Nursing Education in the Philippines: Nursing Curriculum

Now 5 Years
Nursing Education Update: Nursing Education the Philippines will never be the same again.
Nursing, as a course in college, may no longer be as attractive as before starting this school year.
In my post “New Philippine Nursing Curriculum and Opposing Views”, the Philippine Nursing
Curriculum has dramatically changed since the Commission on Higher Education’s issuance of
CHED Memorandum Order (MO) No. 5, series of 2008 otherwise known as “Policies and
Standards for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program”. This CHED Memo makes BSN a five-
year course.

Here in Ilocos Norte, Nursing schools have started the implementation of CHED MO this school
year (2008-2009). Many people (parents, students and teachers interviewed by this author) have
protested either in silence or explicit ways the implementation of CHED MO No. 5 saying that
this will only add to the burdens of parents and benefactors of Nursing students (usually relatives
abroad).

From my initial findings, the new Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines will effect these
changes:

 Instead of the usual 79 units taken up by first year nursing students, the new guidelines
will require students to take up 93 units in 2,632 hours.
 Additional 357 hours for hospital training or Related Learning Experiences (RLEs) which
will make RLEs 2,499 hours from the previous 2,142 hours
 28 additional units or about three summers of schooling

For freshmen Nursing students, the “Theoretical Foundation in Nursing” is included in the first
semester, and “Fundamentals of Nursing Practice” in the second.

From a parent’s standpoint, these changes have huge impacts on their family’s finances and other
children’s education. Some parents I have interviewed said they might be forced to sacrifice the
education of some of their children just to give way to their child taking up BS Nursing. There is
now more pressure on the part of the Nursing student because family expectations have become
higher.

From an educator’s standpoint, if CHED intended to “upgrade” or improve the existing Nursing
Curriculum, they should have included in the new one some foreign language subjects (French,
German, Norwegian or Spanish). This is because the ultimate goal of most Filipino Nurses is to
go abroad and earn more money. Since this is the case, why shouldn’t CHED include in the New
Nursing Curriculum subjects that will help our Nursing students communicate better with
foreigners speaking languages other than English? This is perhaps an oversight on the part of our
policy makers. If CHED wanted to equip our Nursing students with new tools, it should have
been in the area of communication and NOT in the the area of Related Learning Experiences
because Nursing students have enough RLEs. Well, that’s just my take.

For more details and additional info on this subject, please go to this link: New Philippine
Nursing Curriculum and Opposing Views.

You might also want to read my post titled “Oversupply of Nurses in the Philippines Largely
Contributes to the Philippine Unemployment Rate” to gain further insight on the number of
unemployed or underemployed Nursing graduates in the Philippines.

If you are interested in the NLE November 2008 results, browse the list of board passers of the

November 2008 Nursing board exam via that article.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 9:52 pm and is filed under Nursing Research.

http://www.jpsimbulan.com/2008/08/12/nursing-education-in-the-philippines-nursing-curriculum-now-
5-years/

New Philippine Nursing Curriculum and Opposing Views

What is your opinion on the New Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines? This is a relatively new
issue in the academic sector of our country. Why? Many Pinoys take up BS Nursing because of
its promising future (that is, if you have the luck and opportunity to land a good job abroad).

According to reports, in a bid to ensure the quality of future nurses, the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) has ordered the addition of two new subjects in the nursing curriculum that
will focus on teaching freshmen nursing students the ethics and commitment involved in the
profession.

The subjects Theoretical Foundation in Nursing and Fundamentals of Nursing Practice will
be added to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum starting school year 2008-
2009 as contained in CHED Order Number 5 series of 2008. In Ilocos Norte, Nursing schools
have confirmed that they will implement this order starting this school year, 2008-2009.  Are
these two new subjects in the New Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines necessary?

Dr. William Medrano, CHED executive director, said the move was in line with
recommendations of the Technical Committee on Nursing Education composed of luminaries in
the field of nursing.

Medrano stressed that the addition of the two subjects came before the so-called canister scandal
at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, also known as black suede scandal which
really created a huge controversy and put a big question mark on the ethical practices of health
workers (like doctors and nurses) here in the Philippines. “The order was issued before that
scandal. The move to add the two subjects came as a result of a recommendation made by the
Technical Committee,” Medrano said.

But while the move was praised by nursing school deans and hospital administrators, school
owners and administrators opposed the order. This is primarily due to financial constraints, thus,
parents will have a more difficult time sending their children to college and others fear that
additional expenditures (with the addition of two new subjects in the Nursing curriculum) is
totally impractical and unnecessary.

Your thoughts, please? Feel free to comment as this concerns everyone who is in one way or
another involved in Nursing education (administrators, policy makers, parents, students,
teachers, benefactors, etc.)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Nursing Research

http://www.jpsimbulan.com/2008/06/10/new-philippine-nursing-curriculum-and-opposing-views/

Is the 5-Year Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines a

Feasible Proposal?
The proposed 5-year Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines by virtue of CHED MO No 5 has
raised concerns from all sectors of the society particularly Nursing students and parents. The
proposal of CHED to implement a 5-year Nursing Curriculum has been viewed as waste of
money and time by concerned parties. Here in Ilocos Norte, as part of my freelance research
work, the results of our series of consultations with parents, clinical instructors and some school
administrators are the same – people are apathetic about the plan to implement a 5-year

curriculum in BS Nursing starting SY 2009-2010.

For the better understanding of the 5-year Nursing Curriculum, I will be posting a little later the
whole curriculum. For readers who are members of the academe, your comments will be highly
valued since this will add to existing data this author already has.

However, partial results analyzed reveal that the 5-Year Nursing Curriculum is generally viewed
by many as “insignificant and waste of resources”. This now brings us to ponder whether this
proposal is really a feasible solution to improving Nursing education in the Philippines. As a
researcher, I cannot readily give an answer. This is because I would like to be impartial on this
matter and let the data do the talking. I will have my personal take on this later, of course.

Data gathered will be revealed after collation and further research on this subject. The method
used in gathering data for this Nursing research was quanti-quali (quantitative-qualitative
combo) since statistics and qualitative verbalization of opinions were obtained from select but
qualified respondents. Is the 5-Year Nursing Curriculum a feasible plan? We’ll find out when the

majority has spoken.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Nursing Research

http://www.jpsimbulan.com/2009/02/08/is-the-5-year-nursing-curriculum-in-the-philippines-a-feasible-
proposal/

CHED Memorandum Order (MO) No. 5 (5-Year BSN

Curriculum)
The Philippine Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order No. 5 (CHED MO No. 5)
is presently under review after gaining opposition from health students, parents and even from
some school administrators. CHED MO No. 5 aims to extend the present four-year Philippine
Nursing curriculum to 5 years with the addition of 2 semesters or 3 summer terms more to the
existing BSN curriculum. According to CHED, MO No. 5 will be finalized in March 2009. The
review of the proposed 5-year BS Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines will be thoroughly
studied before finally implementing it starting school year 2009-2010 and beyond.

Earlier in June 2008, I have written about the opposing views on the New Philippine Nursing
Curriculum. Before posting that article, we made efforts to consult parents, students and clinical
instructors because CHED MO No. 5 at that time was not yet formalized and copies of the
Memorandum Order were not given to some deans and other school authorities. If you want to
know how my short Nursing Research in that particular area, please feel free to head on to the
linked articles given above. I will update this post and create a mini-series about CHED MO No.
5 so that others who are into Nursing (students, parents, CI’s, administrators and policy makers)
will be able to take a good look at the CHED Memo and help determine if a 5-year Nursing
Curriculum in the Philippines is a feasible solution to some problems in Nursing education. Stay
updated and bookmark this site now or subscribe via RSS Feed for free and get updated on the
latest articles in this site.
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 7th, 2009 at 3:10 pm and is filed under Nursing Research.

http://www.jpsimbulan.com/2009/02/07/ched-memorandum-order-mo-no-5-5-year-bsn-curriculum/

5-year Nursing course nixed

By Prinz P. Magtulis and Alexis Ailex C. Villamor, Jr.

ONLY MINIMAL changes will be made on the College of Nursing’s curriculum after the
Commission on Higher Education (Ched) revoked an earlier memorandum order seeking to
transform the country’s nursing course to a “five-year program.”

Issued last year, Ched Memorandum Order No. 5 (CMO 5) or the “Policies and Standards for
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program” ordered the addition of two subjects for first year
nursing students, “Theoretical Foundations in Nursing” and “Fundamentals of Nursing Practice,”
and stretched the required hospital duty hours from 2,142 to 2,499.

But after school owners and nursing deans from different academic institutions expressed
opposition to the order last January, the Ched revoked it, only to be replaced by an “Enhanced
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Curriculum.”

As of press time, Ched has not yet released any mandate for the official implementation of the
new curriculum, but is expected to do so anytime before the next academic year opens.

Nursing Dean Glenda Vargas said the adjustment in UST’s nursing curriculum would only be
minimal since the new mandate is just an “improved version” of the CMO 5.

“UST offered the CMO 5 last year, hence it is easy for us to adopt with the new curriculum,”
Vargas told the Varsitarian.

“The CMO 5 requires four years and three summers, while the Enhanced Nursing Curriculum
requires four years and only two summers – after first year and second years,” she added.

Vargas said that unlike the CMO 5, the new curriculum treats the new subjects as only elective
courses.

The new curriculum wil be adopted in all levels.

The earlier order, meant get rid of substandard nursing schools, was revoked because many
school owners were against it, Vargas said.

The CMO 5 took effect last year after member-schools of the Coordinating Council of Private
Education Associations (Cocopea) failed to get a temporary restraining order from the court to
block its implementation.

Cocopea, the biggest consortium of private schools in the country, claimed the CMO 5 would be
a burden to nursing students because it would raise tuition by 24 percent.

But the new curriculum will also increase tuition since there will still be additional hours in
students’ clinical duties, Vargas said.

All colleges and universities with nursing programs are required to implement the new
curriculum next school year after it is published in newspapers of general circulation, Vargas
said.
An orientation will be held for the proper implementation of the new curriculum, which “will set
a standard in the nursing program in the Philippines,” she added.

Vol. LXXX, No. 11 • May 20, 2009

http://www.varsitarian.net/news/20090520/5_year_nursing_course_nixed

BSN PROGRAM POLICIES AND STANDARDS FOR 2009

May 30, 2009 | By Anna Katharina In Nurse Quad, School

http://www.annakatharinamd.com/2009/05/30/bsn-program-policies-and-standards-for-2009/

The newly published Commission of Higher Education (CHED) CMO No. 14 Series of 2009
(April 28, 2009) is concern with Policies And Standards For Bachelor Of Science In Nursing
(BSN) Program, it emphasizes the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum is a
competency-based and community-oriented curriculum in the Philippines.

The nurse must be competent in the following Key Areas of Responsibility for which a nurse
should demonstrate competence in Safe and quality nursing care, Management of resources and
environment, Health education, Legal responsibility, Ethico-moral responsibility, Personal and
professional development, Quality improvement, Research, Record Management,
Communication, Collaboration and teamwork.

This CHED CMO No. 14 has again some difference with CMO No. 5 s. 2008 in terms of third
and fourth year subjects. With CHED CMO No. 14, students shall choose at least two Electives
[Elective 1 and 2] to complete the BS Nursing Program.

Elective 1 is taken in the 3rd Year 2nd Semester. Choices for Elective I are Parent-Child Nursing,
Spiritual Care Nursing, and Hospice Palliative Care.

Elective 2 is taken in the 4th Year, 1st Semester. Choices for Elective II are Acute/Critical Care
Nursing, Quality Health Care and Nursing, and Care of the Chronically ill and the Older Person.
In addition, an Intensive Nursing Practicum subject during the 4th year corresponds to 8 units of
clinical work.

CHED CMO No. 14 still mandates a 4-year curriculum for nursing.

Effectivity of CHED CMO No. 14 states that Higher Education Institutions [HEIS] that opted to
implement CMO no. 30 s. 2001 shall allow their students to the finish BSN curriculum under
CMO no. 30 s. 2001. Those HEIS that opted to implement CMO no. 5 s. 2008 during the SY
2008-2009 shall allow their students to graduate under CMO no. 14 s. 2009. CHED CMO No. 14
shall take effect starting school year 2009-2010, fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
official gazette or in a newspaper of national circulation.