ATENEO de Cagayan and St Mary’s College in Japan aim to foster a stronger partnership in nursing education through exchange programs and curriculum adoption.
The two institutions agreed to focus on three areas of engagement, namely: (1) Exchange of faculty and staff through sabbaticals, visiting professorships, and faculty development leaves; (2) Programs relating to research, teaching, and outreach; and (3) Exchange of students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The agreement, signed in January 2018, will remain in force for a period of three years.
Xavier Ateneo’s College of Nursing is also studying how to foster the Roy Adaptation Nursing Model in its present curriculum, specifically in the professional course on Care of the Older Person. It is a theory developed from the clinical experience of Sister Callista Roy with "caring" as a basic concept. The model is now being used by XU College of Nursing as a theoretical framework for both undergraduate and graduate researches. It is one of the theories taken up in the nursing course, Theoretical Foundations in Nursing (N100) in the BSN Program.
St Mary’s College’s Roy Academia Nursology Research Center aims to explore "Mercy, Care, and Love" through the avenues of practice and education, which are executed across three departments: educational program development, postgraduate education, and continuing education.
Their continuing education department is responsible for developing the curriculum for use in the wards of their St Mary’s Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan, and for reforming the clinical ladder education program to include elements for which nurses can continue earning education credits.
St Mary’s College offers a four-year nursing program that also includes qualifications for public health nursing, with one-year optional post-graduate midwife program. It also offers an MS Nursing program, including a Certified Nursing Specialist (CNS) course.
At present, Xavier Ateneo's College of Nursing offers BS Nursing while the Graduate School offers related courses such as MA in Nursing, MA in Health Professions Education, and MS in Health and Hospital Management.
Upon the invitation of the president of St Mary’s College, Dr Saburo Ide, XU president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ visited the Japanese college from 26th to 28th August 2018. Accompanying Yap were College of Nursing dean Dr Ramona Heidi C Palad and Office of International Cooperation and Networking (OICN) director Elisabeth B Enerio.
Among the host party were St Mary’s College president and chief executive officer Dr Saburo Ide, chancellor Dr Nobu Ide, dean Prof Michiyo Ando, Prof Tsuyako Hidaka, associate professors Eric Fortin and Tamaki Hatano, and lecturer Yuichiro Ide. St Louis College (Bangkok) president Dr Chitr Sitthi-amom also joined the said visit.
During the discussions, Xavier Ateneo’s College of Nursing also shared their best practices as one of the top nursing schools in the Philippines. For eight consecutive Philippine Nurse Licensure Exams (PNLEs), the college has maintained its streak of garnering a 100% passing rate.
Dean Palad also shared how they send their students to communities for outreach and how they hold their curricular duties at the Maria Reyna - Xavier University Hospital.
Both XU and St Mary’s College are Catholic educational institutions whose BS Nursing courses feature a Service Learning Program. (PR)