CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the Problem The related learning experience (RLE) is a curricular requirement in a nursing degree.

It is intended to develop competencies and skills of nursing students in utilization of the nursing processes in varying health situation. Nursing students must complete fifty-one (51) hours of RLEs for every one subjects requiring RLE. The Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 9, professionals wish to take up Bachelor of Science in Nursing must complete a total of 37 units of nursing subjects and 1,887 hours of related learning experiences in those nursing subjects/ areas. In the book Experiential Learning, David Kolb describes learning as a fourstep process. He identifies the steps as (1) watching and (2) thinking (mind), (3) feeling (emotion), and (4) doing (muscle). He draws primarily on the works of Dewey (who emphasized the need for learning to be grounded in experience), Lewin (who stressed the importance of a people being active in learning), and Jean Piaget (who described intelligence as the result of the interaction of the person and the environment).Kolb wrote that learners have immediate concrete experiences that allow us to reflect on new experience from different perspectives. From these reflective observations, we engage in abstract conceptualization, creating generalizations or principles that integrate our observations into sound theories. Finally, we use these generalizations or theories as guides to further action. Active experimentation allows us to test what we learn in new and more complex situations. The result is another concrete experience, but this time at a more complex level. Learning requires more than seeing, hearing, moving, or touching to learn. We integrate what we sense and think with what we feel and how we behave. Without that integration, we're just passive participants, and passive learning alone doesn't engage our higher brain functions or stimulate our senses to the point where we integrate our lessons into our existing schemes. We must do something with our knowledge. Understanding how people learn is something that has both propelled and detained education scholarship at the same time. For decades, educational psychologists have studied the learning process. They concluded that learning is equated to a change in behaviour. Bouds (1989) work [cited in Weil & McGill] places the learning process into a broader perspective. His views may represent a fresh starting point for re-casting or re-framing how educators, especially technology educators, think about learning. Although experiential or experience-based learning can be regarded as the earliest approach to learning for the human race, the significance and potential of it has not been fully recognized until relatively recently. In the formal education system it has tended to be developed and regarded as somehow fundamentally inferior to those organized forms of knowledge which have been constructed as

subjects or disciplines. The practical and the applied do not tend to have the same status in educational institutions as the academic and the abstract. (p. xi) Related learning experience is essential to becoming a competent professional nurse. Although a theoretical and research-based education is essential for nursing, on its own, is not enough. Learning in the clinical setting provides the real world context where nursing students develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of a registered nurse. Students have experiences on RLE that cannot be realistically provided in a classroom or laboratory setting. They communicate with patients and their families, interact with and learn from the health-care team, practice skills under supervision and learn to deal with the complexity of competing priorities. When students are on clinical placements they receive feedback on their real world performance and are guided to reflect on their lived experiences as individuals and nurses (Clare et al. 2003; Madjar et al. 1997). Given the importance of clinical placements it is imperative that universities find ways to work within the constraints imposed by contemporary practice to maximize the benefits of clinical experiences in terms of student learning. The researchers are the 4th year students of University of Makati College of Nursing (UMAK-CON). The researchers have experienced not fully understanding some of the nursing theories taught. The researchers aim to know if the nursing theories learned at the formal lecture are applied or are truly comprehend during related learning experience duties in hospitals. What is the role of RLE in enhancing learning? What are the benefits to students? What are the implications of this way of learning for the secondary school system and the curriculum as we know it? Statement of the problem The study is about the RLE program in the University Of Makati College Of Nursing and its effect in strengthening the impact of learning Theories of Nursing. This study aims to answer the following: 1. What is the profile variable of the respondents in terms of: 1.1. Age; 1.2. Year level; 1.3. Gender; 1.4. Socio-economic Status; 1.5. Scholastic Status; and 1.6. Preference of the Course. 2. Is there a significant relationship between the profiled variable of respondents in the application of nursing theories in their duties? 3. Is there a significant relationship between the profiled variables of respondents in culminating their skills and attitudes in their duties?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the application of nursing theories and the effectiveness of the respondents in their duties? Hypothesis: At 0.05 level of significance, this hypothesis will be tested: H1 There is a significant relationship between the integration of nursing theories and the effectiveness of the respondents in their duties in strengthening the impact of learning these theories. Significance of the Study The result of this study may contribute useful information to the following: Nursing Students. Preparedness for the exposure at different hospitals and to mold UMAK-CON students into globally competitive future nurses by shaping their performance suited for the demands of local and foreign institutions. Nursing Education. From the result of this study, the faculty and students may identify various methodologies and improve teaching-learning strategies to facilitate the enhancement of skills, knowledge, and attitude. Nursing Clinical Instructors. Strengthen their teaching strategies to meet the academic needs of students. College of Nursing. This study can be used as a basis for improvement of the curriculum of the College that can enhance nursing in its various aspects. Future Researchers. The research may be used as reference of future researcher/s with the same line of topic or ideas. Scope and Limitation This study shall determine the importance of the Related Learning Experience (RLE) program of the University of Makati College of Nursing as a tool in strengthening the impact of learning nursing theories. The researchers identified five nursing theories that shall be the focus of the study. The researchers shall try to identify the relevance of the five selected theories in nursing which are the following: Nightingales environmental theory, Peplau's Interpersonal theory, Hendersons Humane Holistic Care for Patients, Abdellahs Twenty-one nursing problems and Watsons integration within nursing practice; and their application in the health care settings of various areas of nursing. The study is limited to the RLE Program of the College of Nursing and the fourth and third year BSN students with RLE exposure in various settings. This study shall be conducted in the month of September of the first semester academic year 2009 - 2010. Definition of Terms

UMAK-CON. University of Makati College of Nursing. The University of Makati (UMAK) is situated in J. P. Rizal Extension, West Rembo, Makati City. The University of Makati is an LGU-fully funded public university originally established in 1972 as the Makati Polytechnic Community College. On August 27, 2002, City Ordinance 2002-111 has been approved revising the Pamantasan ng Makati Charter so as to change the offcial name of Pamantasan ng Makati to University of Makati subject to all laws and existing legal regulations. The College of Nursing (CON) is one of the Eight Colleges and Centers of the University of Makati. The CON officially launched its program for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) for regular BSN and Regis Program on 2003. Respondents. The respondents of this research are the third year and fourth year students of UMAK-CON with RLE duties in various clinical settings. Researcher. The researchers are fourth year students taking the subject Nursing Research under Mrs. Agabao as a partial fulfillment of the requirements needed to pass the four years program of Bachelor of Science in Nursing of the University of Makati College of Nursing. RLE. The Related Learning Experience is a mandatory program given by CHED as a supplement in the culmination of Skills and knowledge of nursing students as part of their curriculum for BS Nursing. Nursing Theories. Nursing theory is the term given to the body of knowledge that is used to support nursing practice. The theories used for this study are: Nightingales environmental theory, Peplau's Interpersonal theory, Hendersons Humane Holistic Care for Patients, Abdellahs Twenty-one nursing problems and Watsons integration within nursing practice. CHED. The Commission on Higher Education. The CHED is attached to the Office of the President for administrative purposes. It covers both public and private higher education institutions as well as degree-granting programs in all postsecondary educational institutions in the country.