After Boards Jitters | My Experience in taking the NLE Exam Nov. 2014

    OH WELL. That's it. I took the Nursing Board Exam last Nov. 29-30, 2014 and I am FREAKING OUT! They said that it is normal to be a little bit crazy while waiting for the board results but this is just pure torture. Honestly I do not know my stand in the actual test. I mean I answered all the questions, some of it I find easy, some of it were so hard and some were just plain "WHAT THE EFF?" I cried after the first day because I was so stressed. I was trying so hard to calm myself and to think positive things. Because that is what they said, I had to think positive so that the positive energy will come back around. I cannot do it. I just broke down. I feel so sad and stressed and worried. I was thinking a lot of things like what if I didn't passed the board exam? I don't want to disappoint my parents, i don't want to take the board exam again, what will i do with my life??!! Those kinds of thoughts keeps popping in my head that i just snapped.

I cried like a baby when I got home. I talked to my Mom in Viber and she reassured me that everything will be okay. And even if I don't pass the board exam, nothing will changed. She will still love me no matter what. I also talked to my best friends who passed the boards already, they just laugh when I told them my woes and worries. They said that it is normal and I still have 2 exams left, I need to make the most of it.

So I calmed down and just browsed through my notes. One tip is to drink milk before you go to bed so that you can sleep easily and not be too frazzled the next day. 

I was okay on the last examination day. To be honest, after I submitted the last exam ( NP5) I felt the weight on my shoulders disappear. I survived the exam! After not eating for 2 days, I was craving for rice. I was so hungry that time.

Now the real torture begins. Waiting for my name to appear on the PASSED list. I am going crazy! 

Being a NURSE, is it worth it ?

nurse  (nûrs)n.1. A person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled.
2.a. A woman employed to take care of a child; a nursemaid.
b. A woman employed to suckle children other than her own; a wet nurse.
3. One that serves as a nurturing or fostering influence or means.

Definition of a nurse according to http://www.thefreedictionary.com.

There are a lot issues about nurses lately. And the latest is the Cynthia Villar's blurt out. For those of you who don't know Cynthia Villar, she is a congresswoman running for senator. In a question and answer portion of a television program she was asked why she opposed the move to close nursing schools that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said did not meet minimum requirements to continue operations. She stated that the owners of the schools have already invested so they can't close the facilities.

 And the follow up question is, "Bakit bumaba pa ang nurses na na-employ sa abroad kasi hindi sila qualified? Bakit nag-resign ang Technical Education Committee after 7 months in office?" And the answer that infuriated hundreds of our fellow nurses were. "Yung pagre-resign po ni [Fr. Rolando V. De la Rosa] is a personal quarrel with the owner of the school. Medyo personal po iyon. Pero 'yung amin po, 'yung sinasabi po namin sa kanila na actually hindi naman kailangan ang nurse ay matapos ng BSN kasi itong ating mga nurses ay gusto lang nila maging room nurse, o sa Amerika o sa other countries, ay mag-aalaga lang sila. Hindi naman kailangan na ganoon sila kagaling."  

Being a future nurse in this country, I was really affected in what Mrs. Villar said. Even though this course is not what I really wanted, it hurts me that a Filipino said that about a profession that is so complicated and so complex. A profession that is the reason why I am so stressed right now. 
People may think that what nurses do is just a simple task of obeying and doing what the doctors ordered. I admit that when I was young, that is my perception too. I thought that being a nurse is so glamorous because of the tv shows that I watched growing up. In my eyes, nurses looks so good in their immaculate white uniform and shoes, their clean slick back bun, and their ever present smile. But that is the opposite in real life. Hindi ko talaga maisip kung gaano ka-haggard maging nurse ! If I realize that sooner, I would just stand up against my dad and shouted " Ayoko ngang maging nurse sabi eh ! " 

But I didn't. Instead, I raised my head and said arrogantly, " Psshh, nursing lang pala eh. Sisiw. Diba taga admit lang sila ng pasyente ? " How wrong and ignorant I was then. 

I didn't prepare myself from countless sleepless nights due to extensive memorization, from night duties that makes you appreciate your bed at home, from situational questions that makes you go HUH?? when you got it wrong because you swear to God IT is the right answer but its not, from 3 day case presentations na required talagang mag-overnight ( malas pa kung wala kaung place na pupuntahan. In my case, there was a time nakarating kami sa Katipunan para lang makahanap ng coffee shop na bukas pa, may outlet, and may WiFi. All through that trouble, 75 kami sa Case Presentation ), walang kamatayang NCP and FDAR, and we have to digest all the patient's woes and troubles. Not to mention, all the disgusting things we have to face so that the patients will look presentable for their relatives and for the doctors. Sinong nagpapaligo ? KAMI ! Sinong nagaayos ng higaan? KAMI ! And sinong nagpapalit ng diaper ? Por Diyos, KAMI RIN ! 

And mind you, doing all these things with a smile on our faces. Well, you can't really see our faces because we have our mask on but I assure you we are still smiling underneath. Because we are trained that way. We are trained to alleviate our patient's suffering and so we have to smile our face off just so they won't feel anxious and think that there is something wrong with them. 

We nurses are experts in patient interaction. Sino pang mangungumusta sa inyo except your relatives kundi kami lang ? 

I know I am only a student nurse and you might say that my passion is not really nursing so what do I really know?  But as a person, I know what hardships nurses go through. Even the journey through nursing is hard. So how dare Cynthia Villar belittle and limit what nurses can do. I won't be a hypocrite and say that I don't want to go to other countries and work there, because I do. And who doesn't ?? Judging from our country's  economic stature, almost everyone wants to go to greener pastures. So I won't be a hypocrite about that. But to say that nurses doesn't have to be smart ??!! 

Oh my God, we have to rush Mrs. Villar in the hospital because somehow she swallowed her vocal chords and got lodged in her rectum,  because she is talking out of her ass! ( Got that line from How I Met Your Mother, btw. Love that series. ♥ )

Kung ganun lang rin sana, jusko po, eh di wag ng mag course audit A pag 3rd year, wag ng mag course audit B pag 4th year, and lalo ng wag mag board exam ! Saves us all the trouble. 

The moral lesson of this is, TANGGALIN NA YUNG BOARD EXAM. Di naman pala kelangan kagalingan eh. HAHA


I'm kidding. Of course.



P.S. During the writing of this article, the Course Audit B results of our seniors is revealed. So during this time, I am super stress because we, juniors are going to start our Course Audit A this summer. Papalapit na papalapit na rin ang Board Exam. And I can't barely survive this semester. Oh please help me Lord !