students. Looking at the nursing schools in the province is all a different setting. Since there is a fact that all nurses are accountable to what they do to their patients, students never really have that nursing studies. According to some nursing students in the province, they were not even allowed to give IV push to patients. but how come? all because of accountability. They have become masters of vital signs, pulse taking, bp taking, and all that, have they been exposed to seeing all procedures done in the real world? Hopefully, the curriculum that they will give will expose students to better learning experiences rather than thinking about just assuming all things. That's very different in the real setting. Trust me I'm a registered nurse.