Clinical Instructors and lecturers with no hospital experience?

[Libby_09]

With the rapid increase in Nursing students in the last few years, schools are forced to hire clinical instructors (CI's) and lecturers even though they have zero work experience. While a lot of them are likely very competent and versed in Nursing theory, I can't help but wonder if ill-prepared lecturers are part of the reason why Nursing in our country has deteriorated.

The salary is part of the allure while a lot of nurses, especially newly licensed ones, want to be a CI. In our economy right now, 20,000 - 40,000 pesos is a big amount but unless they want to be a CI forever, these new CI's are doing a disservice to their career buy not looking for work in a hospital. What's the hospital employment prospects of someone who graduated say, 5-10 years ago and has worked as a CI since then? Probably no better than someone who just earned their RN.

[Turtle_Dog]

It is wonderful training, suzanne, if the students get it, or get through it. :wink2:

I believe suzanne has already answered most questions in different threads or different posts on about why things are done that way in the Phils, and why things are not done correctly now. So I would not be be answering to questions asked about my post.

My own observation is that most experienced clinical instructors (that I know) would like to have things done the way they were taught in the past; they push to limit students accepted in nursing schools and try to wear down those who are wholly unsuited to be nurses, to either put them out of the program or if the student has some potential, bring it out of the student to be molded.

But they dont own the schools, they can not dictate policy on accepting and training students and if they do, somehow they are overriden by school owner/president/trustees. They know from experience how best to train nurses, but the politics and economics of today determines how and who they train. So if they disagree, they are out of a job, at worst or at best, relegated to a position that can not to do anything about it.

Even at my school, which was once ranked as a top 5 nursing school in the Phils, old/veteran clinical instructors have been set aside or denied promotion if they make too much noise about the direction the college of nursing is taking, which is currently turning out mediocre nurses due to increasing number of enrollees. The school instead hires new clinical instructors, with little or no experience, who are amenable to whatever policy the school has in place. Granted that the new clinical instructors can teach, but still, they just dont have the tricks, the techniques that one gets from experience.

One particular instructor I know who was clinical coordinator then, and was in line to become the dean, once disagreed with the policies for admitting students and made her objections known; some years ago she took leave to finish her Masters in teaching (she already finished her MAN) and vacated her position as clinical coordinator. She assumed she would be back in her position, as her leave only took a semester, once she graduated but she found herself back to being just an clinical instructor. Somehow someone higher up took notice of her policies in admitting and dropping students, which was very strict and rigid, and appointed someone else to take her job. Soon after that enrollees in the college doubled and some regulations were relaxed to accommodate those that were not even qualified to be students in the college. Now the school is having difficulty in keeping the quality of graduates high and the passing rate of the school in the NLE, which used to be in the low 80's to the high 90's, has dropped to the 40's and 50's.

Just another story of the woes facing the nursing profession in phils.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

And then to add this on as an extra thought:

And add on the fact the British Columbia is only classifying those that trained for the RN in the Philippines as that of the LPN, until they have been thoroughly assessed and evaluated?

Surely, they have their reasons why they are doing this now.

Actually it's Alberta that has the RN/LPN class, not BC. Those RNs who were assessed on arrival as equivalent to LPNs are writing their LPN licensing exams this week and rumour has it that pass or fail, they will be given a license at the end. One of these candidates has had FIVE sentinel med errors in only a few months and has not accepted accountability for any of them. The unit manager has had her hands tied by administration about how far she can go with addressing the issue. It's quite frightening to think that I, or someone I love, could find this nurse assigned to providing our care.

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

WOW 5 sentinel events. Who would what that nurse to take care of them.

You bring up an important issue, these nurses when carefully evaluated did not have RN education. It will be interesting to see if they can pass the PN test.

[datspinoi2u]

Hopefully, this is not too late of an answer but obviously, you are really early in your nursing career. You see, cardiac medications are NOT held lightly. Be it a Beta blocker or an ACE-inhibitor, or even a simple diuretic, a person with a known heart condition usually adapts to these medications. A simple way of determining if it's safe to give is to evaluate the patient HOLISTICALLY. This should have been explained to you by your instructor (instead of just "looking at each other"), e.g., assess for hemodynamically compromised symptoms like dizziness, light headedness or ,even, just "feeling unwell". Another way of determining if you're supposed to hold off on a cardiac medication would be to actually UNDERSTAND how the medication works. Most cardiac medications that affect the blood pressure REALLY lowers it! It's a desired effect, most probably, an effect on the preload or afterload of a patient's cardiac output. And if you're going to tell me that a SBP of 100's is low, then you should definitely study harder. Learn the difference between stable and unstable hemodynamics but usually that comes with experience, as such forgivable. So don't diss what that seasoned RN have told you. Instead, you should have read about cardiac medications and schooled yourself. Feigning intelligence is REALLY ugly.

[AHPRA]

hi! i'm a filipino nurse. i'm not surprised about the fact that Phil RN = Canadian LPN because this really is our only worth as pinoy nurses, unless we undergo additional assessment. i'm very ashamed of being a Filipino nurse!

how sad that filipino nurses need to undergo additional assessment in the west for their credentials to be appropriately and equivalently recognized! but i wouldn't want it any other way because i am sure (relative to nursing experience) the most high tech hospitals in the Philippines are still not at par with even the simplest tertiary hospitals in the west, because that's how poor the health care system is in my country!

i'm not a patriotic and nationalistic Filipino nurse. i will do anything (legal? hehe) just to get out of the country and experience greener pastures down under! btw, american dream is fairy tale

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

AHPRA, please don't be ashamed to be a Filipino nurse!!! You are who you are, and you should be proud of who you have become. Its not the fault of the students who want to become the nurses. It is the fault of the government for allowing sub-par nursing schools to operate, allowing new grads to be clinical instructors when they have no experience as a floor nurse, and many more. The government has allowed the nursing profession in the Philippines to decline in a negative way.

This is directed in general: please don't blame the diferent nursing boards that regulate their state requirements because all they are trying to do is to protect their citizens first and foremost. They don't have to accept education abroad as some other countries don't recognize nursing education outside their country period!!! Some don't even allow non citizens to sit for their national boards. So think about it, just be thankful that your applications are looked at. They can just easily deny you. Good Luck to all

[Precious27]

hi! i'm a filipino nurse. i'm not surprised about the fact that Phil RN = Canadian LPN because this really is our only worth as pinoy nurses, unless we undergo additional assessment. i'm very ashamed of being a Filipino nurse!

how sad that filipino nurses need to undergo additional assessment in the west for their credentials to be appropriately and equivalently recognized! but i wouldn't want it any other way because i am sure (relative to nursing experience) the most high tech hospitals in the Philippines are still not at par with even the simplest tertiary hospitals in the west, because that's how poor the health care system is in my country!

i'm not a patriotic and nationalistic Filipino nurse. i will do anything (legal? hehe) just to get out of the country and experience greener pastures down under! btw, american dream is fairy tale

Saying that you are not proud to be a Filipino nurse is too much...you don't need to do this so the whole nursing wolrd will know. This is unfair for those Filipino nurses who are trying to gain experience in hospitals without any pay.

[Fiona59]

I'm sorry is there some disgrace in being an LPN? The standards for entry to Practical Nursing in Alberta and Ontario are some of the highest in the world. The education in these provinces are based on the now defunct RN diploma. An income of over $60K/yr Cdn. is not a laughing matter. It recognizes LPNs for the skilled, educated, prepared nurses that they are.

[pilgrim]

hi! i'm a filipino nurse. i'm not surprised about the fact that Phil RN = Canadian LPN because this really is our only worth as pinoy nurses, unless we undergo additional assessment. i'm very ashamed of being a Filipino nurse!

how sad that filipino nurses need to undergo additional assessment in the west for their credentials to be appropriately and equivalently recognized! but i wouldn't want it any other way because i am sure (relative to nursing experience) the most high tech hospitals in the Philippines are still not at par with even the simplest tertiary hospitals in the west, because that's how poor the health care system is in my country!

i'm not a patriotic and nationalistic Filipino nurse. i will do anything (legal? hehe) just to get out of the country and experience greener pastures down under! btw, american dream is fairy tale

This poster obviously did not graduate from a school that upheld the high standards that made the label Filipino Nurse a badge of honor, in the good ole' days. Such schools do exist, even during the mass-production days. Too, I can't imagine anyone stating that she is neither patriotic nor nationalistic, or that she'll do anything to get out of her motherland.

That's one other thing that the Reign of Greed produced: people who have no love of country nor pride in themselves, and who don't think twice before making such statements in an international forum. These attestations don't endear you to anyone or earn you brownie points.

[iamnomad]

Part of the reason why some (or most, or all) Filipino nurses have to to go through those bridging courses, assessment, extra training is because of the years we have spent on our basic education, not the nursing program as a whole. 10 years Philippine basic education vs. 12 years on the western world (or majority of this world).

That is maybe why in the US, our BSN is considered BSN but CGFNS has this note that the nursing program is done after 10 years of basic education.

And AHPRA, trust me, you will not become what you want to be if your attitude will stay that way. I seriously feel sorry for you. Don't blame the Philippines for your own incompetence.

[wishiwereanurse, BSN, RN]

i wholeheartedly believe that the 10-year basic curriculum that Filipino kids undergo is enough...and adding two more years of redundancy in basic arithmetic, science and english will just exhaust our youth....especially when they are educated in very good private schools (majority of people who continue on to college come from private schools anyway).

[ceridwyn]

Maturity, nursing at 16 is not a perfect time for a learning environment in such a responsible career. Folk dancing and swimming and national service are not subjects usually found in other countries nursing degrees and still iv/picc,cvc therapy is not included?