The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) recently made known their opposition to the Practical Nursing (PN) program offered by several nursing schools in the country.
Dubbed as the fastest and easiest way to go abroad, some nursing schools have been quick to cash in on the latest trend to hit nursing education.
"It’s a dead end program because there is no local demand and no foreign demand for it," said University of the Philippines (UP) College of Nursing Dean Josefina Tuazon at a PNA press conference in Malate, Manila.
Tuazon added, "Why not maximize the nurses we have? We have nurses who have not passed yet. What's the point of creating another layer or category of nurses?"
The nursing group also related the bad experiences of two new Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) graduates who were not able to find jobs in the United States, contrary to the promises of practical nursing schools in the country.
Currently, a proposal is being evaluated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) formalizing these courses through a ladderization of the nursing curriculum where students can enroll for a shorter course and graduate as practical nurses or continue schooling for a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree en route to becoming a full-pledged registered nurse (RN).
Dubbed as the fastest and easiest way to go abroad, some nursing schools have been quick to cash in on the latest trend to hit nursing education.
"It’s a dead end program because there is no local demand and no foreign demand for it," said University of the Philippines (UP) College of Nursing Dean Josefina Tuazon at a PNA press conference in Malate, Manila.
Tuazon added, "Why not maximize the nurses we have? We have nurses who have not passed yet. What's the point of creating another layer or category of nurses?"
The nursing group also related the bad experiences of two new Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) graduates who were not able to find jobs in the United States, contrary to the promises of practical nursing schools in the country.
Currently, a proposal is being evaluated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) formalizing these courses through a ladderization of the nursing curriculum where students can enroll for a shorter course and graduate as practical nurses or continue schooling for a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree en route to becoming a full-pledged registered nurse (RN).
2 comments:
I'd like to read more about this. So there are no LPNs in the Phils, only RNs? And as for the two LPNs who were unable to get jobs in the US, did they give any particular reason for this? Did it have to do with their educational credentials or just general lack of demand?
Here in Canada, the demand for nurses is very high, for both LPNs and RNs. I think it would be worth it to start an LPN program in the Phils, especially since it could easily branch into a BScN.
Practical Nursing in other countries MAY be acceptable. But the thing is, here in the Philippines, we are already producing thousands of nurses each year. Practical nursing would only create more unemployment, because nowadays, even the registered nurses are having a hard time looking for jobs.
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