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Thursday, March 30, 2006
West Negros College nursing grads finally take oath
AFTER a long wait, about 300 nursing graduates of the West Negros College finally took their oaths as full-pledged and licensed nurses.
Dr. Remedios "Remy" Fernandez of the Board of Nursing (BON) administered the oath and swore the graduates, who hailed from Bacolod, Cebu and Dumaguete cities, to duty in a simple ceremony held Wednesday night.
"It's worth the wait," said Ernie Arbolario, WNC vice president for external affairs, after the graduates with their parents and relatives were applauded.
"Thank you graduates for your patience and perseverance. I know that you've exerted all your efforts and spent your time to follow up (on) this matter. But this is it now. You're truly the Wesnecan nurses that we have," said Arbolario in his speech.
"The feeling of relief is so immense. Gone are the long wait, sleepless nights and the diarrhea," said Rosario Abaring, one of the graduates from Barangay Bata, Bacolod City.
Abaring, an instructor from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R) College of Commerce, and the 17th placer in the nursing board exams, is hoping that their worries are truly over.
This as their group is no longer interested in pursuing the case it filed against the PRC and BON.
We need to move on now, Abaring said as she disclosed her plan to take another examination and process her papers for work abroad.
Arbolario, however, clarified that it is up to the students to decide if they will still pursue the case against the two agencies or not.
"It is already enough that the mess is over," he said.
It appeared though that after a meeting of the BON and PRC officials with solons at the office of House Speaker Jose De venecia last week, an agreement to drop the cases after the release of examination results and licenses are given.
For businessman Hans Chua whose daughter Tiffany Harriet Chua was among those administered the oath Wednesday night, the happiness the oath taking brought was immeasurable.
Tiffany is also a certified public accountant.
Hans did not hide his frustration though after they were made to wait for almost four months before Wednesday night's affair.
Suzette Agustin, WNC president, said, "the oath taking of our Nursing graduates is the answer to our prayers and perseverance."
"At least, the students and the school will be relieved of their worries. I know that our worries will be over," she told mediamen in a press conference also Wednesday night.
She also said she has been looking forward for Wednesday night's affair.
"This is a vindication on our part because we know we're on the right track and we always stand by what is the truth," she added.
Agustin said she doesn't look at the controversy as something that may pose some problems to the WNC's Nursing Program.
The nurses were not immediately allowed to get the results of the Board examinations they took after the BON and PRC officials accused them of overloading their academic units for a given semestral period.
Agustin said she even considers it a plus factor as it made WNC more popular not only in Negros but throughout the country.
"I know that other Nursing schools in Negros have their eyes on us now. I also hope that our case will not be experienced by other Nursing schools because it's so taxing... very taxing," Agustin said.
She also revealed that for five years now, the school's nursing population have increased.
She said there's nothing to be corrected in their Nursing program.
"I know that our curriculum is right. We won't change any of it. What we will probably do is to improve it," she also said.
"This is a challenge on our part because after all this mess, the people still trust WNC."
Agustin also thanked all the graduates and their parents for hanging on with WNC in the midst of trouble.
"Your commitment, your trust and loyalty in us helped WNC to become stronger," Agustin said.
She also thanked all those who have helped them, especially the representatives to come up with a win-win solution.
The next graduating batch, she said, will not have any problem at all. The batch will graduate on May 7 this year.
"Everything is settled and so the next batch won't experience this kind of mess anymore," she assured.
Agustin, meanwhile, said that aside from Wednesday night's oath taking, they are also planning to hold a mass oath taking. She described the graduates as firm and courageous.
Meanwhile, 146 Nursing graduates in Iloilo also took their oath at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday.
(March 30, 2006 issue)
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