A Beautiful Piece That My Father Wrote

A letter....

Dear Batch-Mates,

The mortal body of my wife, Lani, was finally put to rest into the earth where it rightfully belongs on May13, 4 pm at Manila Memorial Park, Paranaque. However, I’m sure that her soul/spirit is now in heaven with our Creator, where there are no more tears, sickness and pain. She’s now in another life, a better life than here, after passing all the trials and tests that this world could give.

She had a lung disease since1997 (COPD-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) but she was very sick and bed-ridden for the last four and a half years: also sick with COPD but with tracheostomy tube, supplied with constant medical oxygen and asthma/emphysema/heart/kidney medications.

With the help of God we were able to prolong her life for another 10 years. During her sickness, her faith in and relationship with God/Lord Jesus Christ/HolySpirit continuously strengthened and grew; she was able to raise her two beautiful daughters well; and she was a good wife to me. She was also thespiritual/moral leader of our family and her extended family.

On my part, I learned how to care for the sick, love spiritually and unconditionally, to be patient,humble, kind, meek, gentle, and to have faith in God, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In the process, I learned that the most important things in life areto have strong, good loving and friendly relationships with God, family, friends and other fellow human beings. Career and wealth should only be used as vehicles for living, service to others, to win more souls for Jesus Christ/God and to build-up His Church.

Also, for the past 10 years, I silently and patiently bore the expenses, trials and pain, until I asked for your help…

Thank you for your prayers, condolences and visits during my grief; and for your support during my times of need. Honestly, I was humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of prayers, sympathy and support during my hard/low times, which I have never experienced before. I also give thanks to God, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, Who have never left men or forsaken me; and to the saints who have prayed for me."

- Fernando Santos

(an email to his friends)

Coping Through A Loss...

As what I have told some of you, I took up Nursing (as my second course) so I can take care of my mother. It was quite difficult at first because doing so would mean giving up my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. Since the hospital became our second home due to frequent admissions to the ICU, it made our resources run dry making me resort to my Plan B which is to become a nurse. Unfortunately, my beloved mother passed away last Mother's Day before I took the Nursing Licensure Exam. It was tremendously hard, mind you... I spent almost a week at the wake, attending to the visitors and running errands. I thought about not taking the NLE because the sorrow was too much to bear. And to add to the agony, she was the reason why I took up Nursing in the first place...Is there a reason for me to go on? However, as the saying goes we should trust God whatever happens in our lives because He knows what is best for us...That night before she passed away, we prayed that if she won't have her miracle lungs may God take her with Him in heaven so she won't suffer anymore. God answered our prayers the day after that...Everything happened so fast...

Through our experience, I can say that some things helped and did not help our situation. First, what did help was that a lot of relatives and friends went to the service and showed their support to our family by staying with us all night, cooking for us, looking after our house, collected donations to fund our mother's service, arranged the slideshows of my mother's life and the burial mass...We don't know how we could do it without them...

Second, even after our mother's burial...people were always there to show their empathy. They were the one's who really listened and showed their support and told us not to stop crying...

What did not help were some people telling us that they claim to know how we feel because someone in their family also died and that some people are also having difficult times in their lives right now. They do not recognize that their advice only makes it harder on the part of the bereaved family since all the experiences of loss are different and unique. In addition, some even gave advice on how to put away my mother's things especially her pictures. In our profession as psychologists, we do not recommend putting away the pictures for the reason of forgetting since this action will not aid in the acceptance of a loss of a loved one. It will only make things worse and will even lead to denial and depression.

Four months have passed and our family is healthily coping through the loss...Crying and writing about the experience were cathartic... (an emotional release) Writing about this now still brings tears to my eyes. Talking about our mother and all the good memories that we have shared and compiling her mementos really helped. As the adage goes, “Every human will experience the reality of his or her own death, through actually dying, and perhaps through the observation of the death of family members and friends.”

Yes, it was tremendously difficult losing a mother (the person who greatly influenced me), but life must go on…We should continue on living not only for our families and loved ones but also for other people and mostly for God. After the ordeals, I realized that we have to live our lives to the fullest. At this point, our family became stronger than ever – spiritually, emotionally and socially…

After the trials, I know understood what my purpose is and what is really important in my life : - )

When you pray to God resignedly, as though patiently accepting the punishment of grief at the death of a loved one,

and you say: "Thy will be done O Lord. The Lord giveth, and he taketh away",

you have not yet known the God of love, for God giveth only.

God never takes that which has not been given.

What God gives to you you regive to Him for His regiving.

You rejoice when God gives birth to life,

yet you deeply grieve when you give rebirth to new life -- for that is what death is.
Walter Russell

A Certified Red Cross First Aider

I spent my week training with the Philippine National Red Cross- National Chapter last week on Basic and Advanced Life Support and Basic First Aid. At first, I was quite overwhelmed by the number of practical examinations and written exams on bandaging, splinting and immobilization, Cardio-Pulmonary Resusciation, Rescue Breathing, Foreign Airway Obstruction Management, Emergency Rescue etc. The last examination which was a simulation of a mass tragedy was also quite overwhelming because it was done in the field, complete with props and some of my classmates even acted as victims. However, through the patience of our instructors and the support of my batchmates, it was an awesome week of my life.

Aside from learning how to safe lives, I was also able to meet a lot of people many of whom are also nurses like me. I had also some classmates who were factory workers and engineers and one of those engineers is the one who proposed and invented the solar powered car here in the Philippines.

Our last day of training was spent in the Red Cross booths in SM-Manila as part of their celebration of the National Red Cross Week. The last activity of the day was our graduation wherein each of the group was given the opportunity to showcase their talents and the certificates of excellence were also awarded to selected students. It was actually hard to say goodbye when the graduation ceremony came to and end but we promised to have a reunion sometime soon...

Congratulations to the Certified Life Savers!

Siamo Tutti Fratelli!

Nursing Valedictory Speech

To our University President, Dr. Amelou Benitez-Reyes, Chancellor and VP for Academic Affairs, Research and Publications, Dr. Dolores Baja-Lasan, to the Assistant Vice-President for Academics-QC Campus, Dr. Eden O. Kelemen, beloved dean of the school of nursing, Dr. Yolanda Arugay, associate deans Mrs. Celeste Dimaculangan and Dolores Carrion, president of PWU alumni association, Mrs. Olvia Villafuerte, school administrators, level coordinators, members of the faculty, dear parents, beloved batchmates, schoolmates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to all of you.
How time flies by so quickly...It was less than two years ago when we decided that we want to take up nursing and set foot in this university. We were full of anxieties then, not knowing what will happen to us after finding ourselves back in school again…As Seneca, a philosopher once said: “It is a tough road that leads to the heights of greatness”. That span of two years is not at all easy…it was full of sleepless nights, stress, hard work, 5-minute showers, 1-minute breakfasts, laughters and tears, good times and bad times, successes and failures. We were also able to make friends and meet different kinds of people from different walks of life…But here we are now, we were able to endure all those challenges as a nursing student. Let us give ourselves a pat on the back for we have gone this far. I hope and pray that our exceptional batch will acquire a 100% passing rate in the upcoming Nursing Board Examinations.
In behalf of the graduating class, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the following for they have contributed a lot to our successes:
To our alma mater, Philippine Women's University, for developing our competencies and skills through gainful lectures and hands-on experiences, which will help us become globally competitive in our future profession.
To our dean, Dr. Yolanda Arugay, for guiding us and believing in our capabilities. You inspired us to persevere and excel. To you we are very grateful….
To our beloved professors, for your painstaking guidance, motivation and unselfish dedication to your profession in training future nurses.
To our dear families and loved ones, especially to our parents for your unconditional support, sacrifices and inspiration… For showering us with your unselfish love and for being there to guide us since the day we were born. We owe you all our successes.
To my fellow graduates, I would like to congratulate you for a job well done. When we become nurses…the possibilities are endless… We know that every day we will step into people’s lives and we will make a difference. Just remember that when we become nurses very soon we should be open minded, flexible, compassionate and humble since we will be caring for and working with people of every race, religion, culture, gender, age and education. And lastly, we should always strive for excellence in our fields. In everything that we do, we should always give it our best shot.
And above all, to the Almighty God for continuously showering us with His blessings, guidance, and for giving us the opportunity, wisdom and inspiration to follow our dream of becoming stewards of humanity. Praise Him!
Before I end my speech, let me share with you a very important Bible verse that really touched my life…This is taken from the book of Proverbs 3:5 and it goes like this: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Ladies and Gentlemen…again we are deeply honored to have you with us to witness this momentous event in our lives. Thank you very much and good day to all of you.

The Most Outstanding ESLR Alumni of 2007

I would just like to congratulate the following ESLR Alumni for being awarded as:


"The Most Outstanding ESLR Alumni of 2007"

1. Liza Goylos ( Field: Advertising, Valedictorian 1999)

2. Lani Diana Santos (Field: Nursing and Psychology, Valedictorian 2001)

3. Tanya Olarte (Field: MassCommunications, Valedictorian 2001)

4. Marysol Mandapat (Field: Business)


(quoted from the plaque)....awarded for their distinguished educational and professional achievement, and bringing recognition to their alma mater through outstanding service and significant contribution to their community, state and nation. The award was given last September 22, 2007 as part of the ESLR Foundation Week Celebration.


Keep up the good work and continue to strive for excellence in your own fields... :-)

US Demand For Nurses To Remain High In Next Decade

Category: Nursing

MANILA, Philippines -- The demand for nurses in the United States will remain high for the next 10 years, according to an official of the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).

An initial group of examinees took the National Council Licensure Examination at the first NCLEX testing center in the country on Thursday.

"The nursing shortage is still significant and research still indicates that there is a future anticipated shortfall of more than a million nurses in the US," Casey Marks, NCSBN associate executive director, told reporters in an interview.The shortage is worldwide, according to Marks. In the US -- a preferred destination of many Filipino nurses -- "there is certainly a significant demand for a long period of time," he said.With opportunities looming ahead, Marks said he would encourage more Filipinos to take up nursing as a profession.

"That's one of the reasons we are here," added Robert Whelan, president of Pearson Vue, which owns and operates NCLEX testing centers in various parts of the world, including the first center in the Philippines, located at the Trident Towers on Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City.Ninety "candidates" took the NCLEX, among them 43-year-old Benjie Almonte, a mechanical engineer by profession.

Almonte, a father of five, arrived at the testing center at 7 a.m., two hours ahead of the scheduled start of the exam.He told a local television that he reviewed hard for the exams because he wanted to work in the US as a nurse.

High security were being implemented at the testing center, following measures that established the identity of the examinee and ensure that there would be no distractions during the exam, Marks said.

"The licensure practice is a matter of public safety. We want to make sure that that person is who they say they are. In fact, a number of US states require background checks," he added.

The opening of the NCLEX testing center signified the NCSBN's confidence in the Philippines, despite the leakage in the 2006 nursing licensure board exam that nearly dashed that batch of Filipino nurses' dream of working in the US."While the exam leakage was a matter of concern while we evaluated Manila as a testing location, we had our stipulated criteria from the very beginning, issues of national security, exam security, intellectual property concern, the issue of the number of candidates who will take the exam to make it financially worthwhile," Marks said.

"The exam leakage was just a pause in the process, it never really truly impacted on the evaluation and the criteria (to make Manila a testing center)," he said.Marks said that in any testing center, even in the US, problems could arise that may even lead to its closure.

"There always are individual candidates who do incredible things and sometimes they work with coaching schools in the wrong way," he said.

Both Marks and Whelan stressed the importance of having a "good partner on the ground," the local agency that would be able to address such problems.

The NCSBN and Pearson Vue have partnered with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) for the administration of the NCLEX in the Philippines.

The NCLEX testing center in Manila is Pearson's biggest, with 45 seats, according to Whelan.The NCLEX is one of the major requirements for a foreign nurse to be able to get a license to work in the US.

"Once you have the license to practice, it certainly improves the odds of getting a visa to work in the US. The idea of bringing the exam to local constituents (like in Manila) will help facilitate that process to identify for US authorities people who have high probability of gaining employment as nurses," Marks said.

Whelan said 90 examinees were set to take the NCLEX daily, and around 4,000 have been scheduled to take the exam.

Foreigners can also take the NCLEX at the Makati City testing center, he added.

Source:

By Nikko Dizon Source: Inquirer Last updated 08:37pm (Mla time) 08/23/2007

Update: Results Of The June 2007 Nursing Board/Licensure Exam

Category: Nursing

According to Pinoy BSN, results of the June 2007 Nursing Board/Licensure Exam will be released end of August as also reported previously:“The release of the June 2007 nursing licensure examination results will be out by August 15 or 17 up to 31 at the Professional Regulation Commission office in Manila”.

Oathtaking is scheduled on October 2, 2007.

Source:
http://salaswildthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/07/release-of-june-2007-nursing-board-exam.html