Davao Doctors College, Inc.

Gen. Malvar St., Davao City

College of Allied Health Sciences | Nursing Program

Guidelines on the Gradual Reopening of Campuses of Higher Education Institutions

for Limited Face-To-Face Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

I. Rationale
The curriculum implementation of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) education in Davao Doctors
College, Inc., owing to its emphasis of gearing student nurses to become dedicated, driven, and competent
in performing health promotive, disease preventive, risk reductive, and health restorative activities in order
to provide holistic care to individuals of different ages, gender, and health statuses, has been greatly
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, owing mainly to the restriction of face-to face learning. As a result,
in-person skills development sessions and hospital or clinical duties were suspended. Although the CHED
COVID-19 advisories encouraged flexibility for HEIs to adjust, modify and reduce requirements while
exercising maximum consideration and leniency to the students, not all nursing skills can be achieved
through flexible learning. Such competencies are critical in the provision of safe and quality nursing care to
clients across the lifespan. Considering that the BSN program requires skills development in the nursing
laboratories, hospitals, health care facilities and communities, these guidelines on the conduct of RLE are
hereby presented.

II. Definition of Terms

The following terms were defined to help readers better understand the plan presented in this paper:
• Related Learning Experience - Skills development laboratory and clinical experience component
of the BSN curriculum to develop and reinforce the attainment of nursing skills under the direct
supervision of a qualified clinical instructor.
• Skills Development Laboratory - Component of the RLE for the initial performance and
reinforcement of nursing skills at the HEIS nursing skills laboratory rooms for NRG105, NRG106,
NRG203, NRG204, NRG205, NRG301, NRG302, NRG303, NRG304, NRG305, NRG401, NRG402,
NRG404, and NRG405.
• Clinical Experience - Component of the RLE for the clinical exposure of BSN students for NRG105,
NRG106, NRG203, NRG204, NRG205, NRG301, NRG302, NRG303, NRG304, NRG305, NRG401,
NRG402, NRG404, and NRG405 in the existing base and affiliating hospitals recognized by the
Department of Health, as well as, in the different health-related agencies and communities.
• COVID-19 - Refers to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 which is caused by the virus known as the
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
• Non-COVID Areas - Refers to the area/ward/building in the hospital, health care facility or clinic
setting designated to non-COVID patients.
• Community Quarantine - Refers to the restriction of movement within, into, or out of the area
of quarantine of individuals, large groups of people, or communities, designed to reduce the
likelihood of transmission of an infectious disease among persons in and to persons outside the
affected area.
• Case clustering – An unusual aggregation, real or perceived, of health events that are grouped
together as to time and space and that is reported to a public health department; further defined
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 as two or more confirmed cases from the same area, regardless of same or different classrooms
or office space, over a period of fourteen (14) days.

III. General Guidelines: DDC Nursing Program Related Learning Experiences (RLE)
Implementation
The following are the general guidelines recommended in the conduct of the Nursing Related Learning
Experience (RLE) during the period of Coronavirus pandemic:

I. Davao Doctors College, Inc. Nursing Program shall continue to implement flexibility to
introduce curricular modifications in planning, implementing, and evaluating all professional
courses to meet the learning outcomes specified in CMO 15, s. 2017. The College shall be
guided by the principles of maximum flexibility and leniency in planning for these
modifications. Self-directed learning as provided for by the CHED COVID-19 Advisory No. 6, s.
2020 shall also be promoted.

II. For the School Year 2021-2022, the nursing students at Davao Doctors College, Inc. shall be
given two modalities to choose from in terms of how they intend to take their professional
classes for the said school year. The learning continuity plans are in the succeeding section
of this paper.

III. The offering of face-to-face classes will depend on the community quarantine status of
Davao City. When the City Government of Davao gets reclassified from MGCQ/GCQ to
Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ)/Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ),
Davao Doctors College, Inc. shall automatically suspend face-to-face classes, including clinical
clerkship/internship/practicum/rotation. The College shall revert back to implementing flexible
learning. The College can resume its limited face-to-face classes only when Davao City is
reclassified back to their original community quarantine status, i.e., MGCQ to MECQ/ECQ to
MGCQ or GCQ to MECQ/ECQ to GCQ. The same will be done when Davao City gets reclassified
from MGCQ to GCQ.

IV. All students enrolled in professional nursing courses with a corresponding skills laboratory
and/or clinical experience component are required to engage in limited face-to-face
learning activities as planned by the Nursing Program. However, the Nursing Program shall
respect the decision of families not to send their children to school due to concerns about their
safety. The nursing student may file an official leave of absence (LOA).

V. The College shall develop and strictly implement institutional policies and actions that revolve
around and conform to the following minimum public health standards of the DOH, as provided
in detail in DOH Administrative Order No. 2020-0015. This includes instituting measures that
increase the physical and mental resilience of the faculty and the students, reduce the
transmission of COVID-19 inside the campus and the affiliation agencies, reduce contact
with other persons through physical distancing of at least 1.5 meters, and reduce the
duration of infection through the implementation appropriate case detection, contact
tracing, quarantine, and isolation measures (if deemed necessary), to name a few.
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VI. The health facility, DDC, and the nursing student shall sign a Deed of Undertaking/
Informed Consent prior to the F2F encounters.

VII. The students who are enrolled under the Nursing Program of the College and are aged
twenty (20) years old and above, and/or as determined by CHED/IATF subject to the
approval of the President, shall only be the ones who will be allowed to participate in face-to-
face classes.

VIII. Students who prefer and are allowed to attend limited face-to-face classes per CHED-DOH
JMC No. 2021-001 and subsequent guidelines to be issued by CHED shall be required to
register in PhilHealth or equivalent medical insurance that will cover the medical
expenses related to COVID-19, if warranted.

IX. Per the coordination meeting done by the DDC Nursing Program with its affiliating agencies,
the students will be required to undergo the necessary tests needed prior to their clinical
placement. These tests include chest X-ray and RT-PCR tests. All interns will undergo an RT
PCR test for COVID-19 two-three (2-3) days before the start of the F2F encounters. A 14-day
quarantine will be strongly advised prior to the swab testing. However, all interns will only be
required to report the RT PCR test results prior to starting F2F encounters. The students will
also be informed that the tests should only be taken in the accredited test centers of the
affiliating agencies.

X. On top of the necessary tests for COVID-19 detection, the students shall also be required to
complete the needed annual physical check-up and the laboratory and diagnostic
tests entailed with it to ensure that they are relatively healthy for the F2F classes.

XI. The students will also be required to procure the needed personal protective equipment
(PPE) for their duties. To this, at the start of the F2F encounters, a PPE kit should be prepared
by the students. A month’s worth of PPE kit should contain the following: 1 box (50 pieces) of
surgical masks, 4 pieces of face shields (1 pc/week), 2 pieces of disposable gowns or coveralls,
5 pieces of KN95 masks. PPE should be worn at all times if necessitated.

XII. In addition, the students and the accompanying instructors will also be required to undergo
the necessitated internship orientation to be conducted by the affiliating agencies of the
Nursing Program. This is to make sure that the instructors and the students know the updates
on guidelines on internship set by the affiliating agencies because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This orientation should include a basic training on biohazard, risk and safety, including
donning and doffing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for both the students, clinical
instructors and hospital staff. Certificates of Completion to nursing students and clinical
instructors for the orientation or basic training on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
should be provided thereafter.

XIII. On a daily basis, the students and their accompanying instructors will also be required to fill
out the health declaration form as part of the monitoring done by the Nursing Program.
The signs and symptoms of the students that may suggest a COVID-19 infection will be
monitored closely by the accompanying instructors.
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 XIV. It will be made sure that, while the students are inside the campuses for their skills
development classes, the students shall only be inside the campus during their designated
schedules. The same will be applied in the hospital duties of the students, wherein they will
be required to be inside their locale of duty throughout the span of their duty hours. In
coordination with the affiliating agencies of the College, the students will only be allowed to
leave the hospital premises after their duties. Meal or snack breaks will be taken inside the
hospital premises.

XV. Closures of physical classes will be implemented if there will be clustering of suspected cases
in the classrooms, laboratories, libraries, cafeterias, dormitories, or other communal areas.
Case clustering refers to the unusual aggregation, real or perceived, of health events that
are grouped together as to time and space and that is reported to a public health department.

XVI. True to its commitment of promoting healthy communities, the Nursing Program shall also
encourage all of its eligible stakeholders to be vaccinated once the COVID-19 vaccines will
become readily available to the public.

Management and Oversight: Institutional Level

The Davao Doctors College, Inc. will establish a Crisis Management Committee (CMC) which will oversee
the implementation of and monitoring and evaluation of compliance with the CHED-DOH Joint
Memorandum Circular on the conduct of limited face-to-face classes and the Crisis Management Committee
favorably recommended the conduct of limited face-to-face classes.

The major functions are to:

a. Assess the readiness of HEI to reopen for limited face-to-face classes;
b. Take charge of the application to reopen;
c. Disseminate appropriate and relevant information to stakeholders;
d. Oversee the implementation of health and safety protocols;
e. Monitor and evaluate the compliance of HEI with this JMC; and
f. Take the appropriate measures when risks and impacts of COVID-19 may exist in the campus or
surrounding communities, e.g., presence of suspected and confirmed cases have been reported.

The composition of the CMC of Davao Doctors College, Inc. is presented below:

Davao Doctors College, Inc. Crisis Management Committee: Higher Ed

Position Point Person Tasks
Chair Miguel D. Soledad President and CEO of the College;
President and CEO Spearheads the Crisis Management
Committee of Davao Doctors College, Inc.

Institutional Health Dr. Jonathan Valdopiera In-charge of the implementation of health

Officer School Physician protocols. Monitors the health status of the
personnel and the students.
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Institutional Safety Salvi Nishimura Monitors regularly the implementation of
Officer School Nurse safety protocols such as physical
distancing, putting up safety barriers,
posting signages, rearranging
rooms/communal areas, etc.; Shall also
determine areas where people congregate
or congest, and recommend measures
such as crowd control, putting up
protective barriers, etc. to be undertaken
by the HEI to avoid or minimize such
congregation or congestion

Institutional Planning Angelica L. Torres Plans and takes care of the engineering
Officer VP-BEEA controls to be installed in the campus.
These include the needed retrofitting for
the College, which pertains to making
changes to the facilities of the College to
ensure the health and safety of students,
faculty, and staff while inside the
campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic
(e.g., putting up safety barriers, posting
signages, rearranging rooms/communal
areas, etc.).

Institutional Dr. Estela R. Dequito Handles the communication plan; In-

Information Officer Group Head, Academic Support charge of coordinating crisis management
Services committee plans to LGU, CHED, DOH, and
other agencies
Health and Safety Blaise B. Nieve Responsible for ensuring adherence to
Officer: Nursing Program Chair - Nursing safety regulations, rules and policies; and
for assessing unsafe act and environment,
and hazardous situations/circumstances in
the campus per CSC-DOH-DOLE No. 1, s.
2020; focused on the F2F classes of the
Nursing Program

Health and Safety Larra Bet G. Rosete Responsible for ensuring adherence to
Officer: Medical Program Chair – Medical safety regulations, rules and policies; and
Laboratory Sciences Laboratory Sciences for assessing unsafe act and environment,
and hazardous situations/circumstances in
the campus per CSC-DOH-DOLE No. 1, s.
2020; focused on the F2F classes of the
Medical Laboratory Sciences
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 Health and Safety Oliver M. Lim Responsible for ensuring adherence to
Officer: Physical Program Chair – Physical Therapy safety regulations, rules and policies; and
Therapy for assessing unsafe act and environment,
and hazardous situations/circumstances in
the campus per CSC-DOH-DOLE No. 1, s.
2020; focused on the F2F classes of the
Physical Therapy

Crisis Management Rizalyn Delos Santos Contributes to the planning of the crisis
Committee Member – Union President management protocols of the College for
Faculty Representative COVID-19, representing the faculty
members of the College

Crisis Management Jeaneva Amper Contributes to the planning of the crisis

Committee Member – SSC President management protocols of the College for
Student Association COVID-19, representing the students of
Representative the College

The CMC will set a regular forum/meeting to discuss ongoing gaps, issues, and concerns and provide
appropriate solutions thereof. The committee will meet at least once a week to discuss identified gaps,
issues, and concerns. The Committee will monitor and analyze data and information in HEI to determine
patterns or trends of COVID-19 infection as the basis for implementation of appropriate interventions.

Management and Oversight: Nursing Program Level

At the Nursing Program Level, the Program Chair – Nursing will serve as the Health and Safety
Officer. He/she will be assisted by the RLE Supervisors and the Clinical Instructors. The RLE
Supervisors shall serve as Nursing Program Safety Officers. There will be one RLE supervisor per year
level. These supervisors will be monitoring closely the adherence to the policies and protocols of the clinical
instructors and the students under their supervision. The clinical instructors, by extension, will monitor the
compliance of the students to the policies and protocols set by the College and the Nursing Program
regarding the COVID-19 infection prevention and control. The organizational structure of the Nursing
Program is presented below:
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 Dean, College of Allied Miguel D.
Health Sciences Soledad

Program Chair - Blaise B.

Nursing Nieve

Domingo T. Leonardo C. Kenneth M. Level IV RLE

RLE Supervisors So, Jr. Matunding Sabido Supervisor

Nursing Clinical Level I CIs Level II CIs Level III CIs Level IV CIs
Instructors

Institutional Policies and Protocols

To ensure a safe conduct of limited face-to-face classes and the observance of the health and safety
protocols, the College and the Nursing Program will be implementing the following policies and protocols
to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 inside the campus. The LGU, faculty, students, and other
relevant stakeholders will be consulted on how to safely reopen the campus for limited face-to-face classes.
Stakeholders will also be oriented and given Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials
detailing institutional policies, guidelines, and procedures on the safe conduct of limited face-to-face classes
and the observance of the health and safety protocols.

Presented below are the policies that the College and the Nursing Program will be implementing for this
purpose:

Requirements for Students for Face-to-Face Classes

All students who will consent on taking their classes through a blended learning approach (a combination
of distance and face-to-face learning activities) will be required to comply with the following:
i. Participate in the town hall orientation on Guidelines on the Gradual Reopening of Campuses
of Higher Education Institutions for Limited Face-To-Face Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
to be conducted by the DDC Nursing Program for its stakeholders (e.g., students, parents,
guardians, etc.);
ii. Complete a Deed of Undertaking/Informed Consent prior to the face-to-face classes;
iii. Register in PhilHealth or equivalent medical insurance that will cover the medical expenses
related to COVID-19, if warranted.
iv. Undergo the necessary tests needed prior to their clinical placement, which may include chest
X-ray and RT-PCR tests.
v. Procure the needed personal protective equipment (PPE) kit for their duties. A month’s worth
of PPE kit should contain the following: 1 box (50 pieces) of surgical masks, 4 pieces of face shields
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 (1 pc/week), 2 pieces of disposable gowns or coveralls, 5 pieces of KN95 masks. PPE should be
worn at all times if necessitated.
vi. Undergo the necessitated internship orientation to be conducted by the affiliating agencies of
the Nursing Program to be updated about on guidelines on internship set by the affiliating agencies
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
vii. Fill out the health declaration form as part of the monitoring done by the Nursing Program on
a daily basis.
viii. Report to the clinical instructors and RLE supervisors URGENTLY if a student shows signs of COVID-
19 or has tested positive for the said illness.
ix. Follow the guidelines and protocols set by the institution in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-
19 in the campus.

Screening at the Entry Point

All students, faculty, staff, and other employees shall:
i. Wear face masks and face shields at all times, and other personal protective equipment
(PPE) as may be required by the IATF.
ii. Accomplish a health declaration form, adapted from the health declaration form developed
by the DTI and DOLE per their JMC No. 20-04-A, Series of 2020 titled DTI and DOLE
Supplemental Guidelines on Workplace Prevention and Control of COVID-19.
iii. Have their temperatures checked and recorded in the health declaration form.
iv. Not be allowed to enter the premises if they have a temperature of 37.5 degrees and/or
above, even after a five-minute rest. This individual may temporarily be placed in the
isolation room until he/she is transported to his/her home or health facility. The student,
faculty, and staff shall be attended to as provided under DOH guidelines on persons
manifesting COVID-19 symptoms.

Source: Joint Memorandum Circular No. 20-04-A: DTI and DOLE Supplemental Guidelines on Workplace Prevention and Control of
COVID-19

Once inside the school premises, the students, faculty, and other staff will be informed about the
engineering measures set up by the College to deter the spread of COVID-19 infection in the campus. To
this end, the College shall provide an adequate number of handwashing or hand sanitizing stations by the
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entrance gates and other strategic areas of the campus. Students, faculty, and staff shall be required to
wash or sanitize their hands before or immediately after entry.

In the event that a person will be screened as a suspected or probable COVID-19 case, that person will be
transferred to the school-based isolation room. This room shall be used to temporarily hold an individual
who will develop COVID-19 symptoms while inside the school premises.

Other engineering controls will also be put up to ensure physical distancing, adequate ventilation, physical
hygiene, and environmental hygiene are observed. Visible, readable, and adequate number of signages,
signals, etc. will also be placed or posted in strategic and conspicuous places inside the campus. The same
will be done in the classrooms and Funda Labs of the Nursing Program.

Occupancy Capacity
The Nursing Program shall determine the maximum number of students present inside the campus at any
given day or time in coordination with the LGU. In doing so, it will be made ensure that the daily number
of physically present students is manageable inside, within, and outside the school premises.

Redesigning or re-arrangement of the layouts of the classrooms, laboratories, and communal areas
(cafeteria, library, classrooms, laboratories, etc.) will be done to ensure physical distancing of at least 1.5m
is strictly observed. At a given time, it will be ensured that only 40-50% of the total capacity of the selected
classrooms will be occupied at one time. The proposed learning environment floor plan presented below
will be used for adaptation for the selected classrooms of the Nursing Program:

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 Figure 1. Proposed Learning Environment Floor Plan for Classrooms
The Funda Labs of the Nursing Program will also be restructured in such a way that there will be one
ingress and egress points in the said laboratories. Hospital beds will also be re-arranged in such a way that
physical distancing (at least 1.5m) from one bed to another will be observed or proper barrier equipment
will be put in place. As presented in the figures below, the hospital beds will be separated from one another
through the use of a barrier (e.g., curtains, etc.). Only 1 student and 1 clinical instructor can use a hospital
bed at a given time. There shall also be a transparent/clear partition between the faculty and the students.
See the figures below for reference: 10
 Figure 2. Proposed Learning Environment Floor Plans for the Second and Third Floors of the DDC Nursing
Fundamental Skills Laboratory (Funda Lab)

Guidelines on the Use of Classrooms/Laboratories

a. The College and the Nursing Program shall identify the classrooms/laboratories to be occupied with
due consideration of foot traffic and adequate ventilation (i.e., "proper ventilation with outside air
can help reduce the concentration of airborne contaminants, including viruses, indoors").
Occupancy capacity will be consulted with the school engineer and/or the LGU.
b. The College and the Nursing Program shall assess classroom/laboratory ingress and egress with
physical distancing to determine impact on the time needed for student movement between
classrooms and buildings.
c. The College and the Nursing Program shall require students to go straight to their assigned rooms
upon entering the campus. If students arrive early and their rooms are not yet available, they shall
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be directed to go to the study hall/communal areas where physical distancing shall still be strictly
observed. They shall not be allowed to loiter.
 d. The College and the Nursing Program shall require faculty and instructors to have seating plans
indicating the assigned seats of students. Students shall not be allowed to sit anywhere and shall
stay in the assigned seat throughout the semester.
e. There shall be a transparent/clear partition between the faculty and the students.
f. Students shall always wear their face mask and face shield inside the classrooms/laboratories,
unless the government, through the IATF or LGU concerned relaxes this requirement.
g. The College and the Nursing Program shall implement a one-way human traffic system to limit
human intersection, contact or interaction. There shall be markings on the floors indicating the
directions and proper distancing to follow from the entrance gate to the room and within the room.
Traffic systems which shall limit human intersection, contact, or interaction shall be employed.
h. The College and the Nursing Program shall adopt other measures to limit the movement of students
including measures prohibiting students from moving from one room/area to another without
proper authority or reason.
i. Classrooms/laboratories/other school facilities as well as equipment used by the students shall be
cleaned and disinfected at the end of each school day.

Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures to Facilitate Notifications, Referrals, and Coordination

with LGUs, DOH, and Other Appropriate Government Agencies
If a student or faculty shows symptoms reflective of the COVID-19 infection, the concerned student or
faculty shall be required to coordinate with the school nurse or physician AND the RLE supervisor promptly.
The presenting signs and symptoms should also be reflected in the health declaration form.

The students, faculty, or staff who will be screened to be a suspected or probable COVID-19 case, they
shall be managed by the school nurse or faculty in-charge promptly. In doing so, the persons who will take
charge in the management of the isolation of the suspected or probable COVID-19 case will be required to
don the required PPE for healthcare personnel. See the figure below for reference:

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Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020). Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) When Caring for Patients with
Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19

If the student or the faculty tests positive for the COVID-19 infection, the CMC will automatically inform
the LGU regarding this finding so that timely isolation measures will be implemented. It shall be the task
of the Institutional Health Officer and Institutional Information Officer to facilitate notifications, referrals,
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and coordination with LGUs, DOH, and other appropriate government agencies.
As to isolating the confirmed COVID-19 patient, the following procedures will be initiated:

I. Isolation protocol procedure

Once a person is confirmed positive through an RT-PCR, which is considered as the gold standard for Covid-
19, triaging is done by the Davao City designated referring physician. The patient will be contacted using
the information provided by the patient on the case investigation form (CIF).

The referring physician will conduct an assessment, evaluation, and categorization of the index case as
asymptomatic or symptomatic, mild case, moderate case, severe case, or critical case. If the patient is
showing severe or critical respiratory symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, coughing, loss of
smell, and sore throat and with co-morbidities or pre-existing illnesses, they will be sent directly to the
hospital. Patients showing moderate symptoms also need to be hospitalized. They are those who are
experiencing difficulty breathing, severe cough, lung problems like pneumonia, and other organ
complications like chest pains and difficulty urinating or those with critical conditions (having severe
symptoms and needing mechanical ventilation and intubation). Patients showing mild symptoms do not
need to be hospitalized but need to be quarantined.

The referring physician will either endorse the patient to SPMC or to a government-owned TTMF or a private
TTMF — if the latter is preferred by the patient, the cost will be shouldered by the patient. COVID-19
positive patients will be transported to the facility (SPMC or TTMF) by the Rapid Action Team (RAT) of the
City Government of Davao, which is the only authorized transport system for COVID-19.

The list of positive cases will be forwarded to the District Health Office in the area where the patient resides
for proper and immediate contact tracing within the next hour or the next four hours after notification.

For contact tracing, the patient will be asked to disclose the identities and details of people they were in
contact with. The first-generation contacts or close contacts are called F1. F1s will be advised to observe
self-isolation and self-assessment. They will be scheduled for immediate swab testing. While waiting for
their results, they will be quarantined in facilities provided by the city government or at home, depending
on the discretion of the LGU. The other people whom the COVID-19 positive patient was in contact with
are called F2 and F3. They will be closely monitored, and they are advised to observe minimum health
standards of protection. Contact tracing protocol listed in the Figure 3 will be followed.

II. Discharge Protocol (Hospital / TTMF)

Asymptomatic COVID-19 cases may be discharged from TTMF on the 10th day if they show no
symptoms for the whole duration of their isolation. For mild cases, if there are no symptoms for three
consecutive days, they may be discharged from TTMF. The moderate and severe cases are admitted to
the hospital and they may be discharged on the 21st day after being observed to be asymptomatic for
several days.

The protocols for cleaning and disinfection of rooms, absences from work/studies and return to
work/reintegration to F2F classes for both the faculty and the student will be adhered to following the
guidelines presented below:
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Source: City Government of Davao. (2020). Guidelines on Safety and Health Standards Handling Confirmed COVID-19 Cases n the
Workplace

Figure 3. Guidelines on Safety and Health Standards Handling Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in the Workplace

Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures for Close Monitoring of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
The teaching supervisors of the Nursing Program shall closely monitor the confirmed COVID-19 cases in
the Nursing Program, both for the students and the faculty members. A copy of the COVID-19 result of the
student or faculty member will be requested for monitoring and verification purposes. The results will also
be endorsed to the Institutional Health Officer for monitoring and documentation purposes.

Daily health declaration forms will be required for the person who tested positive for COVID-19 to be
completed. Depending on the symptoms presented by the patient, prompt referral of the patient to COVID-
19 hospital may be advised by the Nursing Program, if warranted.

Policies, Guidelines, And Procedures on Reintegration of Recovered or Quarantined Students

and Faculty
Reintegration of recovered or quarantined students to F2F classes will only be considered once the student
has completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine and has tested negative for COVID-19 in his/her repeat
RT-PCR test. The student should also be cleared by the school physician for the reintegration to F2F classes.
The same policy will be implemented for the faculty.
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Protocols of Partner/Base Hospitals and Additional CHED Guidelines on
Clerkship/Internship/Practicum
Despite the fact that the CHED will not conduct an on-site inspection of partner/base hospital/s where
students shall be assigned for clinical clerkship/internship/practicum/rotation as mentioned in the CHED-
DOH JMC No. 2021-001, the College shall ensure that the affiliation centers where the students will be
deployed for their clinical experience are adherent to the minimum requirements for an affiliating agency
per CMO No. 15 s. 2017 guidelines. The affiliation centers should also have their standing policies and
guidelines for COVID-19 prevention and control. There should also be a clear demarcation on the COVID
and non-COVID areas of the institution as it will be primarily considered that the students will be deployed
in the non-COVID areas of the affiliating agency.

VII. Continuity Plans

To ensure the academic quality and equity while not hampering the safety of the student nurses of the
College, the Nursing Program will be proposing two options for its students to choose for SY 2021-2022.
The selection will be done through a virtual townhall meeting before the school year starts. See timeline of
SY 2021-2022 below:

Second
First Semester: Summer:
Semester:
Aug - Dec 2021 June - July 2022
Jan - May 2022

Figure 2. School Year 2021-2022

The options mentioned above include the following: 1) fully online instruction, and 2) blended instruction.
In the first option, students who wish to take the first and second semester school year online due to the
looming COVID-19 risk will be allowed to do so. The students will then be admonished to have their face-
to-face instruction for their skills development and clinical placement as soon as it will be relatively safe for
the students to do so (Note: This is only applicable for the incoming second- and third-year student
nurses). This option is depicted in the figure below:

Summer:
First Semester: Second
Distance Learning Face-to-Face
Semester:
(Online-based and Instruction: Skills
correspondence-based Distance
Lab + Clinical
learning) Learning
Placement
Figure 3. Distance Learning Scheme for School Year 2021-2022

In the second option, a blended approach to learning will be introduced to the students. The second
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option has two versions: one intended for the non-graduating student nurses, and the other one for the
graduating ones.
Non-graduating students: For the first semester of the SY 2021-2022, all instruction, both for the LEC
and LAB/RLE classes, will be delivered online. However, unlike what has been proposed in the first option,
some weeks in the second semester of the school year will be taken through face-to-face instruction. Catch-
up duties will also be taken in the summer period of the school year. See the depiction of this scheme
below:

Figure 4. Blended RLE Scheme for School Year 2021-2022: Non-Graduating Students

Graduating students: For the first semester of the SY 2021-2022, all the subjects will preliminarily be
taken through distance learning. This is also done to give time for the students to comply with the
requirements necessitated for the face-to-face instruction (e.g., PhilHealth registration, procurement of
required PPE, RT-PCR tests, etc.). By October to December 2021, the instruction will be delivered through
a blended approach. Unlike the first version of the Blended RLE Scheme presented earlier, the F2F classes
will be implemented for the graduating students at an earlier time to give them ample opportunities of
acquiring their needed hospital experience before graduating, not to mention that these students must also
be given opportunities to complete their operating and delivery room nursing cases as well. See the
depiction of this scheme below:

Figure 4. Blended RLE Scheme for School Year 2021-2022: Graduating Students
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As what has been presented, the delivery of instruction for the second semester for both the non-graduating
and graduating students and some months of the first semester of the graduating students will be done in
a cycle of distance learning and face-to-face instruction. The following guidelines will be implemented:
1. All subjects with no RLE component (e.g., Gen Ed classes, etc.) and the LEC component of
the professional subjects or nursing courses will be taken online or through distance learning.
There shall be no face-to-face classes for these subjects.
2. Professional subjects or nursing courses with LAB and/or RLE component will be done
through a blended learning approach. The LEC component of these subjects will be delivered
online or through distance learning, whereas the LAB and/or RLE component will be held in the
Nursing Funda Lab and/or affiliated healthcare institutions of the Program for the skills
development and clinical experience of the students.
3. The Nursing Program will be implementing the 14-14 Cyclical Student Shifting Model. This
model means that the students will have straight 14 days of face-to-face instruction (weekends will
be given as rest days), and then for the next 14 days, they will take their classes through distance
learning approaches. The students will repeat this cycle until the semester ends.
4. The clinical instructor who will be assigned to a particular group will be the same supervising
instructor of that same group for the 14-day F2F exposure.
5. The F2F classes will be allocated in such a way that the first F2F exposures will be allotted solely
for skills development of the students. The skills development activities will be held in the DDC
Nursing Fundamentals Laboratories. The rest of the remaining weeks of F2F exposures will be
allotted for clinical experience of the students.
6. The cyclical student shifting model to be implemented shall be consulted with the faculty and
students. The agreed upon model shall be part of the application documents to be submitted to
the concerned CHEDRO.

In the untoward event that a student will contract the illness, he or she will be managed accordingly
following the guidelines stipulated above regarding the handling of suspected and confirmed COVID-19
cases in the workplace/school. Automatically, the platform that will be followed by the students will be the
first option presented above until such time that he or she will be reintegrated for the face-to-face
instruction.

Students with or living with individuals with significant comorbidities of the risk of contracting the COVID-
19 shall be advised to consider flexible learning or take face-to-face classes in succeeding semesters or
whenever possible without prejudice to readmission and maximum residency. Nevertheless, if a student
decides to take his/her classes through the face-to-face instruction, the student shall be advised to reside
outside of his/her residence, preferably in one of the affiliated residences of the College.

These affiliated accommodation establishments are apartments and/or rent houses that are located near
the premises of the College or of the affiliating agencies of the Nursing Program. These will be checked by
the Health Officers of the Nursing Program for its safety, security, and the available services in their
immediate vicinity. This will be done to ensure that the students reside in dwellings where learning is
conducive, the safety of the students is ensured (including curfew implementation, if deemed necessary),
and where necessities such as food establishments, groceries, or laundry shops are accessible. Signing of
contracts may be done between the Nursing Program and the affiliated accommodation establishments as
necessitated.
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Subject Offering for S.Y. 2021-2022
Presented below are the professional subjects that will be offered by the Nursing Program for SY 2021-
2022:

First Semester S.Y. 2021-2022 Course Offerings

Course Code Course Description Remarks
First Year Subjects
NRG101 Theoretical Foundations in Nursing To be delivered thru distance learning
NRG103 Anatomy and Physiology To be delivered thru distance learning,
both the LEC and LAB classes
NRG104 Microbiology and Parasitology To be delivered thru distance learning,
both the LEC and LAB classes
Second Year Subjects
NRG201 Nutrition and Diet Therapy To be delivered thru distance learning,
both the LEC and LAB classes
NRG202 Pharmacology To be delivered thru distance learning
NRG203 Care of Mother, Child, and To be delivered thru distance learning,
Adolescents (Well Clients) both the LEC and RLE classes
Third Year Subjects
NRG301 Care of Clients with Problems in To be delivered thru distance learning,
Oxygenation, Fluid and Electrolytes, both the LEC and RLE classes
Infectious, Inflammatory, and
Immunologic, Cellular Aberrations,
Acute and Chronic
NRG302 Community Health Nursing 2 To be delivered thru distance learning,
(Population Groups and Community both the LEC and RLE classes
as Clients)
RES NRG301 Nursing Research 1 To be delivered thru distance learning,
both the LEC and LAB classes
Fourth Year Subjects
NRG401 Nursing Care of Clients with Life To be delivered thru a combination of
Threatening Conditions, Acutely Ill/ distance learning and F2F approaches
Multi-Organ Problems, High Acuity
and Emergency Situations, Acute
and Chronic
NRG402 Nursing Leadership and To be delivered thru a combination of
Management distance learning and F2F approaches

Second Semester Professional Subjects: All nursing subjects will be delivered thru a
combination of distance learning and F2F approaches already, provided that it will be relatively
safe to do so.

Curriculum Enhancement Program (Catch-up Plan)

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Regardless of what direction will actually be taken by the Program in the coming school year, a
reinforcement/grading of the nursing skills will still be implemented in the other professional nursing
courses/subjects in the succeeding semesters through a Curriculum Enhancement Program. CEP is an
audit class that bridges the knowledge and skills which may not have been sufficiently covered during the
quarantine period.

This program is necessary especially considering that there have been face-to-face classes that were
suspended last Second Semester of S.Y. 2019-2020 and in all the semesters of S.Y. 2020-2021. The
Curriculum Enhancement Program will be offered as proposed:

Schedule Dates Rotations

First Semester TBA (2 to 3 weeks) Make-up duties and community services which were
Break not served before because of the suspension of physical
classes will be served during this period provided that it
will already be relatively safe to do so. Doing this will
minimize the deficiencies that the concerned students may
have which may prevent them from having a timely
graduation. Offering this catch-up plan will also provide the
hands-on experience that the students need as part of
their training to become future nurses.

Summer Classes TBA (6 weeks) Since the third-year student nurses (regular) do not have
slated classes for Summer 2021-2022, the catch-up RLE
duties will be scheduled during this period – meaning, the
students will be required to acquire their needed OR/DR
cases within this period, clinical hours that they have
missed because of the imposed lockdown and suspension
of clinical internships on the previous semesters. Doing this
will aid the students achieve the required number of RLE
hours and clinical cases necessitated as a graduation and
licensure examination requirement.

Offering this catch-up plan will also provide the hands-on

experience that the students need as part of their training
to become future nurses.

First Semester S.Y. TBA (2 to 3 weeks) Needed clinical exposure that were not taken in the
2021-2022 previous semesters will be integrated in the RLE offering
in the First Semester of S.Y. 2022-2023. The Nursing
Program also eyes the possibility of extending the
semester as well, depending on the need of the students
to complete their needed RLE hours and OR/DR cases.

Prepared by:

BLAISE B. NIEVE, RN (PH, USA-NMI, USA-NY), MAN, PhD (c)

Program Chair - Nursing
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