tinekrism

Attended a niece' nursing graduation, 11 Mar 2010. 5:00 AM - prepped up 5:20 - no breakfast, commuted 20kms (bus and taxi) to school 6:00 - arrived venue - 6th floor (FCFS policy) 7:40 - mass 9:00 - distribution of 920 pieces of diploma 12:00 PM - lunch outside school (after 7hrs no food/water) - 2 taxi rides 1:00 - waited for auditorium to open at 1:30 (FCFS policy) 3:10 - pinning of 920 (nine hundred twenty) nursing graduates 4:30 - presentation of honors/awards 5:30 - picture taking 6:00 - herded (apprx)3000 sheeps, err human beings, on a two 12-pax capacity elevators or 12-staircase 7:30 - arrived home spent, wasted and tired! Need I say more? Btw, other members of my family skipped mass and missed a day to be together on a SUNDAY. Parents/students (including those 33 who did not attend) paid for the rite and were given some "tickets" which the school thought we would value equally like an opera-ticket? Have the organizers not used their faculty of thinking/imagination? First off, there were 920 graduates X 2 "tickets" each for parents/guardian/visitors = 1800 (rounded off). Yet the school only allocated 800 seats, on the condition that FCFS policy will be applied. Isn't the school supposed to provide ENOUGH number for seats for the parents (who paid over P320,000 for a nursing course)? What has gotten into their brains: mob/kids who would scamper to get a seat to watch a concert? (can you picture parents on a Sunday-attire) 1.5 hours (am) + 2 hrs (pm) X 900 parents = 3150 manly hours wasted on WAITING. I believe parents wouldn't mind waiting 30-40mins for guests to settle BUT 3.5 hours is a big insult to us. It is a manifestation of how the school callously treat their clientele. Another thing, assuming most participants are catholic, holding a mass along a graduation is flawed. (alm-baskets yielded tens of thousands pesos though) I respectfully suggest on your next graduation, make it a half-day affair - the most 3-4 hours. Holding a rite beyond 2 hours is a practice that is quite extravagant and wasteful. Consider this a feedback-complaint. You should appreciate it you get if for free - while students/parents get substandard service. Graduating from your school is not even a guarantee they will land a job related to their field. (tried e-mailing to their website, bounces back)

Most inputs offered here are sound suggestions - except for few knee-jerk reactions. Indeed the best way to check expenses, w/out sounding suspicious, is to ask a copy of the receipts. To countercheck them, you need an open line with the school and homeowner (rent). Your friend who happens to be your beneficiary will need to put it in writing (in her enrollment form or a letter) that you are her guardian/benefactor. Thus she authorizes YOU to be updated of her school fees and grades through call or email. Caregiver courses (I stand to be corrected tho) are vocational 6-mo. courses thus are not accredited by CHED. Your friend should decide if she wishes to pursue a nursing degree, she has to stay on track. Re the PC, it is indeed a vital equipment for her school requirements. 2-hand units here (Cebu) cost: laptop - PhP 25T/US$ 500; desktop about 1/3 ($180); cellphones - $50. I therefore suggest you approve on the DESKTOP PC while the phone is your call or optional. In behalf of our countrymen, we appreciate your gestures and good INTENTIONS.

as a second courser, most of your minor subjects will be credited (english, filipino, logic, constitution, p.e., rotc, etc). you will start by taking up anatomy-physiology as a prerequisite to health care i & ii then ncm 100 thru 105. with that, it will take you approx 3 years + 2 summers to graduate bsn inclusive of rle (related learning exp), equivalent to 2000 hrs hospital-duty. look for a school that is neither too populated nor nearly uninhabited. i know of some school that has a nursing population - 1st to 4th levels - of over 5000 and another with wee bit over a 100. too many students mean a long queue in getting hospital cases; too few is a tell-tale sign that that school doesn't have a good quality of teaching/training. take your time to inspect school facilities, ci/teacher qualification, hospital affiliation, and ratio/student. most schools have their classes during the day time, monday til fri. if you work on night shift (eg, call centers, nite guard), work-sch time may not overlap. but one needs time to sleep & recharge and prepare sch assignments / reports. sti holds theirs late 5-9 evenings which they claim are intended for working professionals. again, hosp-duty takes place either on 6a-2p, 2p-10p, or 10p-6a shifts. i hardly know of an employed student who's taking up nursing. even one who manages own business will give up time in favor of studies - or v.v. tuition fees ranging from 20-60t per sem is relatively higher compared to other undergrad courses (case of supply/demand & greedy sch owners). age will not be much of a prob. many students in their 30s, 40s. good luck and welcome back to school!

Adding another year in a 4-year BSN degree is just like the old proposal to add grade 7 in a 6-year elementary curriculum. The only apparent outcome I can see is that schools will have an additional 25% earnings. It is unnecessary, costlier, and subject to abuse and corruption. I agree that 4 years is more than enough to learn the knowledge, skills, and training of a nurse. The key consideration is: QUALITY CONTROL. Government should impose a better quality of education/training and control the standards in accepting nursing students. Philippines is mass-producing nurses by tens of thousands annually. You see many men & women in white sprawled over the archipelago. Government should be on top of things by not neglecting other fields of specialization.

As a second courser, most of your minor subjects will be credited (English, Filipino, Logic, Constitution, P.E., ROTC, etc). You will start by taking up Anatomy-Physiology as a prerequisite to Health Care I & II then NCM 100 thru 105. With that, it will take you approx 3 years to graduate BSN inclusive of RLE, equivalent to 2000 hrs hospital-duty. Look for a school that is neither too populated nor nearly uninhabited. I know of some school that has a nursing population of over 5000 and another with less than a 100. Too many students mean a long queue in getting hospital cases; too few is a tell tale sign that that school doesn't have a good quality of teaching/training. Take your time to inspect school facilities and ask hospital affiliation, Ratio / student. Age will not be much of a prob. Many students in their 30s, 40s. Good luck and welcome back to school!

thanks for the clarification suzanne4, i learned a lot from your inputs in other posts. let me emphasize though that the training of the 'second courser' and those who go thru the full four year program are exactly the same (minor/major subjects & rle). second courser may seem shorter by about a year because minor subjects from previous degree have been credited. it would be impractical to re-take the same syllabus of same subjects. technically, second coursers would even have a 7-yr college education. descartes & tantrum, i agree with your observation. to blabber & rnhawaii34: i'm happy you can provide a better future for your loved ones by being a nurse outside the phil. i have visited some cousins and my doctor/nurse-bro-in-law in the us; i have seen the big disparity in our way of life. most of them have been urging me to take up nursing if i want a better future for my family. all i was asking, and let me rephrase: is it still achievable for fresh high school graduates or people over 40 or 50 y.o., to take up nursing - be an rn - for the purpose of seeking a greener pasture outside this hopeless state? (it's amusing to read some contradictions)

In my younger years I heard my grandpa declare: "our country's bleak state cannot be changed or improved in our (their) generation." I heard same line from my parents. Hope the buck stops at me. Many of us have been optimistic and put hope on our government. Whether we accept it or not, we know where it's headed - without uttering them in words. I'm happy you can provide a better future for your loved ones by being a nurse outside the Phil. I'm an engineer but, just like others, we hardly practiced our profession. Considering the effort and money involved in taking a degree, we put our heart and dedication in learning all necessary knowledge and skills to be effective in the profession we are studying. As experienced in most families, our son wanted to take up architecture. After months of huddling with him, he consequently took up nursing. With his dedication & hard work, he's getting good grades. I plan to take up nursing myself but suzanne4 appraised students in their 40's has a slimmer chance of finding a job compared to the younger ones. I'd appreciate further evaluation on this. Thanks a lot.

I'm not sure of the figures, but I can safely guess that the Philippines has been producing TENS OF THOUSANDS Registered Nurses annually the past 3 - 4 years. Is it still safe for fresh high school graduates or people over 40 or 50 y.o., to take up nursing for the sole purpose of seeking a greener pasture outside this hopeless state?

in your previous course, the following subjects (w/c you most likely have taken) should be credited to your bsn degree: english 1 & 2 [color=white]. . . . .(6units/2 subjects) filipino 1 & 2 [color=white]. . . . .(6units/2 subjects) chemistry 1 [color=white]. . . . . (5units/1 subject) gen biology [color=white]. . . . . .(5units/1 subject) college algebra [color=white]. . . (3units/1 subject) gen psychology [color=white]. . . (3units/1 subject) physics 1 [color=white]. . . . . . . (3units/1 subject) phil literature [color=white]. . . . (3units/1 subject) phil history [color=white]. . . . . . (3units/1 subject) phil govt & const [color=white]. . (3units/1 subject) rizal [color=white]. . . . . . [color=white]. . . . .(3units/1 subject) logic 1 [color=white]. . . . . . [color=white]. . . (3units/1 subject) pe [color=white]. . . . . . [color=white]. . . . . . (4units/4 subject) *cmt 1 - 4 [color=white]. . . . .(12units/4 subjects) t o t a l : [color=white]. . . . . . around 20 subjects *in lieu of nstp 11 & 22 (6units/2 subject) female "2nd courser" required to take these it's ideal to enrol in 2nd semester because anatomy & physiology subject is being offered during said period. for a 2nd degree, it will take more or less 3 school-years and 2 summers to graduate bsn. the 5-year bsn program is just a bill filed in congress. status quo: 4-year course. hope this helps.

I know of some AMA IT students here in Cebu who transferred to another school because of inefficiency/corruption on the part of the school admin/owners. Worse part, after 4 years in AMA, not all credits were granted to them. For a 5-yr comp eng course, it took them more than 6 yrs to complete - courtesy of AMA. If that happens to their IT showcase, what more with their newly offered nursing course? Unless you want to waste your time and money, stay away from AMA.