I remembered that in my very first blog post, I mentioned maybe some sort of the history of how the nursing course became in demand to most schools. You can check it by clicking this link:
Nursing Career in the Philippines.
As I was reviewing in preparation for another exam, I recall back the days when I was still reviewing for the local RN board. The minute I started the review course, I admit that some facts discussed were also discussed back in college and honestly, I have remembered only a few. Since it is just a review, it means that the course doesn't cover everything that were tackled during our college days and it only concentrates on what the professors believe or assume that will be coming out in the local RN exam. When our review professor asked us something, nobody not even me answered, because nobody knows the answer. Our professor was somehow shocked that why didn't we know such things well it was in fact basic. It was a bit embarrassing on my own part too because I graduated BSN without even knowing the B-A-S-I-C-S. Its like I graduated college feeling that I didn't do anything. I admit that I have learned most in the review which was only 3 months as compared to my college days which was equivalent to 4 years.
So now I realized, why I was able to learn more from the review than that of my schooling days?
Here's what I believe, I knew that the quality of my education is affected. Ever wonder why the rating of passing students become low from the time they started the local board exam for nurses? Its because the quality of education flanks as well. The time when nurses become in demand abroad, more freshly graduate high school students took up nursing believing that they have a brighter future with taking up this course and the chances of becoming more successful than any other careers. The students become overcrowding in one school so other schools opened up their own nursing school. Off course, it is also a part of their business having students that many. But as more schools open nursing schools, and more students take up nursing, the schools are also in demand of nursing teachers who could accommodate this number of students.The tendency is that, recent or freshly nursing board passers even without any master's degree or a single independent experience can apply as a clinical instructor for this nursing students. This is dangerous to the quality education for nursing.
I believe that there may be 2 factors that affected that quality of education. First, the student. What does the student do? I believe that the student is the holder of his/her own marks / grades / success. Whatever my academical standing is today, I know that I made it myself and there is no one I could blame this one for. I am satisfied with how it become and the results I got since I am still able to graduate and become a registered nurse. No matter what circumstances are, either the student has a low financial support, the parents are unsupportive, friends that are influencing to bad sides, as long as the student is pursuant to studying, nothing not even these problems could stand in their way. I could always say that I was given the opportunity to study, and its up to me on how I could hold and maintain that opportunity running with me.
Second factor, is the teacher. Why the teacher? If you remember the movie Coach Carter, Coach Carter wanted the athletes to enter into college even though the community, even the school was already against him, still he pursued what he believe that the athletes deserve. In the end, the students realize that life wasn't about just being an athlete. They sharpened their minds and fulfill their responsibilities as a student, so they could get passed anything, even being an athlete. This is what we call teacher factor. The teacher is our helper in learning and most of all understanding what was learned. That's why they exist, because without them, we wouldn't be agreeing into one fact and we all have our point of views. Off course, we would be clinging to our own ideas and disagree to what others say. As I mentioned earlier, the selection of nursing instructors become biased because nursing schools needed these teachers to accommodate their students. I realized that I was handled by some teachers that didn't really give the quality of education that they are required to. I guess some are just after the salary, or just to hold the title that they are a clinical professor. There are some facts that I learned from my college days I forgot, maybe all of it but the few things I learned were mostly from the professor that I credit for, the ones who dedicate themselves to teaching the students, the ones who are concerned to students like me, the ones who really did give the quality education we needed. Its sad to know that the students rating flank because of this teacher factor. II could have been wasting money, time and effort. Good thing there's still that student factor. The government policies change because of this factor and students were affected. An example I could cite about this situation is that the news regarding the student's rating on the board exam, wherein if the student fails 3 times, they have to take a refresher course. The blame cannot be put all to the student, because the student has no idea what the right things are. Even if the student studies what his / her instructor told them to, it is still lacking of the knowledge that the student must really know and the quality of education that they deserve is cut.
It feels like the quality of education that is supposed to be laid to students are slowly fading away. Come to think of it, if there are no teachers fit enough to give quality education for students, then don't accept these students. It doesn't mean that you are taking away their right to education, having teachers that are under qualified for teaching is what takes away the student's right to education.
I never planned to become a nurse in the first place, but due to practicality "in the future" which is almost a common reason to all who took up nursing, I also placed myself into it. Technically, it wasn't really practical to take up nursing because the matriculation is too expensive. My parents, even me went through a lot before I could hold my own diploma. I planned to become a clinical instructor too, but not today. Because I know that I am not fit enough to pass on the education that the student really need and I don't want to soil it just because of money.
No comments:
Post a Comment