Leyte’s first MS Nursing program now in the pipeline
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Published: 16 April 2021
After consistently obtaining a 100% passing percentage for four years in a row, the College of Nursing (CoN) of the Visayas State University is now ready to take on another bold step in developing the nursing profession in the region.
CoN is now preparing all the paperwork for the offering of the first Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program in the province of Leyte.
Currently, there are only four institutions in Eastern Visayas offering a master’s degree program in nursing while there are eight universities and colleges in the region that offer a bachelor’s degree in the same field.
CoN Dean Joel Rey Acob said that it was only apt for them to propose a master’s degree program in nursing to fill in the growing needs of the region for highly skilled nurses who have advanced knowledge in terms of clinical practice and execution of nonclinical roles.
“It’s high time that we offer an MS in nursing because the quality of our instruction has already been well established. We have sufficient professors who have advanced degrees and we also have the needed laboratory and equipment to complement our faculty strength,” Dean Acob said.
Following the policies of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), CoN will qualify to open a master’s degree once the BS in Nursing gets certified as a Level 3 program by the Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (AACCUP).
CoN is confident to accomplish this goal by October 2022.
In the meantime, the college is handling other paperwork, preparations, and requirements needed for the proposal of the master’s program. They are also conducting an online feasibility study to assess whether there is an available target clientele for this future undertaking.
VSU first offered the BS Nursing degree in 2007 as a brainchild of current VSU President Edgardo E. Tulin. The goal then was to develop a strong nursing school in Western Leyte that will contribute to the ever-growing demand for nursing professionals around the world.