Our Lady of Guadalupe Colleges : Thanksgiving Mass and Oathtaking Ceremony for the BSN graduates and Board Passers

Last September 28, 2012 (Friday), Our Lady of Guadalupe held their Thanksgiving Mass & Oath-taking ceremony for the Bachelor of Nursing Graduates who are now registered board passers. The event took place at exactly 2:00pm, in the Audio Visual Room of Our Lady of Guadalupe Colleges. The room was filled with anxious graduates, (who are now official Registered Nurses) with their parents. The graduates exchanged quick hugs with their colleagues and their professors. They were all dressed in their gala suits; they all look like professionals [whew!]. The event started out with the Thanksgiving Mass led by Rev. Father Paul Mystica. He paid particular attention to words HOPE, WISDOM, COURAGE, and PROFESSIONALISM.

After the Mass, the ushers of the event re-vamp the whole stage for the Oath-taking ceremony; we were given privileged to celebrate this wonderful occasion with the presence of Ms. Leonila A. Faire a proud member of the Philippine Board of Nursing. We were also granted with the presence of our College Vice-President Mr. Martin J. Dela Rosa MD,MPH, our College Administrator Mr.Vincent Mark Vergel De Dios, and the Dean of Nursing Myraflor Lava, RN, MAN, USSRN. The event started out with the National Anthem led by Ms. Althea Peralta 4^th year BSN student, and followed by the Opening Remarks by Mr.Vincent Mark Vergel De Dios, he focused on thanking the parents for entrusting the education of their children with the institution, and congratulating the graduates for making it to the official registry of Philippine Registered Nurses. Following the College Administrator, the Dean of Nursing Ms. Myraflor Lava, had the privilege of introducing our Honorable Guest Speaker Ms. Leonila A. Faire, a member of the Philippine Board of Nurses. Ms. Lava made use of this phrase “A woman of brilliance and dynamism…” to introduce our distinctive speaker.

Ms. Leonila Faire, started her speech by introducing herself and her colleague Dr. Dela Rosa who turns out to be a past co-worker in the Philippine General Hospital, OR Department. She was very enthusiastic and proud of the graduates and board passers of Our Lady of Guadalupe Colleges. She emphasized the responsibility of a nurse not just for her patients but also for themselves as well. She pictured how a small act, such as positioning can help a patient recover faster and better in the Operating Room. She added, you can shorten their stay in the hospital by giving medicines on the right patient, right site, and right time. “Your clients life in the next hours is in your hands ” She said “Your name shall now be registered on the registry of the Professional Registry Commission of the Philippines; You are the 7,823 or 45.69% successful examinees out of 60,895 examinees who fought for the prestigious title of being an RN”. She also pointed out that having a nurse as a part of a family is like having a health insurance; “Nurses = Referral” Center which made the audience laughed at her remark. It is true, a nurse will tell you if you should already consult a doctor for a specific health problem or she might just give you home remedies that can act as a first aid for a particular condition. “Filipinos are the preferred nurse globally, we are the preferred choice in the world” she concluded. Her speech was very inspiring, you can see smiles painted on the faces of the graduates, they were filled with flattery and joy to have this remarkable woman speak in behalf of them and congratulate them personally for their achievements. After her bravura speech, she made the students rise for them to have their pledge (seen on video 1 Sony).

After that, 2 BSN students from the 4^th Year level Mr. Herminiguildo Cabamungan and Inah Marie Evidente made an intermission number for the audience they sang 2 songs for the graduates namely, Don’t Stop Believing by the famous band Journey and Keep Holding On popularized by Avril Lavigne. After intermission number, Ms. Frances May F. Bicol RN from the Batch 2010 of Our Lady of Guadalupe Colleges, now a successful nurse led the graduates for their Nurses Pledge (Video 2 Sony). After that Our College Vice President, Mr. Martin J. Dela Rosa MD, MPH made the closing remark in behalf of the school. When the Ceremony was wrapped up they made the graduates watch a video that showed pictures of the graduates in the past when they were all still bambinos and bambinas, this swept them away and touched by this gesture some were smiling, laughing and some of them even shed tears of joy. After all that commotion, good news shared by Mrs. Felma Garcia RN, MAN was made, she announced that Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center our Mother Hospital will be accepting applications for our graduates. The graduates were then invited to share some refreshments served at the school library, located at the first floor of the school building.