TO SHARPEN Nursing students’ communication skills, the College of Nursing (CN) will experiment with the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method, similar to the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery’s program.
CN Dean Glenda Vargas said most of UST nurses often have problems expressing themselves, and this affects their work. With the program, she hopes to improve the students’ communication skills.
The new system relies mostly on module-based teaching and has four phases. The first phase involves correlation in which the professors conduct lectures. The second is the conceptualization of the study based on scenarios. The third involves research wherein the groups do intensive study on assigned topics. The last is the application of new knowledge in the field.
The College started implementing the PBL on half of the sophomore sections last month.
“Four of the eight (sophomore) sections are in the PBL while the other four are in the traditional (method to allow us to) explore how beneficial this system would be to our College. We are (also) trying to compare what the results would be with the traditional and the PBL,” Vargas said.
She added that if the PBL is found to be successful, the college will start its full implementation soon after.
Meanwhile, the College’s sophomore students are upbeat about the new method.
According to CN sophomore Manuel Gonzalo Casis, the new method forces students to read in advance, which is beneficial to them.
“The PBL offers a lot. Not only are we trained in the field of Nursing, but (we also) develop our communication skills as well,” Jefferson Casucian, another sophomore, added. Jennifer B. Fortuno and Michael Louie C. Celis
