A faculty of XU’s Master of Arts in Nursing program competed and won in the 1st Cebu International Nursing Conference held at the Cebu Waterfront Hotel, Lahug, Cebu City on April 26 and 27.

Mary Grace Paayas stood above the rest with her study, “The Critical Thinking Abilities of Fourth Year Nursing Students, XU SY 2009-2010” winning second place in the poster category. Her research was one of the 15 finalists chosen from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, China, and the Philippines among 66 entries submitted.

The study found the need to improve students’ critical thinking abilities and recommended employing varied teaching methods that go beyond knowledge recall, more hands-on experiences for student-nurses, better interaction between students and teachers when it comes to problem-solving and decision-making, and the conduct of more studies that promote critical thinking.

Paayas’ study was published in the Philippine Journal of Nursing Education and featured in the publication of the First Cebu International Nursing Conference.

With the award, Paayas thanks all those who helped her “realize this research output,” among them the dean of the College of Nursing Dr Ramona Heidi Palad, Dr Ester Raagas, Graduate School faculty and staff, members of the panel, the Kinaadman Research Center, and her family and friends. Above all, she thanks God Almighty.

The 1st Cebu International Nursing Conference, which bore the theme, “Nurses: Creating a Positive Environment for Learning and Practice,” sought to provide opportunities for sharing research outputs, developing professional networks, and learning from colleagues. The event served as a venue for nurses to disseminate and utilize research findings. It was participated in by researchers, authors, lawyers, and deans of colleges or schools of nursing from China, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, United States of America, Australia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Philippines.