beyond toxicity

Last Tuesday, the unthinkable happened!  For the very first time, I’ve proven myself that I can also do what Willie Revillame, Edu Manzano and Cesar Montano are doing on their respective TV shows — hosting,  LOL!  I’m far from being a master showman, hehehe,  but I didn’t know what got into me that I didn’t think twice when I was offered by the  E4 Events Management  about a couple of weeks ago to be the moderator of this huge event…

“Nurse Talk is an information campaign seminar that came about with the realization of a private group of the need to further educate the fast growing nursing industry in pursuing their aspirations of working overseas”  – those were the few lines I first mentioned in my spiels when I officially opened the seminar for the nurses. 

My wife noticed that I wasn’t tense the night before the event neither I am anticipating hassles nor technical problems ofcourse, but I was just relaxed and unmindful.  Until I heard the National Anthem played and my name introduced, hala!  it was nerve-wracking!!!  Thank Heavens I managed to somehow pull it through. 

By mere looking at the venue where movies like Transformers become big hits, there were no reasons for any failure.  I asked my wife Tina to absent herself from her work to accompany me and serve as my official loving assistant for the entire event. And without hesitation, she agreed and eagerly took some personal photos. Below are pictures of the entrance to SM Manila Cinema 9 with tarpaulin standees from the event’s sponsors and the  venue itself that was beginning to be filled up with audience.

We hurdled traffic in Manila from Quezon City as my call time was 8 in the morning and the event was scheduled to start at 10 AM.  However, long queues were seen only few minutes after mall opening, so we have to wait for several minutes for the venue to be filled.  Nonetheless, it was packed by nurses of varied generations who eagerly listened to our distinguished speakers. 

The first two speakers were Mr. Ryan Jeffrey Cruz, USRN and Mr. Duston Barto of NEAC / Nurse Exam Application Center.  Ryan shared his reasons why he chose nursing above all professions and some insights on nursing informatics while Mr. Barto offered professional assistance thru their office with regards to foreign nursing exam application processes that they facilitate hassle-free.  Unfortunately, Tina didn’t capture their moments on stage in our cam.

The third speaker came from ALLGEN Review Center  (applause, applause!)  who was none other than Mr. Alex Imperial, one of my colleagues in Allgen who’s a USRN in Vermont, USA, a registered nurse locally, and an experienced faculty and review instructor handling Pharmacology and Medical-Surgical Nursing lectures.  He gave an impressive talk about NCLEX-RN preparation…

We had an hour break for lunch and as the afternoon session resumed, we all enjoyed the talk about nursing situations in the US conducted by one of our distinguished guests, Dr. Rusty Francisco, who among his many accolades, had been so fortunate like the many, to work and train in the US but among the few who returned back to the Philippines to share what he learned from his unparalleled experience.  He had his natural humor that gave the audience laughs in between his comprehensive discussion.  His talk was followed by people who are behind the offices of training and conducting exam called IELTS or International English Language Testing System which is one of the requirements for a registration license abroad.   Speakers for IELTS include Mr. Michael Brown of American English Skills Development Center and Ms. Bangcaya of British Council (photos unavailable).    

Also present in the event was one of the top officers of HCCA, Mr. Gilinsky.  HCCA is a legit and one of the biggest agencies that deploys nurses and other professionals not only to the US but worldwide.  Below are photos of Ms. Siozon of IDP for IELTS and Mr. Gilinsky for HCCA. 

The highlight of the info drive was bringing in to the stage from Anaheim, California US Atty Gali Koren who spoke about legal issues and requirements that should be met before one can be deployed to the US and work as a licensed professional.  Her talk was direct that emphasized on the essential matters that captivated the audience’s interest.

I thanked her on stage for that rare chance she generously gave to us. 

To perk up the event, we had several raffles in between and gave away premium items from participating speakers and sponsors. Among the prizes included discount and scholarship grants to review programs and some training and other freebies. 

And there I was, introducing the speakers and doing the wowowee-thingy …. 

After the event, a bunch of former college students approached me for photo-op (L)… And I also smiled for the cam with the staff of Allgen Review center (R)

It was a long day for all of us and although we’re mostly dead tired after going home, receiving comments that the attendees appreciated the event is good enough affirmation that our humble efforts were really worth it.

——————–

special thanks to my wife Tina who took most of these blurry photos    and to one of my former student Migs who also took a couple of shots.