Just after the inauguration and thanksgiving dinner for the completion of the DMC’s auditorium and Nursing Building, the stunning diva Kuh Ledesma graced the people of Dipolog with a memorable gospel night.

I thought beforehand was that it will just be a regular concert with Kuh. I was completely surprised when I went to the Covered Court and discovered that the event was a form of worship. I never scrupled into reluctance because I wanted to grab the chance to see Ms. Ledesma in person and to be able to hear her sing for just one teeny bit of moment. Glad to have an excuse to come home late, I was totally agreeable that the school has formally requested its students earlier to attend the show. Read more…

The task of nation rebuilding from the debris of socio-economic ruins caused by the elements of terrorism is fraught with challenge. Unless our motivations are unwavering; unless we are wiling to cooperate and pool our resources together in unity and peace we shall not be able transform this nation into a progressive and responsible democracy. Read more…

The year of the rat is greeted with mixed feelings by many. Pessimists think 2008 will be a time of misery and squalor (ever heard of the expression ‘as poor as a church mouse?’ Technically, though, rats and mice are not of the same species but they come from the same family). Optimists believe it’s going to be a year of opportunity and free stuff, obviously because of the rodent’s talent of stealing. Whichever it will be, whatever you make the Rat Year of depends on each of us and how hard we work to either get free stuff or to give in to poverty. Predictions are only there to give hope, not to be made as a guiding principle. Read more…

Being a fundamental criterion of life, growth is a natural process that any entity, community or institution undergoes unless it wants to dissolve into stagnation or demise. It is actually a choice whether to develop and reach the crux of one’s existence or to succumb to stasis and immobility which is not a choice at all. Read more…

by Reynald P. Kyamko

Among the fields of study, healthcare, especially nursing, has drawn significant interest among students. The appeal comes from the fact that the demand for Nursing professionals in the country and even in the international job market continues to grow. As a result, nursing schools have sprouted to meet the demand while existing educational institutions have expended their nursing programs. The promise of immediate employment after completion of the degree is just too enticing for any nursing student to pass up. The graduates, unfortunately for the nation, do not stay long enough in their own land. Health experts are warning of a crisis in public health care not only due to the exodus of nurses for high-paying jobs abroad, but also because even doctors are taking nursing courses and leaving the country. Read more…

By: Franzel Ray B. Acbay

Opportunities still abound overseas for Filipinos. Studies show that in the past two years, Filipino workers abroad have reached a million in population. Employment has always turned in favor of medical, health, information and technology professionals. Despite the nursing board exam scandal last year, the rate of deployment and demand remain unaffected, and nurses continue to migrate to the United States, Canada, Europe, and Middle East. Read more…

By Mark Cabugnason

Over years, students from different colleges and universities have been dawdling in their administration’s lap to ratify the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act. While some institutions like UP have ratified such act, there are still a high number of institutions which have remained passive of such concept. And sad to note that despite the growing number of cases reported by students, employees and faculty who were victims of the notorious kwarto o kwatro, lay-down or lay-off and other forms of sexual harassment, it has fallen on deaf ears. Read more…

Some people in our community struggle for their rights that were somewhat mostly ignored by most. This happens all the time due to lack of aptitude and perseverance among the leaders and members of some opposing force.

Potential situations such as disagreement and misunderstanding between the administration and the studentry are very common in schools. Students who are not satisfied with the administration’s ways resort to a vocal protest as a manifestation that they are not in accordance with whatever decisions that were made. Read more…

The controversy of Board exam leakages is not a new concept. Last 1996, PRC and the Board of Physical Therapy were attacked by almost exactly the same issue: questions coming out of the board exams leaked verbatim to certain review centers, and examinees happily shaded away, thanking their lucky stars for such grand coincidence. The crisis fortunately did not lead to a demand for retake, just a nerve-wracking recount. Consequently, some PTs who already went through bouts of depression because their names never appeared on the newspapers were suddenly and out-of-the-blue hailed as certified professionals by PRC. It really was somewhat an unfair emotional roller-coaster for the failed-then-passed examinees, which inevitably created the stigma of “merciful passing” and the “he-just-passed-because-of-the-recount” label. Read more…

By: Franzel Ray B. Acbay

It has been said that nursing is a progressive calling wherein year by year, nurses learn new methods as medicine and surgery as well as the hygiene evolve. Nurses are also called upon to do better than what they have done. Some would consider it fashionable to be overshadowed by Miss Nightingale and her pioneering role as the founder of modern nursing: but to do so, as with so many stylish actions, is to be philosophically mistaken. She was a woman of perspective, as sincere and dedicated to the care and genuine welfare of the patient as to the persisting progress of the art and science of the nursing profession. Chic or not, there will be no doubt that the profession today would move forward as dynamically as she did herself. Read more…