Think about your reasons for entering nursing. What were they?

“To be honest, I took up nursing because out of the entrance exams I took (accounting,
engineering, social work), nursing came out first. Knowing the enrolment process in MSU takes
weeks to a month, I enrolled right away. Also, I like the uniform because I am a bit obsessed
with white.”

Are they the same until you graduate? If not, why do you think they have changed?

No. During the 1st Semester of my nursing life, I really thought that it was a wrong move to
enroll on the course. I find the subjects difficult which are more on memorizing such as
TFN+RetDems with Math and Chemistry. But when we had our first hospital exposure during
the 2nd Semester, it all changed. In the clinical area, I get to handle sick patients to become well
and a simple “thank you” from them melts my heart. From then on, I realized that seeing patients
under my care makes me happy. So I pursued nursing till the end.

How did you survived your student nursing journey?

I just learned to love whatever I am doing. When you start loving what you do, you will never
take it as a burden. I hate memorizing, but when I started to loving it, memorizing became a
hobby. I hate chemistry. But when I met friend who loves the subject, I eventually learned to
love it as well. I hate Math. But when I see my teacher who is so kind and funny, I then liked
Math. The point is, always love what you do and learn to love what you hate. It’s not easy at
first, but you’ll learn it eventually.

Do you have any study habits?

Yes. Not sure if this is the typical way but when I study, I first read and understand the concept.
If it’s still unclear to me, I seek Google and YouTube’s help. Once the concept is fully
understood, I’ll invite my friends to have a group study where I play the role of a teacher.
Discussing the concept to them and sharing whatever I learned is my technique of memorizing
the topics by heart. I believe that the more study methods involved (reading, writing and
speaking), the more it retains in the memory.

What did you do after you graduated and passed the board exam?

I took the NLE and after passing it, I reviewed for NCLEX and worked as a part-time reviewer at
the same time.

Do you consider yourself successful? If not, what more do you want to achieve?

Yes and No. Definition of success varies from person to person. And as for me, I only consider
myself successful if my targets are met. Every year, I list down 10 goals. It’s like a checklist that
has specific deadlines. Sometimes, I’m able to tick CHECK, which means I succeeded and
accomplished a specific goal. However, there were also times that I put X which means that my
goal was not met in the time frame I provided. So for as long as I have goals, I can never be
completely successful, but neither am I unsuccessful since I have achieved many of my previous
goals.

What is the best advice you can give to the aspiring nurses?

The profession you’re about to enter is no joke. It takes a hundred percent dedication. There will
be days, probably many, when you want to just quit. Go through the meltdown, cry and learn on
a friend. Then, brush it off and keep going forward. At the end, it will be worth it.

Maybelle M. Abraham

May 13, 1994

Kamayo Ethnic Tribe

Lianga, Surigao del Sur

MSU-CHS Magna Cum Laude 2015

NLE November 2015 Top 3 85.80 January 8, 2016 9,114 out of 18,500

Turkish Hospital, Doha, Qatar