Of my three years of stay at the UST College of Nursing, I can say that third year was the most dreaded one. Almost all the subjects vital in my course were taken during this year. In first semester, I had my first encounter with Medical-Surgical, Pharmacology and Literature. In the beginning, MS was difficult to manage, for we had to read a number of chapters in Brunner for one topic for a 30-point-quiz or less. But then again, thanks to Udan for creating a book, where topics are summarized and understanding has become easier. Having Udan made me neglect reading Brunner a lot. I was thinking of managing my time wisely by reading the summarized book instead of the long chapters found in Brunner. I enjoyed Pharmacology, not only was I challenged in memorizing and understanding a lot of drugs, their mechanism of action, contraindications, side effects, and nursing considerations, but I really did adore our professor, Ma’am Lerma. Not only is she beautiful inside out, but she also posses a good heart. She has an enduring patience for her students, and she treats us as if we are her own children, and that really was a big factor in motivating me to learn and to strive harder. Literature was surely a subject to remember. Sir Hibek sure did make me a fighter or better yet, a survivor for that matter. We had so many things to do in a short period of time. We had to memorize a lot of poems, prepare for a wonderful presentation, which my RLE mates and I sure enjoyed a lot [no wonder, we had aperfect score!] and answer numerous out-of-this-world-questions in his exams. It was really a challenge. I thought surviving first semester was the end of it all, but came second semester. It made me weep, fearing I won’t be able to finish all of the requirements needed on time and to fail major subjects, including Literature and Biostatistics of course, which are both feeling major subjects talaga. Haha. We had MS and Literature again, Biostatistics, OB, Psychiatric Nursing and Sociology. Learning MS has become more pleasurable as time passed by. Ma’am Natividad sure gets our attention by cracking jokes about bokbok and poknat and her stories about her favorite mall, Mall of Asia, and a lot more, in between her lectures. I admire her teaching strategies. She doesn’t bring books or review materials in class, except for her powerpoint presentation of course, which shows how much she understands everything that she teaches us by heart. Literature on the other hand has become harder and harder to manage. We had short stories to understand and analyze profoundly, for in the exam, there were fill in the blanks, identification, and a lot more. There was also another presentation to prepare for, but unfortunately, our RLE didn’t do well in one of the short stories assigned to us, but I was proud of the narrators, which include yours truly, for getting Sir Hibek’s attention. He uttered a few compliments regarding our narration. It was one of a kind daw, and having been the one who suggested the chorale thing, I was really astounded of the success we have achieved. Then came the judgment day, the day we have to submit our thesis. Oh my. I have wasted so many tears for that thesis. As in. I was crying myself to sleep for I really didn’t know what to do with it, until I got inspired with the plus 5% if the thesis was to be submitted 4 days prior the real submission date. I enjoyed cramming and sleeping at 3am on a Friday, then waking up at 5am to prepare for my OR duty. I was in high spirits since I was able to finish it, but at the same time worn-out and drowsy. I felt guilty pa nga kasi I shouldn’t be sleepy on a duty, because we were dealing with people whose lives are at stake. One mistake and you’re out. Biostatistics was sisiw at first. I got a perfect score pa nga in our first quiz, but no, I should have savored that moment for it didn’t last long. It became complicated every meeting. Oh well. Sir Nuval is okay naman, but his lectures were just long enough to absorb everything in a short span of time. OB has always been my waterloo. Although our prof has always been active, or hyper so to speak, it's just not my forte talaga. Tsk. Psychiatric Nursing was out of the ordinary. Although I haven't been getting high grades in that subject, I still find it so interesting and challenging. I enjoyed reading my Psyche books to pieces. I get fascinated whenever I learn something new. Despite the fact that Dean's lecture has a drowsy effect, it surely made me diligent enough to read my books. Sociology added pa. We had to do three scrapbooks—Autobiography, about my family and about my future life, which includes the person I have become after a couple of years, the person I will marry, wedding plans, dream house, children, middle age and retirement plans, last will and testament, obituary and epitaph. It was fun doing those three scrapbooks, but my energy level dropped when Sr. Vinoya was not the one who checked our first two albums, but then again, my energy level regained when I was doing the third scrapbook.


Chris and I were planning on our future. We even argued on the names and number of our children. It was so funny talaga. I told him that I wanted two children—1 boy and 1 girl, and I want our baby girl’s name to be Nicole Andrea, and our baby boy’s name to be Lorenzo Gabriel. But then he made Andrea Nicole and Juan Miguel as the names for our children in his project. Haha. Talk about meeting half way. We even shared each other’s projects, and laughed about our crazy yet beautiful plans for our future. It was an experience to remember, since it was then have I realized how much we were so much thrilled in spending the rest of our lives together.


Regarding our hospital/ward rotation, I enjoyed the second semester rotations more. I enjoyed our shift in San Alberto Ward, Pedia Ward, Philippine Orthopedic Center and Operating Room. We had two shifts in Pedia, and I was overly ecstatic and fulfilled. Dealing with kids wasn’t my forte before, for I get easily annoyed with super kulit kids, but these two shifts transformed me into a better person—someone who appreciates up to the smallest thing the kids do and loves them for who and what they really are. It’s tough to evade not having favorite pedia clients. Lance and Jessica were my favorites. Both of them are just so sweet and adorable. They made little things which really made my heart melt. They were two of the reasons why I enjoyed having duty at Pedia ward. Despite the ratio of nurses to clients [2-3:1], just by seeing the kids smile, all the ka-toxican just fades away in an instant.


I also enjoyed our shift at POC. Not only did we get along with our clinical instructor [Sir JN Paat] that well, but also because we have gained knowledge of a lot of things and became conscious with our safety. Since most of the cases in the POC are accident-based, we have come to realize that being safe should be our priority. I also enjoyed our shift at the Operating Room. I felt like I was a part of Grey’s Anatomy or House MD. Haha. Feel na feel. Although my RLE mates and I had a little misunderstanding in the process of acquiring 10 cases, we were able to patch things up, and started all over again. Who I miss the most in our group is my bestfriend, Ria, because ever since we had a misunderstanding regarding OR, we haven’t been that close anymore. We’re no longer together most of the time. I’m becoming closer to somebody else, and she’s becoming closer to another person. [Selos?Haha.] I know it’s my fault to have let things happen just like that. I wish that I could have done something in order to save our treasured friendship, but then again, I wasn’t able to do anything. I was not courageous enough to accept the fact that I have done something wrong, and that she had good intentions that's why she said those things to me. It was hard for me to swallow my pride, and I failed to realize that she was indeed a true friend to consider, for she stabbed me in front. She was straightforward enough to convey her thoughts and feelings. And I, on the other hand, was so narrow-minded. I do hope that in time, we’ll be able to rebuild our almost wrecked friendship. I miss her so. [Mushy..]


Moving on, during my third year in college, I also received my first certificate—Basic Cardiac Life Support-Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Workshop. Although my RLE mates and I were super late for the workshop, we still managed to catch up and do very well in the return demo. I so enjoyed the CPR. Thousand snaps!!! It’s so amazing to realize that I have finally become someone who can actually save lives.

This school year was truly unforgettable. I must admit that despite the trying times, it has also been a wonderful time for me to experience a lot of things which definitely molded me into becoming what I am now—stronger and wiser. I am looking forward to another year filled with good memories.