Masters of Arts in Nursing Major in Nursing Management

My first day of school with my classmates for the MAN NM program of the University of the Visayas. To tell you the truth, I was never this stressful since the NCLEX board examinations last 2008 when the professor mentioned about the different requirements to complete for the MAN title especially the Comprehensive Examination and the Thesis Writing and Defense. I thought of quitting (even when you ask my colleagues) hahaha on the first day of meeting. Sigh, even it was just a two hour session but then it was gruelsome hearing those requirements to finish. And that's not just about it, he explained about the expected expenses until graduation. We ask, could we even be able afford the total amount of expenses until graduation with just a mere monthly salary, hahahaha.

But anyways so much for that, I know this is just part of the challenges ahead. We will reroute our story to the course itself. I am currently enrolled for the program Master of Arts in Nursing Major in Nursing Management at the University of Visayas. This is an off campus program that is held in different cities like Zamboanga. According to our professor, this university has a Level 4 accreditation for Commission of Higher Education which means it has the capacity to conduct off campus classes and that we will spend less compared to students enrolled in other universities with no or lesser accreditation when the Thesis defense comes. What do I mean by this? It means that the university will not anymore invite personnels from CHED to check, monitor and evaluate during our oral defense meaning lesser honorarium fees. 

The MAN NM program of this university is a 36 unit course. It is a 1 year course program and we are expected to be fully loaded every semester for us to finish this course in a year. It is a modular approach program so definitely we are expected to read more and more and more since we only have a few classroom lectures. According to our professor, we are the pioneer batch to attend the said program in Zamboanga City and we are 48 students in the city all in all from the academe and nursing service.

To tell you the truth, I was really hesitant to enroll in this program for several reasons. Number one that comes to my mind is (1) maybe this is a scam but having said that the coordinator of this program in this city is a credible professor and most students enrolled are all well known. (2) could I afford their fees but having said that it is less compared to other universities in the city and nearby provinces (except WMSU of course) and I wanted to finish my graduate studies from a certain university that is outside the Zamboanga Peninsula.  To add that, I have a 30% discount for having a managerial nurse position in my work. (3) can I serve two masters (work and school) at the same time but having said that we meet 3-4 times a semester every Sundays and it is a modular approach.

And so, to date, I am now officially enrolled in this program. I am now a University of the Visayas Master of Arts in Nursing Student. Hope I can make it. Wish me luck.