Friday, August 27, 2010

I may not know how you feel but I can empathize with the hundreds of thousands of exam takers who didn't see their names in the list of passers of this year's NLE. It's an endless cycle, twice a year thousands of new nurses rejoice, put RNs after their names and happily wait for their PRC cards while tens of thousands more cry and feel the bitter stab of jealousy and disappointment.

And I know from experience that it's not just personal disappointment that is so painful to endure. It's the expectations and hopes of people around us that can eat us up inside and make us feel utterly worthless. They've helped us get to where we are and offered us unending support. This is the only thing we can do to repay such debts and yet we cannot even manage to succeed in such a trivial task of passing an exam.

But things happen and they do for a reason. Remember, challenges come our way to be hurdled and defeated.

One thing I know is that passing or failing the board exam doesn't define who you are. The board exam is just a written test, designed to measure one's coginitive skills, guessing prowess and shading abilities. It doesn't asses one's nursing skills, how one deal with patients and colleagues and how one strives under pressure. It's a one sided exam, and failing it doesn't mean that you are good for nothing just because you weren't able to guess correctly the appropriate intervention for DOB.

Don't lose hope, don't surrender. Stand up and try to soar again. And if nursing isn't for you, then fine. Passing the exam isn't as hyped up to be anyways. If you think that the mere fact that you have a PRC license that says "Nurse" at the front will open up a world of opportunities and bring in endless flow of cash, then you're dead wrong. Thousands are still unemployed (including me) and half of the nursing population are at call centers answering call from strangers and/or contacting one to pitch in a product.

Nonetheless, it's great being a nurse. There can never be too much of people who are well-trained to care for the sick and the dying. It's a noble job, to have all the work yet little of the glory. The doctors come and go but we nurses are the ones who stay.

So if you really want to pursue the profession then stay. Stay motivated, stay strong and persevere. This is not the end of the world. There are unlimited number of chances you could take. That license could still be yours.

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

salamat=(

Clarriscent said...

@Anonymous: You are very much welcome.. :)

humble opinion said...

Well said. Life's struggles is nature way of making as strong.

Clarriscent said...

@humble opinion: Thank you. I tried to be as honest as possible, without sugarcoating the pain but also presenting the light at the end of the tunnel, which is as truthful as it is cliche. :)

Anonymous said...

I didn't take up nursing but i did fail the september interior design board. Thank you for this post. I am still feeling down and doing self-pity but i guess with time I can move on..

Clarriscent said...

@anonymous: Thank you for reading. :) Let's take it from J.K. Rowling, the author of my beloved Harry Potter:

"You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."

If that is not inspiring, I don't know what is.

Anonymous said...

madaling sabihin lahat pro ang sakit pla..lalo na pag ang feling gni2..:(

Anonymous said...

j

Anonymous said...

thanks :(

Clarriscent said...

@ All Anonymous(es):

Glad to be of help somehow. :) Stay strong future colleagues!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the inspiring words.

Clarriscent said...

@Anonymous:

I know it's that time of the year once again. All I can say is that, though it may feel like it, it's not the end of your hopes and dreams. Have faith and soar higher next time around.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this wonderful site you inspire us and teach us how to do better.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if I ever heal again. It was so painful to fail the exam especially this is the most important thing for us nurses to Pass the exam. In my situation me and my friends take the exam together but the most painful thing was that I'm the only one who didn't pass the exam. I was left behind but I know that there is always a reason and purpose for this. I had read this letter and it inspired me to study a lot harder to reach my goal thank you for the strategies please pray for me God bless.

Anonymous said...

thanks.. :'''((((((((

Anonymous said...

very well said... thank you....:(

Unknown said...

Masakit kasi nahihiya ako sa family ko ang totoo naman nyan sila ang nabigo ko hindi yung sarili ko, kahit hindi nila ipakita sakin yung nararamdaman nila, alam ko na masakit sa kanila yun, everyday ako umiiyak kasi hindi ko alam kung pano babangon ulit, kung pano mkakatulong, hindi ko alam kung my tatanggap paba skin sa trabaho, sa panahon na to masasabi mo talaga kung sino an totoo mong kaibigan

Anonymous said...

gud pm. maraming beses n akong ngxam ng nle almost 10x n kaso eto p rin hnd nkakapasa since ngtake ako ng exam 2008 gang ngaun 2013 72-73 ang grades ko. kng ako nasasaktan ng sobra pano p kya un family ko. un dad ko naoperahan n s puso lahat2 hnd p ako nkakapasa. ngeexam ako kasi gusto ko maging proud un family ko skn kht pano pero almost 6yrs n wala p rn. dami ngsasabi hnd ko linya pagiging sbe ko makuha ko lng lisensya ko mkapasa lng ako masaya n ako hnd ko after ang pera mkapgabroad. gusto ko lng mabuo pgkatao.

Verlene said...

Although this post was written several years ago, I still couldn't agree more with what you mentioned. My perspective about the board exam and about the repeaters changed from the moment when I became one. I kept thinking where I went wrong since I didn't enroll in a review center. It could be the shading, analyzing, knowledge, or whatsoever.

My plan was to take the board this coming December 2013, but I didn't have enough practice exams to answer by the time that day would arrive and I wouldn't know whether my RN friend's shading tips would be successful or not. So, I took the June 2013 PNLE. It was risky because there was a possibility that I'd fail again, but I didn't. Plus, I didn't enroll in a review center, so imagine how difficult it was for me to keep moving forward.

The board exam is meant for those who are mentally and emotionally strong. I talked to a repeater whose loved one is ill during my first take, and that was when I realized that maybe there are other probable reasons as to why some people didn't succeed.

If I made it, I'm sure you could, too. Tell yourselves that you know that you'll pass, but you just don't know exactly when you will pass. =)

PS: This is one long comment. I hope Clarisse doesn't mind :P

Anonymous said...

For me, failing the board exam for the first time was very depressing because i graduated from a known university, i attended review at school before graduation and after that i enrolled in a review center . I have books and materials to read. I prayed and attended mass. I also believe in myself that i will pass and be a top...So for me, i have lots of knowledge and a great determination to pass but unfortunately i failed. At first, im thinking that i am very stupid, ''ang tanga tanga ko, 500 item question lang, di ko pa nasagutan ng tama''. But now, hopeful na ako na for the second try. I will pass and has RN in my last name even self study lang.i belive that we have all the knowledge but it is not the right time... and it will be soon. :-)

''EVERYYHING IS POSSIBLE THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME'' Phil 4:13

Anonymous said...

hi is it true that after you fail for 3 consecutive you will be going back to school for a refresher?

Clarriscent said...

@Anonymous:

That is also what I heard but I'm not so sure if there had been policy changes in the recent years. Good luck!

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