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

Chua, MichelleBonilla, Jarren NickConsolacion, Gilber

Gutay, Mary AnnOrdoñez, ElmarSalon, Asuncion

Submitted to the Faculty of College of NursingColegio de Dagupan, Dagupan City

In Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementsFor 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.

1

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).

2

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).

3

Using the Core Competency Standards as an evaluation tool, this

study will determine if the new curriculum CMO 14, s.2009 is effective

in 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 Benner’s 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.

Advanced beginners are those who have experienced enough

real situations to be able to recognize aspects of the situation.

4

Prior experience is necessary for aspect recognition, which

encompasses an appreciation of the global characteristics of a

situation.

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.

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

5

nurses focus on the accurate area of the problem without

wasteful consideration of alternative diagnoses and/or solutions.

In Stuart’s (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, Benner’s 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

Benner’s 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

6

The basis of the study is Patricia Benner’s 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 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.

7

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 will also be identified and suggestions will be made to

reinforce education in these Core Competencies.

8

Figure 1Research Paradigm

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:

9

Basis:Patricia Benner's Stages of

Skills Acquisition

Input:1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following:

a. Ageb. 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. Safe and quality nursing care

b. Management of resources and environmentc. Health education

d. Legal responsibilitye. Ethico-moral responsibility

f. Personal and professional developmentg. Quality improvement

h. Researchi. Record management

j. Communicationk. Collaboration and Teamwork

Process:

Quantitative Research using Survey Questionnaire

Output:

Competency of Level II Student Nurses of Colegio

de Dagupan under the New Curriculum

Expected Outcome:

Determination of the students' competency level

and identification of the students' weak points in the Core Competencies

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. 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

3. Is there a difference between the competency level of male

and female level II CdD student nurses?

10

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.

B. Nursing Education

11

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

gathering. The questions will cover concepts in Maternal and Child

12

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).

Curriculum. It is an educational plan that spells out which goals and objectives should be achieved, which topics should be covered

13

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 well-developed 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).

Chapter 2

14

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 decisions in the care of the client. The nurse must

15

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

client’s 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 one’s

decisions and actions.

6. Personal and professional development. The nurse must be

able to assess one’s 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 and recommend solutions to the identified

problems.

8. Research. The nurse must participate in research studies

and utilize the research findings.

16

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, client’s 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-alone subject” rather than just be integrated in nursing

professional subjects. In abroad, nurses are expected to do a thorough

17

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.

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. 

Total General Education Courses is 90 Units

Total Professional Courses is 115 Units

18

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

Guide for RLE are incorporated

The Intraoperative, Intrapartal and Immediate Care of the

Newborn are spelled out as part of the curriculum 

More Specific Admission policies are encouraged 

Guide for Hospital Affiliation are more specific

Proper Implementation of Nursing Education Standards is

encouraged. However, sanctions for schools who are not

performing well are spelled out.

19

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, 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.

20

Specifically, the student shall:

a. describe the health care delivery system and the nurse’s 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.

Statements from several sources, such as CHED, PNA, and BON,

suggest that they support the implementation of the new curriculum.

21

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).

The goal of the global standards is to establish educational

criteria and assure outcomes that:

a. are based on evidence and competency

22

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

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

Provide classroom and clinical learning based on

established competencies

Enable the development of clinical reasoning, problem

solving and critical thinking

23

Conduct regular evaluations of curricula and clinical

learning

Offer opportunities for multidisciplinary content and

learning experiences

2. Core Curriculum

provide core content that will enable their graduates to

meet the established competencies

provide core content in nursing theory

provide core through the primary health-care approach

provide supervised clinical learning experiences

3. Curriculum Partnership

develop partnerships with other healthcare disciplines

use inter-professional teamwork approaches

have access to, and arrangements for, the clinical learning

sites

4. Assessment of Students

assess student learning using reliable evaluation

methodologies

use a variety of methods to assess the subject matter

have student retention systems in place

24

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

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

25

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, 1998-1999.

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

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

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.

26

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 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

27

practitioners actually comprises. In addition, competency assessment

is based on criterion-referenced evaluation methods where the

learner’s 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.

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

28

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.

Chapter 3

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

29

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.

Sources of Data

30

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

31

P =

fN x

100

sheets will be 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

Where:

P = percentage

f = frequency

N = total number of respondents

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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 Descriptive Equivalence67 – 100 Competent34 – 66 Advanced beginner0 – 33 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.

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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] + [∑X2

2 – (∑X2)2] N1 + N2

N1 N2 2 2

(N1-1) + (N2-1)

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)

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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. BookCronin, 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 documentCHED 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-making-changes-to-nursing-curriculum-to-address-low-passing-rate

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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/policies_and_standards_bsn.pdf

PNA. (2008, July 8). Many Filipino Nurses Now Underemployed and Unemployed. PNA Press Release. Retrieved January 8, 2010, from the PNA official website, www.pna-ph.org/press_download.asp?file=20080708.pdf

PRC June 2009 Nursing Licensure (Board) Examination (NLE) Results (2009). Retrieved January 29, 2010, from the Philippine Board Exam Results website http://philippineboardexamresults.blogspot.com/2009/06/prc-june-2009-nursing-licensure-board.html

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