When Dharlene Abbygale G. Agulllana was treading the road to her goal, she felt it was a jungle full of difficult challenges and stumbling blocks. In the end, she emerged on a red carpet as modern day Florence Nightingale.

Dharlene was confident she would pass the nursing board examination because of her intense preparation in college and during the review classes she attended; but she never expected landing in the prestigious topnotchers’ list, ranking fourth among the 35,475 hopefuls who took the Nurse Licensure Examination in December 2013.

“For me, it was just an ordinary day when the result of the board exam came out. I was clueless about the events that followed. If only I was given prior notice, I should have changed my profile picture on Facebook to a more decent one,” she beamed.

Dharlene, who was at the center stage during a testimonial program and luncheon tendered Jan. 27 at the MMSU Covered Court for nursing and pharmacy board passers, said that instead of being relieved and grateful after knowing that she made it, she was bothered by her friends as she struggled to find the link of the result of the board exams in the Internet.

“Afterwards, it was a total sense of happiness knowing that 97.98% of us who took the test passed. Suddenly, I started to relish and reminisce the precious moments of my life that led me to attain my dream,” she said as she wiped her tears.

Years of preparation

Dharlene said her preparation for this glorious moment began even before she entered nursing school.

“I was molded by my parents first, then by my teachers and the people I met along the way. They inspired me to strive harder not because it is a guarantee of success, but because the act of striving is, in itself, the only way to keep faith with life,” she said.

According to her, when she was still grade school, she was too dependent on her aunts and uncles who were DepEd teachers. They always helped her in doing assignments.

High school transformed Dharlene to become independent and to take studies seriously, realizing that achievements are hard-earned and not served on a silver platter. She recalled that during her first year in high school, she was challenged by the fourth year students who belonged to the honor roll and who had special skills and talents. She was caught between the attainment of a better future and the fear of being alone or loveless. “However, I took courage to achieve my greatest self so that I could live with purpose and without fear,” she beamed. “Still, I wouldn’t be here with just my own hard work and dedication. Everything I have is dedicated to the people who are here today and to those who are here in my heart,” she said.

Mixed emotions

Meanwhile, Ruben Bersabe, director of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLAPH) Review Center who attended the program, said he is happy of the fruit of his labor in preparing the examinees, because despite the low national passing percentage in the nursing board examination, MMSU still got an impressive output and is now ranked as third top-performing school in the country.

“In our three years of dedicated partnership, the OLAPH Review Center has uplifted the performance of the MMSU nursing graduates from 92 to 97 percent and this increase is credited to this batch,” he said, adding that he chose to serve the Ilocanos because they are dedicated.

President Miriam E. Pacua was, likewise, beaming as she went up the platform to congratulate the successful passers. Saying that she was in cloud nine, the president acknowledged that this was made possible through God’s intervention.

“I used to be very ‘bullyish’ to the Department of Pharmacy because of the previous low performance. But now, they made it, too,” she said.

The president explained that while passing the board examination is one indicator of a good performance, it is not enough. One has to undertake the most crucial step of finding a good job that meets the needs of the employer.

The president ended her speech by underscoring the word “virtuousness.”

“This means that you, as graduates, should be capable in handling your future jobs with good attributes such as honesty and dedication,” she said.