COMPETENCY OF LEVEL II STUDENT NURSES OF COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN UNDER THE NEW CURRICULUM

Chua, Michelle Bonilla, Jarren Nick Consolacion, Gilber Gutay, Mary Ann Ordoez, Elmar Salon, Asuncion

Submitted to the Faculty of College of Nursing Colegio de Dagupan, Dagupan City In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING

March 2010

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION Background of the Study

A new nursing curriculum is implemented in all colleges of nursing in the Philippines which took effect in the Academic Year 2009-2010. This new curriculum is based on the CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 14, series of 2009 (RA No.9173). The reasons for incorporating changes into the nursing curriculum are to: [1] improve the level of competency of Filipino nursing graduates, potentially increasing the passing rate in the Nursing Licensure Exam (NLE), and [2] produce nurses that are highly qualified ang globally competent in the health care field (GMANews.TV, April 30, 2008). In the global setting, a problem faced by health care institutions is the shortage of nurses. Filipino nurses had been the preference of foreign employers especially in the United States. Employers not only seek Filipino nurses for their caring nature, but also because of the quality education Filipino nurses have. However, with technology evolving together with health practices, the local curriculum must keep up with the current innovations if we want our nurses to meet the global demand.

In the local setting, the problem identified by CHED is the low passing rate in the NLE (GMANews.TV, April 30, 2008). Only about half of the total examinees pass the local board exam. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced that at least 32,617 or 41.87% out of 77,901 examinees passed the NLE for June 2009. For the November 2009 Nursing Board Exam, PRC announced that 37,527 or 39.73% out of 94,462 examinees passed (Philippine Board Exam Results). The solution of CHED to ensure a better passing rate is the CMO No.14. However, the effectiveness of the new curriculum is not yet supported by research because it is a newly implemented curriculum. One particular interest of the researchers in the new curriculum is the differences in the Nursing Care Management (NCM) courses between the old and new curriculum. In the old curriculum based on CMO No.30, NCM 101, 102 and 104 is an integration of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, and Maternal and Child Health Nursing(MCN). It means that in NCM 101, there are three subjects altogether. However, in the new curriculum CMO No.14, Nursing Care Management Courses were separated according to nursing specialties. For example, NCM 101 and 102 deals with only Maternal and Child Health Nursing (Obstetric Nursing and Pediatric Nursing).

To assess the effectiveness of the new curriculum, the researchers will investigate the subjects taken up by the 2nd year nursing students. This is because the first batch under the new cirruculum is currently in the second year level. Article V, section 7.2 of CMO No. 14 states that: At the end of the second year, the student shall have acquired the holistic understanding of the human person as a bio-psycho cultural being focusing on the concept of health and illness as it is related to the care of the mother and child in varied settings. The student shall be able to demonstrate the competencies in the following key areas of responsibility such as safe and quality nursing care, communication, collaboration and teamwork, health education, legal responsibility, ethico-moral responsibility, personal and professional development, quality improvement, research, management of resources and

environment, and record management. The Core Competency Standards, developed by the Board of Nursing (BON) with the Technical Committee on Nursing Education (TCNE) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), served as a basis in the curriculum reform. By focusing on the Eleven (11) Core Competencies, the new curriculum will ensure quality education for nursing students if it is implemented well (Tamse, July-Dec 2004). Using the Core Competency Standards as an evaluation tool, this study will determine if the new curriculum CMO 14, s.2009 is effective in
3

improving the level of competency of Colegio de Dagupan nursing students in Maternal and Child Health Nursing (MCN).

Theoretical Framework

Benner's Model in Skill Acquisition in Learning Patricia Benners model outlines five stages of skill acquisition: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Although her work is much more encompassing in regard to nursing domains and specific functions and interventions, it is the five stages of skills acquisition that has received the most attention with regard to application in

administration, education, practice, and research (McEwan & Wills, 2007). Stages of Skills Acquisition (Cronin & Anderson, 2003): The novice has no experience of the situation in which they are expected to perform. Because of their lack of experience, they are given rules to guide their performance. Novices are limited in their ability to read whole situations and tend to focus on tasks that do not require experience of the situation.
y

Advanced beginners are those who have experienced enough real situations to be able to recognize aspects of the situation. Prior

experience is necessary for aspect recognition, which encompasses an appreciation of the global characteristics of a situation.
y

The competent practitioner is one who has been in practice for two or three years in similar situations. Competency implies ability to discriminate between what is most important in a given situation. Competent practitioners use analysis and conscious deliberate planning that helps achieve efficiency and organization. They demonstrate some elements of mastery, but do not function with the speed and flexibility of proficient practitioners.

The proficient practitioner is one who sees situations as wholes rather than a series of discrete aspects. The proficient practitioner has well-developed decision making skills and is able to

discriminate quickly where the problem exists. According to Benner, proficient practitioners use maxims that reflect the nuances of the situation.
y

Expert practitioners no longer relies on rules, guidelines or maxims to link their understanding of the situation with the correct action. Here, Benner refers to the notion of intuitive grasp when delineating the practice of the expert nurse. Expert nurses focus on the accurate area of the problem without wasteful consideration of alternative diagnoses and/or solutions.

In Stuarts (2003) book Assessment, Supervision and Support in Clinical Practice, he summarized the performance characteristics of only the novice, advanced beginner, and competent nurse, based on the work of Benner. According to Stuart(2003), although these characteristics are derived from performance of qualified nurses, they can be extrapolated to the developing performance of pre-registration students. For the purpose of this study, Benners first three stages of skill acquisition (novice, advanced beginner and competent), will be used as a guideline to evaluate the competency of nursing students because development of students during tertiary education can range from novice to competent level. The last two stages, proficient and expert, requires years of experience and intuitive thinking which is lacking in students and impossible for them to develop at their current level. Thus, the last two stages will not be used in the study. According to Benners theory, the level of competency is achieved through training and experience. In the new curriculum, second year students are expected to be knowledgeable in MCN.

Conceptual Framework

The basis of the study is Patricia Benners Stages of Skills Acquisition. For the purpose of this study, the first three levels novice, advanced beginner, and competent will be used to identify the level of
6

competency of level II nursing students of Colegio de Dagupan. Students acquire knowledge and skills in Maternal and Child Health Nursing during their second year and will have advanced to a certain level of competency in that area of nusing. The input of the study are the profile of level II student nurses of CdD which are the age and gender of the respondents, and the rating of the respondents on the competency in MCN in terms of: 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 and Collaboration and Teamwork. The process is quantitative descriptive research. The researchers will use a 100-item survey questionnaires based on the Eleven Core Competencies to evaluate the competency of level II students of Colegio de Dagupan. All second year students will answer the questionnaires during summer classes and will be given 2 hours to answer the questions. The expected outcome of the study is the determination of the competency level of 2nd year student nurses of CdD, whether the students are in the novice, advanced beginner, or competent level. This study will also determine the difference in competency level of students in relation to age and gender. The weak points on the Core Competency
7

will also be identified and suggestions will be made to reinforce education in these Core Competencies.

Input: 1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following: a. Age b. Gender 2. What is the rating of the respondents on the effectiveness of the new curriculum with regards to MCN in terms of the following:

Basis: Patricia Benner's Stages of Skills Acquisition

a. Safe and quality nursing care b. Management of resources and environment c. Health education d. Legal responsibility e. Ethico-moral responsibility f. Personal and professional development g. Quality improvement h. Research i. Record management j. Communication k. Collaboration and Teamwork

Expected Outcome: Output: Determination of the students' competency level and identification of the students' weak points in the Core Competencies Competency of Level II Student Nurses of Colegio de Dagupan under the New Curriculum Process: Quantitative Research using Survey Questionnaire

Figure 1 Research Paradigm 8

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to evaluate the competency of level II students of Colegio de Dagupan under the new curriculum. It seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following: a. Age b. Gender 2. What is the rating of the respondents on the effectiveness of the new curriculum with regards to MCN in terms of the following: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. 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

3. Is there a difference between the competency level of male and female level II CdD student nurses? 4. Is there a difference between the competency level of students age 18 and below, and 19 and above?

Hypothesis

There is no relationship between the new curriculum and competency of level II students of CdD.

There is no significant difference between the competency of male and female level II CdD student nurses.

There is no significant difference between the competency of level II student nurses age 18 and below, and 19 and above.

Significance of the Study A. Nursing Practice

To the nursing profession, the study will test the students competency under the new curriculum. This is to ensure that the students competency level will be identified and efforts will be made to help the students reach the highest level of competence so that the school will be able to produce nurses capable of delivering quality nursing services.
10

B. Nursing Education

To the students and instructors, this study will be beneficial in identifying the students weak points in the 11 Core

Competencies. Students and instructors can focus on these weak points and strengthen learning in these aspects. The core competencies are also the basis of the Nursing Licensure Exam. By enhancing learning in the core competencies, the students can improve their chances in passing the board exam.
C. Nursing Research

To future researchers, this study will provide information on the strengths and weaknesses of students in Maternal and Child Nursing under the new curriculum in terms of the core competencies. Researchers can use these information to examine other subjects and contribute suggestions to improve the implementation of the new curriculum.
Scope and Limitations

The study aims to evaluate the competence of the level II student nurses under the new curriculum by using questionnaires based on the Eleven (11) Core Competencies. The respondents of the study will be all level II student nurses of Colegio de Dagupan. Survey questionnaires will be used for data

11

gathering. The questions will cover concepts in Maternal and Child Nursing and will be based on the Eleven Core Competencies. There will be 100 questions to be answered by level II students. Students will be given 2 hours to answer the questions. The topic covered will only be about maternal and child health nursing. Other subject areas under the new curriculum are not included in this study. The subjects of the study will be limited to level II student nurses of Colegio de Dagupan who enrolled in summer 2010. Other year levels will not be part of the study.

Definition of Terms Advanced Beginner. This is used to describe a nurse who has experienced enough real situations to be able to do the correct action. Board of Nursing (BON). This is the regulatory body of the nursing profession in the Philippines. Commission on Higher Education (CHED). CHED is the governing body covering both public and private higher education institutions as well as degree-granting programs in all tertiary educational institutions in the Philippines. Competency. It is a combination of attributes enabling performance of a range of professional tasks to the appropriate standards. Competent. This is used to describe a nurse who uses analysis and conscious deliberate planning that helps achieve efficiency and organization. Core Competency Standards. This represents the minimum knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to provide nursing care (Tamse, 2004).
12

Curriculum. It is an educational plan that spells out which goals and objectives should be achieved, which topics should be covered and which methods are to be used for learning, teaching and evaluation. Expert. This is a nurse described as one who no longer relies on rules, guidelines or maxims to link their understanding of the situation with the correct action. Maternal and child health nursing (MCN). This is a course in the curriculum which deals with te care of the mother and child in varied settings. Novice. This is a nurse who has no experience of the situation in which they are expected to perform. Proficient. This is a term used to describe a nurse who has welldeveloped decision making skills and is able to discriminate quickly where the problem exists. Student Nurse. This is a student training for the nursing profession in Colegio de Dagupan, under the program Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

13

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE Local Literature

The New Curriculum CHED Memorandum Order No. 14, series of 2009 (CMO No.14, s. 2009) contains provisions on the BSN course, including the course specification, standard curriculum, competency standards, and other requirements. It is the basis of implementation of the new nursing curriculum in the Philippines which took effect on the academic year 2009-2010. Core Competency Standards Core Competency Standards, as defined by Tamse (July-Dec 2004), represent the minimum knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to provide nursing care. It reflects complex nature of nursing activities and determines the level of accountability. Graduate of the BSN program must be able to apply analytical and critical thinking in the nursing practice. The nurse must be competent in the eleven (11) core competency areas for nursing practice that were identified as follows (CMO No.14, s.2009): 1. Safe and quality nursing care. The nurse must be able to demonstrate knowledge base and provide safety and sound
14

decisions in the care of the client. The nurse must also utilize the nursing process and prioritization in the care of the client. 2. Management of resources and environment. The nurse must maintain a safe environment for the client and utilize resources properly. 3. Health education. The nurse must be able to assess the clients learning needs and develop an educational plan for the client. 4. Legal responsibility. The nurse must adhere to practices in accordance to the law. 5. Ethico-moral responsibility. The nurse must respect the rights of the client and take responsibility for ones decisions and actions. 6. Personal and professional development. The nurse must be able to assess ones own learning needs and pursue growth and development in the field. The nurse must also project of professional image of the nurse. 7. Quality improvement. The nurse must be able to identify variances problems. and recommend solutions to the identified

15

8.

Research. The nurse must participate in research studies and utilize the research findings.

9.

Record management. The nurse must maintain accurate and updated documentation of client care.

10.

Communication. The nurse must be able to establish rapport with the client, clients family, and members of the health team and respond to their needs.

11.

Collaboration and Teamwork. The nurse must establish collaborative relationship with members of the health team and plan a collaborative care for the client.

The Need for a Curriculum Reform What prompted CHED to revise the nursing curriculum is the low passing rate of graduates in the Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE). The passing rate in December 2007 was 42.71%. There were only 28,924 passers out of 67,728 total examinees. According to CHED acting chairman Romulo Neri, international standards are adopted into the local curriculum. This is to ensure better performance of nursing graduates in the NLE (GMANews.TV, April 30, 2008). Although the new curriculum is met with objections, UST College of Nursing Dean Glenda Vargas points out needed changes in the old curriculum in favor of the new. Patient assessment needs to be a stand-

16

alone subject rather than just be integrated in nursing professional subjects. In abroad, nurses are expected to do a thorough health assessment and students need to be trained more in this area (The Varsitarian Vol. LXXIX, No. 12 ; June 10, 2008). In a press release by the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), they supported the new curriculum stating that nursing leaders and

educators firmly believe that this curricular reform will improve the quality of current Philippine nursing education products by honing critical competencies to provide safe and high quality health care for their patients here and abroad. Core competencies for 11 key areas of responsibilities that are important in nursing are spelled out in the various nursing professional courses together with their indicators. (PNA, July 8, 2008) The Board of Nursing (BON) also supports the implementation of CMO No.14. Strengths of the new curriculum enumerated by the BON are as follow (BON, April 6, 2009): The Core Competencies with their indicators are spelled out in the various professional courses.
y

Common core values identified by the Board of Nursing and the various professional organizations during the workshop on good governance were also included in the curriculum.

17

y y y

Total General Education Courses is 90 Units Total Professional Courses is 115 Units The following professional courses included in CMO NO. 5 were retained. (CMO No. 5 was the prototype of CMO No. 14) > Theoretical Foundations in Nursing > Health Assessment > Pharmacology > Nutrition and Diet Therapy > Nursing Research > Competency Appraisal > IV Therapy is introduced in NCM 106

Two Nursing Electives are included (6 Suggested Nursing Electives are included for the third year and senior year level)

Intensive Nursing Practicum both for community-based and hospital-based experience are included

y y

Guide for RLE are incorporated The Intraoperative, Intrapartal and Immediate Care of the Newborn are spelled out as part of the curriculum

y y

More Specific Admission policies are encouraged Guide for Hospital Affiliation are more specific

18

Proper

Implementation However,

of

Nursing for

Education schools

Standards who are

is not

encouraged.

sanctions

performing well are spelled out. One of the changes in the curriculum is the rearrangements of topics in the Nursing Care Management (NCM) course. In the old curriculum based on CMO No.30, NCM 101, 102 and 104 is an integration of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, and Maternal and Child Health Nursing(MCN). It means that in NCM 101, there are three subjects altogether. However, in the new curriculum CMO No.14, Nursing Care Management Courses were separated according to nursing specialties. For example, NCM 101 and 102 deals with only Maternal and Child Health Nursing. Since CMO No. 14 was implemented only lately, the first batch under the new cirruculum is currently in the second year level. Article V, section 7.2 of CMO No. 14 states that: At the end of the second year, the student shall have acquired the holistic understanding of the human person as a bio-psycho cultural being focusing on the concept of health and illness as it is related to the care of the mother and child in varied settings. The student shall be able to demonstrate the competencies in the following key areas of responsibility such as safe and quality nursing care, communication,

19

collaboration and teamwork, health education, legal responsibility, ethico-moral responsibility, personal and professional development, quality improvement, research, management of resources and

environment, and record management. Specifically, the student shall: a. describe the health care delivery system and the nurses role in it; b. demonstrate ethico-moral, legal responsibilities in the care of individual family and community; c. demonstrate the beginning skills in the provision of independent and collaborative nursing function; d. relate the stages of growth and development in the care of clients; e. demonstrate beginning skills in the preparation of healthy and therapeutic diets in varied client cases; f. explain the dynamics of the disease process caused by microbes and parasites and the environment; g. imbibe the core values cherished by the nursing profession such as love of God, country and people, and caring; h. design a plan that will focus on health promotion and risk reduction to clients; and i. utilize the nursing process in the care of the high risk mother and child in the family.

20

Statements from several sources, such as CHED, PNA, and BON, suggest that they support the implementation of the new curriculum. These sources have enumerated the strengths of the new curriculum and emphasized the relevance of incorporating the Core Competencies in the new curriculum. According to Tamse (July-Dec 2004), the Core Competency Standards serve as a framework for program development and also serve as a tool for performance evaluation. With this information, the researchers will use the same Core Competency Standards to evaluate the effectiveness of the new curriculum with regards to MCN. The result of this study may either support or refute the statements of the said sources.

Foreign Literature

Global Standards in Nursing and Midwifery Education One of the reasons for the nursing curricular reform is to incorporate global standards in the Philippines nursing curriculum. Implementation of the standards will facilitate progress towards the highest level of education attainable in a country or region, assure equitable and appropriate placement of nurses in health-care roles and, potentially, simplify recruitment practices throughout the world (WHO, 2009).

21

The goal of the global standards is to establish educational criteria and assure outcomes that: a. are based on evidence and competency b. promote the progressive nature of education and lifelong learning; and c. ensure the employment of practitioners who are competent and who, by providing quality care, promote positive health outcomes in the populations they serve. The global standards in the nursing curriculum are divided into four areas. These are Curriculum Design, Core Curriculum, Curriculum partnership, and Assessment of Students. Each has its own criteria as stated below: 1. Curriculum Design
y y y

Take into account workforce planning flows Meet national and international education criteria Delivers the knowledge and skills required to meet the needs of their respective populations.

Demonstrate balance between the theory and practice components of the curriculum.

Use of recognized approaches to teaching and learning

22

Provide classroom and clinical learning based on established competencies

Enable the development of clinical reasoning, problem solving and critical thinking

Conduct regular evaluations of curricula and clinical learning

Offer

opportunities

for

multidisciplinary

content

and

learning experiences

2. Core Curriculum
y

provide core content that will enable their graduates to meet the established competencies

y y y

provide core content in nursing theory provide core through the primary health-care approach provide supervised clinical learning experiences

3. Curriculum Partnership
y y y

develop partnerships with other healthcare disciplines use inter-professional teamwork approaches have access to, and arrangements for, the clinical learning sites

23

4. Assessment of Students
y

assess

student

learning

using

reliable

evaluation

methodologies
y y

use a variety of methods to assess the subject matter have student retention systems in place

The new curriculum adopted the global standards in nursing curriculum. The global standards was adopted to enhance global competitiveness. The Core Competencies also have the same goal to improve global competitiveness. Under the criteria of the core

competencies, the researchers will evaluate if the new nursing curriculum will or will not be able to meet the goals of international standards.

Local Study

A similar study of evaluating a curriculum was conducted by Helen Villarico-Correa, RN, MN, EdD published in The Philippine Journal of Nursing Volume 73 No.2. The Associate in Health Science Education Curriculum: An Evaluation This paper presents the result of a survey conducted in Region VI as to the implementation of the Associate in Health Science Education (AHSE) Curriculum. The survey was conducted among all the higher

24

education institutions in the region that offers the health-related professions and the associate in health science education curriculum. The respondents were 35 deans of the health-related professions in the region which include Bachelor of science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology, Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy, Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Bachelor of Science in Radio Technology, and the two-year Midwifery Program. In addition, this paper also provides an overview of the AHSE curriculum including the views and experiences of the deans who actually implemented the said programs since the academic year, 19981999. Specifically, this study aimed to determine: whether the objectives of the AHSE curriculum were met the strengths and the weaknesses of the curriculum; the problems encountered in implementing the program the facilitating factors that help in the implementation of the program; and
y

y y y y

the preferred curriculum of the respondents

The results of the study show that majority of the respondents replied that the objectives of the AHSE curriculum has not been met. Several advantages and disadvantages of the AHSE curriculum were
25

mentioned. And according to the study, 85.71% of the respondents preferred the generic curriculum over the AHSE curriculum.
Foreign Studies

A study by Richard W. Redman, et al. Deals with competency assessment in nursing education. Competency Assessment: Methods for Development and Implementation in Nursing Education Competent performance by health care professionals is expected throughout society. However, defining what it is and teaching students how to perform competently faces many challenges. This article provides a brief overview of the contemporary focus on competency assessment in nursing education. The redesigned nursing curriculum at the University of Colorado is presented as an exemplar of a practice-oriented model that requires competent performance among students. Methods for

implementing a competency-based curriculum and lessons learned during the process are discussed. Competency assessment is always outcome oriented; the goal is to evaluate performance for the effective application of knowledge and skill in the practice setting. Competency assessment techniques address psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. Competencies can be

26

generic to clinical practice in any setting, specific to a clinical specialty, basic or advanced. Competency-based education has been found to be equally effective in both didactic and self-learning approaches presents

hallmarks of competency-based education that make them applicable both in practice and in educational settings. These include competencies based on validation of what performance by competent practitioners actually comprises. In addition, competency assessment is based on criterion-referenced evaluation methods where the learners performance is evaluated against a set of criteria provided to the learner so that both the learner and the assessor are clear on what performance is required. Finally, competency-based education is learner-centered in that

outcomes are specified and describe what the learner must do to demonstrate competency. The experience in converting to a competency-based curriculum has been both successful and challenging. Faculty and student experiences to date have been positive. The redesigned curriculum is viewed as responsive to the competency-oriented environment and employers believe the transition of graduates into practice settings will be more effective, efficient, and successful. This competency-based

approach to education can serve as a model which offers a wide variety of applications to education and service environments.
27

The

researchers

adopted

the

criterion-referenced

evaluation

methods. Competency is evaluated against a set of criteria. In this study, the criteria to be used is the Eleven Core Competency Standards.
Synthesis

CMO No. 14 mandates the implementation of the new nursing curriculum. It contains the standard curriculum and syllabi of the nursing subjects. This memorandum was developed to improve the competency of Filipino nurses and produce higly qualified nurses. From the literatures collected, the researchers are able to extract the information that second year nursing students are expected to be knowledgeable in MCN and be able to develop competencies in the 11 Core Competency areas. With this, the researchers will utilize the Core Competencies to test the students knowledge in MCN as Tamse (2004) implicated that it can also be used as an evaluation tool.

28

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY Research Design

The researchers will use a quantitative, non-experimental research design. Specifically, the design will be a descriptive evaluative survey. Descriptive evaluative surveys are concerned with the

development, testing, and evaluation of methods, procedures, guidelines, and instruments. Afterwhich, an evaluative judgment is done. This research design further aims to test the viability, quality, or effectiveness of a product, program, method or procedure and answer specific questions on these. Since the researchers cannot control and manipulate the

independent variable, a non-experimental design was used. The researchers will also utilize the descriptive evaluative survey to collect intellective data from the subjects and be able to evaluate the their competency level. This design will enable the researchers to test the hypothesis and assess the level of competency of Level II student nurses in Colegio de Dagupan.

29

Sources of Data

The research will be conducted at Colegio de Dagupan, College of Nursing, LCA Building. The researchers selected this area in order to assess the competency of Level II student nurses. Purposive sampling is used in the study. The subjects are selected by setting an inclusion criteria, that is: all level II student nurses enrolled in Summer Class 2010 in Colegio de Dagupan. The students must have taken NCM 101 and 102 prior to the enrolment in summer classes. There are ______ sections and a total of ______ students. Level II student nurses were chosen to be subjects of the study because they are under the new curriculum, and this study aims to test the students competency under the new curriculum.

Instrumentation and Data Collection

The researchers will use a questionnaire. The questionnaire contains the title of the research and a letter asking for the consent of the respondents to take part in the study. The first part of the questionnaire contains the demographic profile of level II student nurses which include their name which is optional, age, and gender. The second part will be composed of 100 questions of multiple choice type that will cover the Eleven Core Competencies and will all be related to the concepts of Maternal and Child Health Nursing. Answer sheets will be
30

provided where respondents will shade their answers. The content of the questionnaire will be checked and validated by five (5) nursing instructors. Data gathering procedure will be done in classrooms. Level II student nurses will be divided by block per room. One proctor will be assigned to each room to administer the test. Students will be given 2 hours to answer the 100 questions. Respondents will be asked to fill in their names, age and gender. They will be instructed to anwer all questions by shading the letter of the best answer on the answer sheet. The floating of questionnaires will be done in April ___, 2010.

Tools for Data Analysis

The first part of the questionnaire contains the demographic profile of the respondents. Frequency count and percentage will be used in the study. Formula 1: Frequency count and percentage f N Where: P = percentage f = frequency N = total number of respondents
31

P =

x 100

A frequency count is the numerical tabulation of the number of times phonemes (letters) and syllable types appear in text material. Percentage is derived by multiplying each of the relative frequency values by 100. Frequency count and percentage will be used to determine the number of respondents who are male, female, age 18 and below, age 19 and above. The second part of the questionnaire contains the 100-item test. Questionnaires will be checked using the answer key sheet. One correct answer corresponds to one point and one wrong answer is also equivalent to one point. The score of each respondent will be recorded. The scores will then be tallied into frequencies under different range of scores, 0, 1-33, 34-66, and 67-100.

Range of Scores 67 100 34 66 0 33

Descriptive Equivalence Competent Advanced beginner Novice

The range of score within 67-100 corresponds to competent performance of level II CdD nursing students. Scores within the range of 34-66 indicates that Level II students are in the advanced beginner level. Scores in the range of 0-33 pertains to the novice level.

32

To test the difference of the competency of Level II students under different variables, T-test will be utilized. The variables are gender (male and female), and age (18 years and below, 19 years and above). T-test is a statistical test used to examine the difference between the means of two group of values.

Formula 3: T-test

T-test =

X1 X2 [X12 (X1)2] + [X22 (X2)2] N1 (N1-1) + (N2-1) N2 N1 + N2 2 2

Where: X1 = mean of group A (18 years and below/Male) X2 = mean of group B (19 years and abovw/Female) (X1)2 = total of all individually squared from condition A (X2)2 = total of all individually squared from condition B N1 = population of group A (18 years and below/Male) N2 = population of group B (19 years and above/ Female)

33

T-test will be utilized by the researchers to determine if there is a significant difference in the level of competency of level II student nurses under the new curriculum. T-test deals with mean scores of two variables. The variables to be tested are age 18 years and below and age 19 and above. Variables for gender, male and female, will also be tested.

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Bibliography 1. Book Cronin, P. & Andersen K. (2004). Knowlegde for contemporary nursing practice. China: Mosby

Department of Human Resources for Health, World Health Organization (2009). Global standards for the initial education of professional nurses and midwives. Switzerland: WHO press. McEwan, M. & Wills, Evelyn (2007). Theoretical Basis for Nursing, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: LWW. Stuart, C. (2003). Assessment, supervision, and support in clinical practice: A guide for Nurses, midwives, and other healthcare professionals. China: Elsevier
2. Journal Article

BON (2009, April 6). CHED Proposed PS for the 4-Year Improved BSN Program. BON newsletter, 4, 2. Correa, H. V. (2003). The Associate in Health Science Education Curriculum: An Evaluation. Philippine Journal of Nursing, 73(2), 23-28. Magtulis, P. (2008, June 10). Despite Cocopea warning Nursing adopts new Ched order. The Varsitarian, 79(12). Tamse, R.V. (2004). Application of Core Competencies in Nursing Practice. . Philippine Journal of Nursing, 74(2), 5-7.

3. Web document CHED making changes to nursing curriculum to address low passing rate (2008, April 30). Retrieved January 8, 2010, from GMA News.TV website, http://www.gmanews.tv/story/92437/CHED-makingchanges-to-nursing-curriculum-to-address-low-passing-rate

CMO No.14, s.2009.(2009) Policies and Standards for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from the CHED website, http://www.ched.gov.ph/whatsnew/OPS/
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