STORY TIME!
This is the story of my life before medicine proper--- my Nursing journey! This is my first year or at least, what I could remember from it.
USTET, Interview and Admission
Fun fact, when I was in high school I was actually torn between Architecture and Nursing. I put both courses when I took my Ustet exam (which was uneventful so I won’t even bother writing about that). I passed Nursing and but failed in Arki so I just accepted the fact na maybe that path really isn’t for me. Besides, ever since I was in grade school I’ve always wanted to pursue something that would eventually prepare me for Medicine anyway. For Ustet just bring a jacket, pencils and your eraser. I also took the upcat and acet and compared to those two tests, ustet seemed easier. Just remember that the opposite of love is indifference. (Ayan may 1 point ka na haha)
Before getting officially accepted into nursing, you have to undergo an interview. I remember that I was last in my batch (This always happens, swear. I was last to get interviewed in FEU med din lol). They asked me easy questions like “Tell me something about yourself.” “What are your parents’jobs?” “Why did you choose UST Nursing?”. They also asked me about current issues that may affect me (?) to which I had no idea what to answer lol. I can’t remember who interviewed me but thanks ma’am for passing me hope I made you proud. ^_^v
Dorm Life
After a while, I got formally accepted into the program and I had to move in to Manila. This is probably the toughest part honestly. I was a naive probinsya all alone in the harsh Manila world. I chose a solo room in Lacson (but I don’t recommend this dorm lol) na walking distance lang to dapitan gate coz my mom didn’t like the idea of me commuting everyday especially since I was new to the area. We had to buy everything talaga like foam for solo bed, air-con, refrigerator, rice cooker and printer. So if you’re moving into an unfurnished room, be financially prepared. If you wanna save money, join the Dorm Hunters group in facebook and look for a roommate. There are also several fully furnished rooms in Espana or Sun Residences in Rotonda.
Food Struggles
Okay so after moving in, I had to figure out where to buy food. In Lacson, there’s Jollibee and Mcdo. If you turn a corner, just go around Dapitan street and there are plenty of restaurants and food stalls. There’s KFC, Wendy’s, Army Navy and further along is Starbucks. If you’re into saving money, just be adventurous and go try the different food stalls. One of my all time favorites in Chowpoint in Rosarito street with milktea from Simple Line. If you love milktea, boi, you’re gonna have a grand time. Ang daming shops around. Hindi ka mauubusan. If you’re feeling adventurous you can go to the other sides of UST, like P.Noval and even all the way to Espana. The food scene is always changing so be adventurous.
Welcome Walk
Don’t miss this event! This is very iconic and it’s the perfect start to your Thomasian journey. You get to enter the Arch of the Centuries (careful though. Legend says you’re not supposed to exit the Arch coz it will lead to your debarment). Every year the nursing central board of students work hard to come up with a theme and make props. Thank them when you see them. They’ll be your Ates and Kuyas for the upcoming year. When I talked to the upper classmen they even offered to sell their secondhand books for low prices.
Books and Uniform
Don’t buy books unless your prof requires it. You’ll probably be required to buy the anatomy book, the lab manuals and the math book coz it has the sheets for your seat works that you will pass. Most books for minor subjects you can buy from your upperclassmen. If you’re okay with pdfs, some books on major subjects are available online. Or just ask your senpais for help.
For the uniform, there is only one place you should go to and that is Aling Ising’s. You can finer her shop sa Lacson. Diretsong lakad lang sya once you cross the pedestrian lane from Jollibee Lacson to the other side. The sign is small though so be alert if it’s your first time going there. Yung style namin ng mom ko is we just followed the other nursing people na nakasabay ko nung enrollment hahaha
Quota Grade & Summer Term
Nursing is tough. It’s a quota course and they eliminate the people who don’t make it to a certain general weighted average (GWA). This was a constant source of anxiety for me. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough or ang stupid ko naman but eventually I just realized that I’m naturally weak in some subjects and strong in others. So my technique was just to pass those subjects na I suck at and then actively participate in classes where I’m good at so I can pull my grade up. Theology for example is a subject ignored by most but look at the bearing that it has on your grade.
Chemistry by far was the most challenging at that time. I literally have no idea how I got my grade there kasi I had no idea what was going on. I remember we had to work individually but also as a group? And we had to report to the class din. If the reporter failed to cover the topic properly then the class suffers coz bahala kayo iresearch kung ano man yung correct answer sa questions ng prof. Dark times for me. And this carries on to the next semester. Ugh.
In first sem you also have general psychology but for some reason in my head, mas mahirap yung first year psych compared to third year psych lol Or maybe kasi you basically have no prior knowledge about it. I don’t recall much here except yung interesting tidbits like yung aso ni Pavlov.
In second sem, you get Anatomy and Physiology which is a subject that I took for granted. Haha never forget the things that you’ve learned here because this will be the foundation of the things you will tackle in all the other years. Plus, sa board exam namin may questions about basic anatomy and ang daming nadali hahahaha.
For summer term we got Health Assessment lecture and lab. This is something that you have to keep in mind. Because on your second year, you’ll have your duty na and you will use these assessment skills to assess the needs of your client and this will help you form a nursing diagnosis. So try to store these things in your long term memory. Don’t make the same mistakes we did lol
Always do your best but don’t forget to have fun. First year may seem so hard but before you know it, boom, it’s done. You’ll be second year and you’ll get your caps and pins na. One step closer to your dream.
That’s all for now.
In the future, I’ll write more.
See you around!
