Master of Arts in Nursing Graduates’ Career Status in the Healthcare Industry

Abstract

A higher educational institution offering the Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) program needs to trace its curriculum's relevance to the healthcare industry's requirements where its graduates are exercising their profession. This investigation aims to trace the graduates of the Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) to devise the proposed MAN program intervention plan.

This study utilized the descriptive survey research design with twenty-two (22) MAN graduates of the University of Cebu Graduate School. This study was conducted at healthcare institutions where the MAN graduates worked or were affiliated. The instrument used in this research is the CHED Graduate Tracer Study [GTS] survey questionnaire. The GTS survey tool was printed and administered to the MAN alumni. Simple percentages and ranks were used to analyze the data. The ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and autonomy were adhered to in this research.

The result shows that more graduate respondents were 20 to 35 years old and took 1 to six months to land a job through the walk-in application. At the same time, most were single females employed in public organizations as clinical instructors with permanent status. They assessed that the Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) curriculum was relevant to their jobs.   Half of them earned a gross monthly income of Php25,000.00 and above. Moreover, they all finished their master’s degrees, passed the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination [PNLE] after graduation, and were employed locally or in the Philippines. The primary reasons respondents taking the Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) program at the University of Cebu Graduate School were a strong passion for the profession (ranked first), the prospect for immediate employment (ranked second), and the status or prestige of the profession (ranked third). They also learned communication skills (ranked first), productivity and time management skills (ranked second), human relations skills (ranked third), problem-solving skills (ranked fourth), and leadership skills (ranked fifth). Further, the reasons for the respondents accepting their job were the following: salaries and benefits (ranked first), peer influence (ranked second), and then career challenge (ranked third). Therefore, the graduates of the Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) program of University of Cebu Graduate School were employable in academe and hospitals  and received above mimimum salary level.