Saturday, June 30, 2012

NLE ba kamo??

Tips po base on my own experience..


- ngayong alam niyo na ang papunta, alam niyo na rin dapat ang time ng departure niyo, kahit dumating kayo ng 6am dun walang problema, ako dati sa may Jose Rizal Elementary School sa Tondo, umalis ako 5, dumating ng 6:10 private vehicle..


- huwag heavy breakfast, light lang.. :)


- nasilip mo ba mga pwede kainan during break time? Kung wala, minsan may mga nagtitinda sa mga public school during the actual day. Pero much better kung may dala kang sarili.. Huwag na huwag kalimutan ang pagkain, mahirap magexam ng gutom.. 


- Set your circadian rhythm ngayong gabi, although dapat mga 2 weeks before. Sleep on a specific time, okay na yan kahit 2 days lang. Bukas, mahirap makatulog promise. Kaya humiga ng maaga, or magpagod sa umaga para tulog agad.. Saturday night naman tulog ka agad for sure, dahil sa pagod.. Magbasa ka ba naman ng 300 items at 1200+ choices eh..


- Sa mga mag dodorm, be sure na safe ang uupahan niyo ha. Ingat sa holdup! May batchmate ako, naholdup siya gabi ng first day, tinangay pati NOA niya. "Kunin mo na ang lahat sa akin, huwag lang, ang aking noaaaaa.." Kaya ingats!!


- Reviewers? Huwag na magdala, may iba dun magdadala ng books, test papers, etc. Ako nagdala ako ng preboard exam, pero hindi rin magamit, puro kwentuhan eh. Tsaka short-term memory na lang papasok yun kaya doesn't make sense.. Enjoy the rest of the hour habang naghihintay ng exam. Sight seeing sa mga chix!


- Huwag matakot magtanong sa mga proctor, kahit na terror pa yan. It is your right. Huwag mo isugal ang exam mo dahil lang sa takot mo. Malay mo yung point na yun ang magpapasa sayo..


- Learn to manage your time habang nageexam, kapag hindi alam ang sagot, next question na. Balikan na lang, huwag rin kalimutan ang wrist watch..


- Bring jacket, candy, sharpener, extra pencil, calcalator, pamaypay, payong, rosary sa bulsa, etc.


- Foods during exam? Ako dati kinakain ko habang exam is Hansel tsaka C2 Apple. Basta ilagay mo lang sa gilid ng upuan mo yung food, kapag sinita, edi ayun.. Pero kapag hindi, go lang. Mahirap ang mag exam ng gutom like i told you..


- Sa mga public schools naka assign tulad ko, huwag mag alala sa maingay, habang exam mawawala sa attention mo yan. Focus, focus.. Kahit maliit ang upuan relax lang. Mind over matter. Yung mga uka uka sa desk, ingatan.


- Huwag na huwag na huwag magbubura, don't take the risk..


- Umuwi agad after the exam, ang sarap magpahinga after. Huwag na magbasa pag-uwi, mag ccram ka lang kapag hindi mo nabasa yung iba..


- Kapag kinakabahan, at hindi alam ang sagot, relaaaaaaaaaaxxx, praaaaayyyy...... Take a deep breath to boost oxygen sa brain for better thinking..


- Sa simula lang yang kaba na yan, habang nagsasagot ka na malilimutan mo din yan.


- 4 years of college days and 3 months of intensive review is enough, yolo, kayang kaya niyo yan. Confidence lang!! 


- Sa mga may tanong, pm lang po, feel free to ask questions. After ng exam, sa mga balak magwork kung saan saan, baka may idea ako sa mga gusto niyong pasukin, pm lang kayo :))


- And most important of all, ENJOY TAKING THE WHOLE EXAM!!


Sensiya na po kung mahaba, dapat nung Tuesday to eh.. Beat it!! Goodluck and Godbless you all!!


Disclaimer: This is based on my own experience, this is just a tip. Each and everyone who took the board exam has their own perspective on what to do during the actual day. Thank you and Godbless!! :))))

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Extreme Disappointment..

This is what I'm talking about. Guess what, I will have to wait another year to enter medical school. Why? Because all other medical schools were closed already! I've only submitted by application on 1 school, and that is PLM (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila). Recently, I only have 3 choices to enter medical school since my NMAT isn't that high. First is PLM. Unfortunately, I don't stand a chance to be accepted there, since my co-examinees are from some of the biggest universities in the country like UP, UST, etc. and I know that they are more competent and more qualified than me. Second is FEU, then third is DLSHSI. Let's discuss the 3 schools one by one.

PLM is one of the best medical school as shown by there consistent 90%++ passing rate in the Physician Licensure Examination, and they even produced famous doctors both local and international. For example, Dr. Senen Reyes, is the first and only Filipino Cosmonaut Doctor. Another is Dr. Bu Castro, former president of the Philippine Medical Association. One more thing in PLM, it has the cheapest tuition fee in medical school within Manila. If you are born in Manila, and currently residing there, your tuition fee can be as low as 10k Php! Yes!! 10k Php! Amazing isn't it? There tuition fee is really cheap, yet the quality of education is incomparable.


Now let's talk about FEU. I knew little about FEU since I only get information on pinoy.md. But I've also monitored their board rating since this is one of my choices. Despite having 100+ board takers, they are consistent in having a convincing board rating. Our school physician in my undergraduate school is from FEU and I may say that he is a very competent doctor and he told me lots of good things about FEU. For me, there are 2 disadvantages in this university. One is the tuition fee, since this is a private institution, their tuition fee is about 100k PhP. Second is the location. FEU-NRMF is located in Fairview, Quezon City. From its name, it's FARview. I've never been there but I think that it would take 2 hours of commuting   time if you are coming from Cavite.

Finally, it's about the De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (DLSHSI). This is one of the most prominent univeristy in the country. And in fact, they've just celebrated their 100th year anniversary. When I hear the word "La Salle", the term "Wow big time!" comes to my mind since I am familiar with their tuition fee. This is a private institution and of course you will expect an expensive one. This is my first school of choice to enter nursing school but unfortunately, as I came there to submit my requirements, I forgot my ID! I wasn't able to enter the university, and since that is my first time to travel in Dasmarinas, Cavite, I got lazy to go back because it's too far for me. DLSHSI have this above average board rating when it comes to Physician Licensure Exam. Recently, the university constructed a new building for their College of Medicine. They are very eager in improving their medical school to be the number one in the country. I have a friend and he told me that the facilities in DLSHSI are incomparable to other medical schools.

Well, becoming a successful and skillful doctor is in the hands of the medical student itself. It ain't true that your Alma Mater will dictate your performance when it comes to practice. My pre-med school is not that famous and yet, some of my batchmates were already in Makati Med, Asian Hospital, St. Lukes, PGH, etc.

I am now working as a review assistant in MERGE nursing review. I will enter medical school next year and there's nothing that will intercept my desire. Medical school will be always there and I know that God has a better plan for me that is why He made me not to enter medical school for this school year. I am planning to re-take the NMAT hoping that I will obtain a higher rank in order to have an additional school of choice as I enter medical school next year.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Taking the NMAT..

All right, so this is one of the tests that many doctors and medical students have already taken. As you can see in the picture, NMAT stands for National Medical Admission Test. It will screen qualified candidates pursuing a medical degree. So if you are an aspiring BS graduate aiming to have a medical degree, you will need to surpass this test before entering medical school. You can take this test as many times as you want (UNLITXT20). If I'm not mistaken, you are allowed to take the exam when you are already in 3rd year in your college level. Just visit http://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/ for more details.

The NMAT is a 2 part test. First part is the mental ability which will test your IQ. Second part is the special subjects concerning Biology, Physics, Sociology, and oh my, Chemistry. You will be taking the first part in the morning with subtests of Verbal, Inductive Reasoning, Quantitative, and Perceptual Acuity.

Let us first discuss the first part. You will be having 3 hours to answer 160 items. 3 hours seems a bit too long but remember, this is a mental test and you really need to invest more time in each question. Verbal part consists of 2 sub-parts, first is the verbal analogy wherein you will find the appropriate word that matches the given word. Next is reading comprehension, this is really a pain in the ass since you need to read a selection consisting of 4-5 paragraphs then answer several multiple choice question regarding the topic. Here is a link where you can practice your reading comprehension, http://www.majortests.com/sat/reading-comprehension.php . The second subtest for part 1 is the inductive reasoning. Here, you will see sets of figures wherein you need to determine the next figure according to the given series. I had fun answering and practicing for this part. I might say that you won't be having any trouble in this part if you will keep on practicing. There are several websites where you can practice inductive reasoning. And here it is:


I bet that you will enjoy answering those practice tests. There is also a figure grouping in the inductive reasoning part. You just need to determine the outcast of the given set of figures. There's also number and letter series in the last part of IR instead of figures. Here are some links for you to practice. (You will need an adobe flash reader to view some of these links)


Next is the all time favorite, the quantitative part. The first subpart is basic mathematical operation and problems with algebraic expressions. If you are doing good on your math subject during high school, I'm sure that this will be a piece of cake for you. But for those who ain't, you need to have a brush up and I'm pretty sure that you will enjoy reviewing with this website (http://www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra/index.htm). It's a really good online tutorial. Each step is discussed and examples were given. You just need to review Lessons 1 to 24. There are also some problem solving questions involving mathematics in the quantitative part. You can find some practice questions for mathematical problem solving questions on the given link above.

Last part is the Perceptual Acuity. This is the part where I got my neck pain. Because you will need to focus and keep a close look in this part. First subpart is the hidden figure. You need to find the given figure on the given choices. Next is the mirror image. As the name implies, you need to search for the mirror image of the given figure. And last but not the least, the Identical Information. There are given sentences and then on the choices, you need to identify its identical sentence. Take note on the s's, periods, commas, apostrophes, and numbers. That is one of my favorite part!

We go now to the 2nd part which consists of Biology, Physics, Sociology, and Chemistry. For biology, it may cover ecology, cells, genetics, basic anatomy, physiology, etc. In physics, it may include heat, motion, electromagnetism, etc. For sociology, here is a website for you to review, http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/ . You can also find some topics for biology and chemistry on the link. Sociology part also includes some psychology questions, most common is the defense mechanism. This is the easiest part for me since I have a background in the field of psychology because I am a nursing graduate. Last but not the least, is the Chemistry. For me, this is the most difficult subject in the 2nd part. You may find topics like cis/trans configuration. What the hell do a nursing graduate know about that?! Physics and chemistry will always have a computation so you better get yourself familiar on basic formulas.

Now let's go to the grading system. In fact, it's not a grading system, it's a ranking system. It is called percentile ranking to be specific. Your ranking would be from 1 - 99 if I'm not mistaken. Let me give you a simple explanation on how it's done. For example, you have a percentile rank of 82nd. It means that you performed best among 82% of the group. Of course you are not the only one to get the 82nd rank. If you get 99th percentile, then you performed best among 99% of the group. The higher the ranking, the better. This is the ranking that medical schools are requiring as part of the admission process. Here are some list of schools with their corresponding NMAT requirement:

1. UP - 90 and above.
2. UST - 80 and above.
3. PLM - 45 and above.
4. SLCM - 90 and above.
5. UERMMMC - 70 and above.
6. DLSHSI - 60 and above.
7. FEU - 40 and above.
8. ASMPH - 80 and above.
9. OLFU - ---
10. Our Lady of Perpetual Help University - --

You can download my compiled rationale for NMAT reviewer with MCAT. Copy this link and paste this on your browser.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8ttA5GnvnRaTXFZTnFCS1hKVW8&usp=sharing

Or you can use this tinyurl:

https://tinyurl.com/ydbzvmks

Disclaimer: I don't work under CEM. All of the information written above are based on my own experience and from what I've read on different websites especially www.cem-nmat.com


"Your imagination can be a reality through Education."

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Nursing Licensure Exam



This is the exam that thousands of students are waiting for!.. and I am one of those who survived this very challenging exam.  After 4 years of studying as a BSN student, you will have your diploma, your review, and finally, the life-changing exam, the NLE. Being a registered nurse needs a lot of guts. It's not about being genius or whatsoever Einstein like brain, but it's all about the skill to adjust in all the demands of a nursing school. Let me share my wonderful experience.


To be honest, if I were given a chance to come back in high school, then I will grab that chance! Why? because I regret my high school life being a happy-go-lucky student. I remember the time when I was in first year level. In order to pass my math exam, I need to copy all the answers from my seat mate. Take note, it's a quarter exam!! Oh God,  please forgive me. But I am not that kind of student you're thinking of, I also read books whenever there are exams, and in fact, some of my classmates are relying on me for some quizzes and assignments. But what I regret most is, I didn't take my high school studies seriously. Especially for science subjects like chemistry, biology, etc., that will be useful as I take my NMAT this coming December. Also, my form 137-a really sucks! Sorry for the word but it's really a clever thing! To make it short, I screwed my high school life! Then here comes my college life as a nursing student. During the time of enrollment, I noticed that my subjects are like high-school ones, and I only have 3 school days per week! That is for the first semester, and by that time, my mind says that it would be a semester full of fun. Let's make it fast. 3rd year as a nursing student. On our first semester, we had our pinning/capping ceremony. It's a very wonderful day because it's the first time that we wore our complete white uniform and being a full-pledged nurse seems to be already at reach. That is the semester that I took my study seriously. You need to comply to all the requirements that clinical instructors are requiring. Doing NCP's while on class, writing drug studies during spare time of duty, sleepless nights on case study preparation, documentations for every rotation, and last but not the least, the all time favorite requirement of all nursing students, the LFD! (Laging Fagod Diary, pagod sa kasusulat). I guess that you wished your LFD to be typewritten, not just once, but many times. Unfortunately, 9/10 instructors wants it handwritten. So much for that LFD. Those things that I've mentioned earlier are just few of the challenges of being a nursing student. You will do all of these for 2 years. Imagine 2 years! By 4th year, another trial will come your way, the thesis writing. We had a hard time finishing that thesis because we changed our whole statistics and we paid a lot for that thing! Yes, finishing a thesis takes a lot of effort and especially, money money money. 


Now, let us go to the much awaited nursing review. This picture on the left is the review center where I offered my career as a nursing graduate. MERGE stands for Multi-Educational Review Group Experts. As what its name implies, yes, it's really a group of experts.

Our tuition fee by that time is 17k PhP, set aside the everyday allowances for food, transpo, alak, etc. Well that would be 220 pesos a day for me. Let's have a simple math. By the month of April, we had around 20 days of review since holy week and graduation week is in this month. That would be 220x20 = ???.. .... ... ... ... 4,400 Php!! Oo naman yes! 4,400 Php!! Then for the month of May, let's say we had 25 days of review, that is 220x25 = 5,600 Php.. And last is June, this includes the critical part and final coaching, it was 220x25 = 5,600 Php again. Let's add those amounts together, 17,000 for the tuition fee, 4,400 for April, 5,600 for May, and 5,600 for June. It's a total of 32,600 Php. I remember when Dr. Manny Tu, one of the big boss in MERGE, offered me a scholarship for review . I don't know his reason for giving me that opportunity but I think that it is because when he is conducting our review in our Nursing Elective, I always participate whenever he ask questions. And maybe that is the reason how he remembered me. But that scholarship would be in Las Pinas City MERGE Branch. I certainly don't know anyone else there. It is an advantage for me since peer-pressure would be away from me. But my friends... my friends...
 :((( Oh my.. But a tuition fee of 17k for free isn't that bad. It's a big money! You can think of those who are having a hard time financing their review. Eventually, my mother decline the offer since he wanted me to be in school even if we still pay on it. Maybe my mother is mind-set before the review starts. I can't be against her since she will be the one who will be giving my baon lol. So if your parents think that their burden on expenses will be finally over since you had graduated, well, they are all wong!! Imagine, 32.6k would be equal to a tuition fee for a semester. So better tell your parents about this amount for them to be ready for your review. The 17k tuition fee for MERGE can be in installment form.


Hmm, let me tell you my experience during review. My bestfriend during those days were shown in the picture. A highlighter, pen, baller, and the MERGE notebook. (Kuha ko yan sa camera ko, danda no? Wahehehe /gg) Some of classmates were using a 3 colored pen, red for the main word, black for definition and green for important parts in the definition. It's a pain in the ass for me, so I just use a highlighter of course to highlight important parts. Do you know why highlighting can help us to remember things? That is because in psychology, we have this what we call "Von Restorff Effect". It states that a sore thumb is likely to be remembered than those who are not. Wala lang, SKL. MERGE review started with what they call "Diagnostic Exam". As it name implies, that exam would determine the strengths and weaknesses of students. In my own opinion, it's just an EXAM. Yes, just an exam. They didn't even tell us what is our strengths and weaknesses. They'd just showed us the result of the exam and that's it. Well, enough for the critics. The exam covers all areas of nursing and is 300 items. 2 hours for every 100 item if I'm not mistaken. After exam, of course they will be giving the rationale. Mr. Francoruss is the first one to be our reviewer and he's one of the best reviewers in merge. He's like a stand up comedian whenever he is in front of us. The cycle for the review would be lecture, exam, then rationale. That cycle would be for the comprehensive part. Then they have this critical part, wherein critical topics in each subject is discussed here. Then the final coaching, it is one of the most awaited part of the review. Final coaching means board exam is approaching. You will have first your exam, then the rationale. Majority of their reviewers doesn't even have handouts while lecturing. Especially Mr. Parrocha of LMR. His lecture would consume about 10 pages back to back of the merge notebook without handouts while lecturing! That's how amazing they are. Most of my classmates consumed all the pages of that notebook but I ain't. I don't know why but I am writing all our lecturers notes.

One of the most exciting part in the review is during the end of an exam. After checking the exams, all students will be standing until our scores was called. Then the highest will remain standing. We are almost 200 in the review and that is the reason why there is no consistent number one in the exam. But you can see that some of my classmates are always within the top 5. I only got the highest score twice, lol.

For those who is still studying as BSN, please don't take your college life for granted. There are so many basic concepts that you need to know as you go along the future. I myself regret my 2nd year in BSN as I don't take it seriously. I barely read my Fundamentals of Nursing during our Primary Health Care. Damn it. During the review, I've said to myself, if I am able to read books during my happy-go-lucky days, I could've known all the concepts, for it is all about the basics!! Finally for those who will soon be taking the NLE, take your review seriously. Especially if you know to yourself that you didn't study well during your nursing days. Some of my reviewmates are very early on class. The review starts at 8am and you will expect them to come at 6am and read notes. But in the end, they failed. And you can see that some of my reviewmates doesn't take the review seriously. Some were sleeping during the review, some aren't taking notes, some aren't listening. But some of them passed the NLE. I am not advising you to push your luck because of what I've just told. Those who failed the exam but comes early to review is maybe due to not studying well during college days. Take note, I said "maybe". Above all, those who are consistently in the top 10 during exams were all able to pass the board exam. See? Like what I've said, take your review seriously and you will see the product of all your hardwork in the end. Nevertheless, learning is a never ending process. May the odds be in your favor!

"Your imagination can be a reality through Education."

Entering Medical School..

First of all, I want to share to you that I really really really want to become a doctor since I was a little kid. And still at present, that desire doesn't change even a little bit. I also said to myself that I will not enter medical school unless I passed the Nursing Licensure Examination. Fortunately, I passed the board exam and that is why I am writing this blog.

Before I decided to continue in med school, doubts won't be absent. First is financial matters. My dad is the most difficult person to convince in our family. I may call him an antagonist in our home lol. It takes so many guts for me to talk to him seriously about pursuing my dream to be a doctor. 

When I said these words, "Pa, payagan mo na ko magdoktor.", my dad breath deeply and started to breath fast. Then he told me, "magkano ba magiging tuition mo?", I said, "mga 100k isang semester pero kapag nakuha ko naman yung academic scholar magiging 20k na lang ang tuition ko sa PLM." "Diyos ko po, tingnan mo Edward pinagpapawisan ako sa sinabi mo..." my dad said. Then our first ever serious conversation has ended in a silence. I didn't said a thing after he said his final words that he is having a diaphoresis, I remain in my sit for a while and then leave my father silently. As I've mentioned earlier, that is our first ever serious conversation since we are not that close and we are always having a fight because his personality has changed when he had a stroke.

Well, enough for my sad part lol. As I imagine myself as a full pledge Doctor, I feel so fulfilled as they call me Doc in my imagination. And when I finish medical school, I'm also able to fulfill my parents dream of having a son that is a doctor. I also thought of my future patients who is thanking me everytime I treat them for free and it makes my heart fat! Lol.

On the other side, majority of my friends and relatives knew that I am going to enter med school. They are all relying on me!! Oh my gosh.. They even call me Doc, amp!! Mahirap rin pala yung ganun, you can feel the pressure not to break their expectations on you.


Another doubt is when I am having a conversation with 2 of my college friends. To be specific, my 2 bestfriends. When I mentioned to them that I will be pursuing med school, one of them said, "Ayaw mo pang tapusin ang paghihirap mo? Naka apat na taon ka na at isang board exam uulitin mo na naman?" I knew that they are not discouraging me but they are just telling the truth and it is their own opinion and there's nothing that I can do about it. As I gone home, what my bestfriend said suddenly enters my mind and it takes me to a turmoil! "Uu nga no, lintek na dinanas kong hirap at pagod nung review at nung nursing days, although masaya naman mahirap pa rin talaga. Nandyan yung minsan naiisip mo, I'm too tired. I wish that board exam would be tomorrow na." Come to think of it, if I pursue nursing, I will be able to go abroad with flying colours and I can earn a lot of money which is one of my dreams. I can buy any gadgets that I want and even have my own house with a swimming pool and highly prestige cars!! I will be able to give everything that my family needs. But still, my desire to help others won't be changed. Thinking about the situation of having lots of money isn't that satisfying for I still want to lend a helping hand to others in my own hands. I didn't say that I can't help others if I am a nurse, of course I can still help them but if I am a doctor, I can help them with my own hands, write prescriptions for free, check-ups for free, everything is free!


All other stuffs that is needed to enter medical school like NMAT, MCAT, interview, etc. will be posted in another blog. Thank you for the time reading my blog. restingnurse.blogspot.com

"Your imagination can be a reality through Education."