Institutions ready for face-to-face classes in health science courses

The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected the conduct of classes for students who are enrolled in health science courses. Some of these courses require students to undergo face-to-face classes so that they can apply what they have learned.

however, are health sciences schools ready to take on the challenge of faceto-face classes? have they come up with the necessary guidelines and protocols to ensure the safety of students?

Ligtas ba sa UP Manila?

Dr. Carmencita Padilla, Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila, said UP Manila is the health sciences center of the UP system. at UP Manila, she said there are several levels of safety—safety of health workers, patients and the general public, and that of the non-philippine General hospital (PGH) and non-national Institutes of health (NIH) employees, which are the faculty, students and staff. “We are practically in one compound. every time there is something happening in PGH, we must be aware because we may be affected.”

there is also an overall Nurse Coordinator for all Covid concerns, and each college has its own focal persons for Covid concerns. the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor for administration is then immediately informed if there is a positive case.

so far, five colleges in UP Manila— Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Public health, and allied Medical Professions— have been granted accreditation to hold limited face-to-face classes. each of these have been visited by a team from the Commission on higher education (Ched) and from other universities.

there are also general policies and guidelines in place at UP Manila, which Dr. Padilla said are constantly reviewed if they are appropriate to all the colleges. one is vaccination where students of the different colleges are already vaccinated. the physical facilities of the colleges were also redesigned to emphasize safety in the holding of the classes.

Dr. Padilla admitted, however, that there are major challenges in holding face-to-face classes, some of which include safe travel going to the UP Manila campus, the lack of dormitory beds for those staying on campus, and, more importantly, is the management of a faceto-face class when a student is positive. she said that once face-to-face classes is established, there must be a protocol on how to deal with a student who becomes positive.

But what about the other students who were exposed? “We are now finalizing the protocol because we already have a guideline where the whole class is managed, not just the student who turned out positive.”

she added that since “PGH is part of the campus, they came up with a lot of guidelines, which we were able to use in the academic setting. and since everybody is careful, we’re no longer scared that we are in the same space as PGH.”

Our Lady of Fatima University

For Dr. Caroline Marian enriquez, President of our Lady of Fatima University, they implemented what they call a “hands on” concept, which is an acronym for high fidelity simulation, adoptive technology Networks Dedicated to structured learning optimizing Nursing Competencies. It combines blended technology and hands-on patient care that enhances the cognitive, psychomotor and effective domains of a beginning nursing professional.

“always, the objective of the university, and we have done this in about five or six of our campuses, is to make sure that we have face-to-face classes, all our students are safe and that they believe in the system. We also have health and wellness teams who will make sure that our students’ health and their welfare are strictly monitored. the policies and procedures are in place, and we’re hoping that when the situation is safer, our students can safely come back to our campuses,” Dr. enriquez said.

she explained that for face-to-face classes to be conducted safely, all the safety protocols should be followed. “We hope our students in our health programs like Nursing, Medicine, Medical technology, Pharmacy and Dentistry will be able to experience that.”