In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, the University of Santo Tomas embraced digitised education driven by the current public health situation and government restrictions to face-to-face learning. The College of Nursing has shown flexibility and innovation through collaboration with international HEIs, service industry partners, and stakeholders to enriched virtual mode of instruction that will contribute to Thomasian graduate attributes of being effective communicators and collaborators. The unified efforts of the administration, coordinators, faculty, and the active participation of students transformed remote online teaching as a vibrant hub for sharing knowledge, integrating best practices from international partners, promoting intercultural competence, and sustaining connections with its alumni all over the globe.
Since the start of academic year 2020, the UST College of Nursing organized a series of webinars for the Thomasian Nursing community. Foreign experts, nurse practitioners, and alumni from international partner HEIs and other healthcare organizations delivered lectures on a variety of health topics relevant to the current nursing courses. The webinars were offered to the Thomasian Nursing community at no cost and lasted for one to two hours.
“I’m happy to have the opportunity to attend this webinar with nurse leaders from all over the globe. They are truly inspirational and really have helped me in my motivation to be a nurse leader,” a third-year nursing student said after attending the webinar last September.
Among the webinars conducted were:
- August 1, 2020: Betwixt, Between, and Becoming: Transitioning from Physical to Virtual in the New Normal by Prof. Kim Baily, PhD, MSN, RN of the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning
- August 28, 2020: The Role of Public Health Nurses in Achieving Health for All by Alegria B. Torres, RN (Public Health Nurse in Municipality of Apalit, Pampanga)
- September 11, 2020: The Role of Nurses in the Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic by William E. Rosa, PhD, MBE, NB-BC, FCCM, FANNP, FAAN (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA); Asst. Prof. Gian Carlo Torres, PhD, RN (President of the Philippine Nursing Association – Zone 1); Mary Rose Uy, RN (President of the Philippine Nursing Association – Doha, Qatar); Prof. Msc. Mariana Vastag (Universidade do Oeste Paulista, Brazil); and Ms. Loren Lacasandile (UST BSN senior)
- October 9, 2020: Updates on the Management, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control of COVID-19 by Asst. Prof. Harold Sarmiento, NP, AGPCNP-BC, AAHIVS, HIV PCP, CCRN-CMC, CMSRN (University of California School of Nursing USA); Mr. Billixter Bonifacio, MHA, MAN, CIC, IFBA, PC (International Federation of Biosafety Association); and Nicolo Anonuevo Andrei A. Anonuevo, PhD, RN (Asian Hospital and Medical Center)
- November 11, 2020: Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy: PIH by Asst. Prof. Jacquelyn McMillian-Bohler, PhD, CNM, CNE of Duke University, USA
- December 1, 2020: Nursing Management of the Stem Cell Transplant Patient by Ms. Mylene Macabeo, RN, HP (UST BSN 1993) of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, USA
- December 1, 2020: Implementation of Universal Healthcare in Thailand and the Philippines by Assoc. Prof. Suwanee Laoopugsin, PhD, RN (St. Louis College, Thailand) and Mr. Kenneth Joseph Jim Jimeno, MHSS, RN (UST BSN 2011) (Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines)
- December 2, 2020: Thriving in Trying Times: Moving Nurses during the Pandemic and Beyond by Dr. Rodolfo Borromeo, EdD, FPCHA,
- FANSAP, MMHoA, MAN, RN (Director of
- Nursing Service-Manila Doctors); Dr. Raymond John Naguit, RN, MD
(Founder/National Chairperson of The Youth
for Mental Health Coalition, Inc.); Ms. Mheliza Prieto-Ignacio, RN (Head
Nurse of East Avenue Medical Center); and Ms. Aileen Ongleo, RN, MAN, CNE, CSSYB (Senior Oversight Manager of Highly Specialized Clinical Educators of St. Luke’s Medical Center, QC) - December 4, 2020: Life under Lockdown: Building Multisystem Resilience and Maintaining Positivity among Children and Youth amid the COVID-19 Pandemic by Mr. Hilarious de Jesus, UKRN (UST BSN 2007) (University of East London, United Kingdom)
- December 12, 2020: Current Trends in Geriatric Nursing by Katharina Villanueva, CCRN-K, CNRN, SCRN, CDP, DN (UST BSN 1998) (Nest and Care, Maryland, USA)
Aside from monthly webinars, five (5) junior nursing students participated in the short-term Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program on Community Health Nursing. Students from different institutions worked over a one-month period to develop competencies in assessing, diagnosing, and planning community health programs that address local and global health issues. “It was new experience for me because I get to meet and work together with another student from another country despite of the pandemic” A participant said. These international webinars and COIL were organized in response to the UST College of Nursing commitment to form competent, compassionate Thomasian nurses committed to the service of the church, the nation, and the global community.
The partner institutions for the month-long COIL are St. Louis College, Bangkok, Thailand (November 13); Institute of Technology and Health, Bali, Indonesia (November 20), and Widya Mandala Catholic University, Surabaya, Indonesia (December 4). The University of Santo Tomas hosted the third session of the COIL (November 27).
