My Weird Exam

I was an in-house clinical instructor

for a certain university for one semester.

I made my own exams for them.

So few got correct answers,

sanay kasi sila sa multiple choice format.

This one is more of a practical sequence of assessment exam.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Hopefully no malicious thoughts will be hatched,

after browsing the female anatomy figures.

Onwards to the Interview

The agency called me late in the afternoon
and told me I passed, I admit, I wept a little
because it was really that hard especially
when the subject matter is so broad.

They then told me that the interview
was scheduled for Thursday, March 17,
around 6am - 7am in the morning.

Apparently some interviewees were already being
interviewed on Wednesday.
So come Thursday I was early again with my ill-fitting shoes,
tried to review to no avail, just lounged around the lobby.

The interviewers were staying at Sheraton,
we saw them eating at the breakfast buffet.
When the agency staff arrived, we were told to stay outside
and wait for their signal - call to go upstairs by three's

That was no fun, it felt like being
in death row you just don't know when you're number will be called.
Too bad , I was again in the first three.
I was 2nd in line.

Actual interview...
I was nervous...
I was interviewed by the 2 lady nurses.
I expected a panel interview of 4 interviewers.

They asked me why i was too tall,
and I explained my heritage.
They asked me about my knowledge of
certain cases I handled.
They commended me on being an instructor.
They also asked me to elaborate on my being
a nurse and midwife.
They asked me if I had questions, I did,
and they answered all my queries as well.

It felt like 10 hours but realistically
it was more like 10 minutes.

I just felt relieved that they smiled
and seemed contented.
I went out quite happy but not extremely blissful
as I knew that there were surely better applicants
with more experience versus my volunteer experience.

Went home afterwards to contemplate
again on what I will say to my mom in case
I did not pass their interview standards.

The Exam Proper

The exam was rescheduled on March 15 Tuesday,
which means that Wednesday will be a rest day for the employers,
which would also mean that would be a nerve-wracking day for us applicants.


I had a nap rather than a good night's sleep
because I was too tense about the exam.
Rode the 4:30 am bus bound to Manila,
Walked from CCP Vito Cruz towards 
Sheraton and met a nice applicant who was
changing her shoes near the driveway towards the hotel.


It was like 5:30 am !
Crazy! I have never been to Manila that early.
Everybody was just stirring from their beds.


We both went to the toilet to refresh,
since we assumed we were the first ones there.
Lo and behold when we went outside,
almost 20 people magically appeared.


Seems that they have waited from the other entrance,
and as early as 3 am applicants were already there.
Around 6am the agency staff arrived and we registered.
Only the first 55 would be the first batch and so on.


They then opened the conference room and switched us around
to accommodate the various applicants.
I chatted with the other applicants,
one was from Agusan who was boarding in PNA and another
was from Bataan, wow!.


Kaswerte ko naman na Cavite lang ako!
Tapos nagrereklamo pa ako, e di ko na kailangan
mag-eroplano or mag-board.


The employers arrived at around 8am.
2 women and 1 man.
The women were both nurses, I cannot guess the nationality
of the Caucasian lady but later on somebody said she was Canadian.
The other lady was a Filipina and the man, an Arab I think,
was the HRD contact.
The man was very stern and serious looking though,
he barely smiled.


The ladies started distributing the exam materials.
Oh No! I thought! Of all the exams...
I barely know what a CTG is? 
Everything was so manual back in CCH, 
we used stethoscopes to take FHTs.


I really believed that I failed the exam,
I went reviewed my answers like 10x,
and counted my sure answers.
I would not reach 75%.


I was already thinking of a way
how to tell my mom that I did not pass
when I stood up and submitted my paper.


I was just sad.
I went home misty-eyed and slept the whole day.

Cancelled Examination

March 13


The agency called to inform us that the exam 
schedule at Sheraton is cancelled
and that we should wait for their call as to 
when it is to be rescheduled.


Initially, in our orientation we were given
a 3 day itinerary of our interviewers.
There would be 2 nurses, A Filipino and a foreigner,
and then 2 locals (I am assuming Arabs).


They would be arriving on Sunday
and supposedly Monday would be the start of the test.
There would be hundreds of us , we were told and
that some would be coming from other agencies.


We were ordered to be there earlier than 6am
and that the exam would ensue immediately.
First come , first serve is the policy.
Although we would be probably grouped according to department.


We would then know the result of the exams,
the same day or the next day, depending on our
future employers, because they would be checking the papers.


Tuesday was reserved as a rest day for them.
Wednesday was the commencement of the dreaded interview,
if, a big giant IF, we passed.


That time when they called and said
they had to reschedule the examination.
I felt reprieved because my heart was literally pounding
from stress and nervousness.
This was like studying for the board exam.

Passing my papers

March 11
Went to Arjoy's Entertainment Agency to pass my papers.
On my way to the building, I saw Richard Gutierrez
filming Captain Barbel on the street.
He looked and smelled shower fresh, no drop of perspiration
with the singeing Philippine noon sun.
Everybody was following him on the street, he smiled at them.
At the very least he was not disrespectful to the throng of fans.

Image Source

Disembarked at Pedro Gil Street and searched for Gedisco Building.
I asked a bank security guard and he pointed me the way.
It was an old dusty construction - Gedisco Building.
If people were not coming to and fro the entrance,
I would have thought it was dilapidated and abandoned.

Encircled area is Gedisco Building
Click to enlarge

Took the stairs, although there was an elevator.
I really wanted to see where I was going just to be safe.
Every floor was occupied by agencies.
Even saw some whose names frequented the classified ads.


Arrived at Agency's unit, fronted by a big green sliding door
with their own personal manong doorman.
I went in and they immediately  acknowledged my presence.
I am tall and enormous and half-white so I stand out.
Bleh...can't help it.


Lots of applicants were there, already filling up forms
and submitting their requirements.
Guess they did this gig by batch.
I logged in and was given a form to fill in.
It was much like a bio-data, but with a small piece of
blank paper stapled to it wherein we had to write our
work experience.
I was wondering why they had to separate it, anyhow, 
I did what was ordered.


They also gave me a list of requirements I was supposed
to pass along with their form:

• Resume
• Diploma
• COE (Certificate/s of Employment)
• TOR (Transcript of Records)
• PRC/IV License (Professional Regulation Commission/ Intravenous Therapy)
• Board Rating
• Board Certificate
• Seminar/s
• Original Passport
• NBI Original

Now I made the mistake of giving 
my original passport,
which made me realize later on that I 
could have shopped around for
better agencies and offers.
But it cannot be undone so its there 
hopefully in their safekeeping.
All documents to be passed are photocopies 
except of coursefor my passport and resume.
I did not have an NBI clearance, 
so that was the only thing lacking.
Pwede naman daw to follow yun.


After organizing my scrap heap of 
documents they asked which department/field
I am specializing in.
I said OB/DR.
they then asked me to wait a little while, 
because I had to answer yet
another form (employer's form).
It was a checklist of skills!


Half the things there I did not really know.
So bahala na, talagang nalurkey ako.
E napaka basic nga ng pinagtrabahuan ko dati.
As in mano-mano talaga, ni Doppler wala kami.


After that tinipon kami sa isa pang kwarto,
kung saan inorient kami.
The employers are from Al Kharj Military Hospital
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nakapag-paalis na rin sila last year, same company,
hundreds daw at expect na namin na madami din kami.


Tawagan daw kami for confirmation of 
the date of the exam.
Tentative daw e March 14 Monday sa 
Sheraton malapit sa Harrison Plaza 
which is fine by me dahil Vito Cruz lang yun.
Kaso they asked us to be there mga 6 am 
pa lang at business attire.
So corporate na naman ang dating ko at magdadala
ako uli ng blazer at shoes at giant bag.


After nun uwian na kaya byahe ako
pabalik ng Quirino para makasakay ng Cavite bus.


Napa-isip ako dahil medyo rusty na ako sa field
kaya I planned to do  a madibdibang 
review ala board exam over the weekend.


Good luck naman talaga sa akin at aking old brain.

Applying

http://www.workabroad.ph/

March 2011
Already had my resume posted at the workabroad site.
I was updating my profile and trying my luck

I initially began scanning nursing ads bound for KSA.

I clicked every single one that had 
OB/DR/GYNE/Labor tags in it.

I also uploaded my resume and 

left everything to fate.


I also had a daily subscription to jobstreet
And that is where Arjoy's found my resume methinks.

http://www.jobstreet.com.ph/

All my experience were volunteering work.

Although I was not compensated with a salary.

Sometimes they gave me pang-merienda.

I resigned ahem, AWOLed myself

(I was not an employee, I was a volunteer)

after 2 years of waiting for:

1. waiting for the lying-in to 
become a secondary hospital

2. being bypassed by volunteers who have 
'connections' to the mayor

3. laboring for years and still no news 
about them hiring me even if they told me 
I was the best candidate.

4. better opportunities

5. personal problems/issues

In the end I got tired of the government.

Truly not everything is equal.

It was unfair for people like me who 
worked hard and expected

that our exemplary performance 
would put in a 'good word'

for a possible placement in the 
government bureaucracy.

Connections, nepotism and corruption rules.

Top to bottom, nobody is spared.

I want a better future.

Enlightened

I attended a seminar the other day,
twas top billed by an American lady
who had so many accolades all i can remember
was that she was the past president of
the ANA and CGFNS.

one thing stuck to my mind though,
she compared generations of nurses
and people per se.

As part of generation X and Y,
we were stuck with the
notion that once we leave work,
everything related to that is left there,
never to be brought back home.

Unlike her generation, we are more laid back and
concerned with what happens after
because frankly most of us do not
enjoy working (or the place we work)
at all.

Her generation she explained could not
separate work and home even if they
wanted to since they had to work long
hours and somehow they managed to
bring back some of the stress and work
itself at home.

This got me thinking,
i love my work, i love nursing.
Yes, i do complain A LOT and absent myself
A LOT (because i am not fiscally compensated A LOT)
but i do think about it when i go home.

A friend once told me, that whenever she gets home,
she gets this itchy compulsion to call
just so to make sure that everything was endorsed
right and nothing was forgotten.

I get that too but not often,
i am the type who would rather do things myself
than ask others to do it even when i already have
a foot's length of tasks to do because
i want things done my way and not in a sloppy manner.

i guess, i dont allow mistakes to enter
my sphere of action and thinking and end up
all disappointed and mad at myself when shit happens.

in a way, i also dont allow others to learn
for fear they will bungle up the task
or do it in a manner i personally dont accept.
kinda selfish dont ya think?

anyway, going back to what
the lady said, i think she has a point there.

while some of us just cant severe the ties between
work and home, some just dont care.
some would rather be somewhere else,
those people should be left in the middle of
a desert to rot and die.

i forgot to mention that yes,
i got lost on my way to the seminar
and thanks to my friend and
her hubby i managed to locate the place
because they personally escorted me right
up to the entrance!

thanks guys!
thanks for putting up with my tears.

i really hate travelling locally,
because you cant trust anybody anymore,
as much as i want to, with my predicament,
i have to side with caution.

and because i trusted this jeepney driver
who apparently was more interested in flirting
with his passengers and behaving hazardly
(i think he was high on drugs)
it brought me nowhere,
he even managed to ask for more money (fare)
even if did get me lost
and stranded far away from where
i was supposed to be.

Thanks a lot manong!
By now, i hope all your wheels are punctured
dahil gahaman ka at nag-a-addict ka pa.

its people like you who give the country a bad name.

shame on you!

ID

Went to PNA earlier
to renew my expired ID.

Another cartolina rectangle
to add to my growing shrine
of expired cards.

P400 and I am not
getting my moneys worth.

Saddened that in lieu of
a neon (insert color here)
I got a plain white thick card
with the PNA green logo.

At least now we have
green and black ink!

But really how much does
a plastic machine-produced
card cost when its virtually
available everywhere?!

How many nurses do we have
PNA?! Loads I tell you!
Overflowing thousands!
And for 400 pesos I get a
carton ID that I have to laminate...

And your not emailing the newsletter
that I have signed up for?!
What the hell?!

So saddened why stinginess
has spread to
private orgs like PNA.