Philippine Nursing History
History of Nursing Education in the Philippines
The history in the Philippines is closely aligned with the history of medicine in the country. With the arrival Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, developments in Philippine education were relatively slow owing to the belief of Spanish colonists, notably the friars, that the education of the natives would be detrimental to their rule over the islands (Agoncillo and Guerrero,1977). The growth of the educational institutions in the Philippines during the Spanish occupation was not a priority which allowed the proliferation and continued use of traditional health care practices that were guided by a mixture of religion, magic, and supernatural. It was not until 1577/1578 that an implied apprenticeship training program for male “nurses” who were called enfermeros was put in place through the initiative of the catholic Franciscan order in the islands (Dela Cruz,1983; Giron-Tupaz,1952; Limson, 1999) Subsequent progress in the area of nursing education was not achieved until after the arrival of the new colonizers in 1898.
Early Nurse Training During the Spanish Period and Fray Juan Clemente
In general, the development of all levels in the education in the Philippines was very limited during the Spanish regime. Catholic church greatly influenced the affairs of the state and , in many instances, had a hand in the appointment and retention of the Governor Generals sent by the Spanish crown. The Goal of the colonial government was primarily to spread Catholicism; the Spanish friars viewed education as a barrier to their salvation, as well as “positively dangerous to the established order of things (Elliot,1917, p220). During their over 350 years of occupation of the country, very few educational institutions were designed to educate the rich and famous of the time, that is, the children of Spaniards and the mestizos. Furthermore, Bantug, as cited in Choy (2003) emphasized the unequal educational system under the Spaniards
The history in the Philippines is closely aligned with the history of medicine in the country. With the arrival Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, developments in Philippine education were relatively slow owing to the belief of Spanish colonists, notably the friars, that the education of the natives would be detrimental to their rule over the islands (Agoncillo and Guerrero,1977). The growth of the educational institutions in the Philippines during the Spanish occupation was not a priority which allowed the proliferation and continued use of traditional health care practices that were guided by a mixture of religion, magic, and supernatural. It was not until 1577/1578 that an implied apprenticeship training program for male “nurses” who were called enfermeros was put in place through the initiative of the catholic Franciscan order in the islands (Dela Cruz,1983; Giron-Tupaz,1952; Limson, 1999) Subsequent progress in the area of nursing education was not achieved until after the arrival of the new colonizers in 1898.
Early Nurse Training During the Spanish Period and Fray Juan Clemente
In general, the development of all levels in the education in the Philippines was very limited during the Spanish regime. Catholic church greatly influenced the affairs of the state and , in many instances, had a hand in the appointment and retention of the Governor Generals sent by the Spanish crown. The Goal of the colonial government was primarily to spread Catholicism; the Spanish friars viewed education as a barrier to their salvation, as well as “positively dangerous to the established order of things (Elliot,1917, p220). During their over 350 years of occupation of the country, very few educational institutions were designed to educate the rich and famous of the time, that is, the children of Spaniards and the mestizos. Furthermore, Bantug, as cited in Choy (2003) emphasized the unequal educational system under the Spaniards
References: Agoncillo, T.A. & Guerrero, M.C. (1977). History of the Filipino people (5th ed.) Quezon City, Philippines. R.P. Garcia Publishing Co. Choy, C.C. (2003). Empire of care Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History. Durham,NC: Duke University press. Dela Cruz, E.R. (1983). History of Philippine Medicine and the PMA (1st ed.). Quezon City, Philippines: PMA Printing Press. Philippine College of Health Sciences (2010). PCHS elearning. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/nurse5616/history-nursing-of-the-philippines-2875925.