by Christine Godinez Ortega (Ed.) with a report from Neil M. Martin, CON
The Institute’s College of Nursing (CON) has two things to celebrate early this year: being ranked third among the top performing schools in the country, and one of its graduates, Lady Aizahlyn I. Angod, claiming the 7th slot in the Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE) given by the Board of Nursing on November 29-30, 2014.
The results were released on January 23, 2015 by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Schools with 50 or more examinees and with, at least, an 80% passing rate are recognized as top performing schools of nursing. The CON got an overall rate of 97.41%, with 113 out of its 116 examinees passing the NLE.
A total of 15,292 examinees out of 26,690 passed the November 2014 NLE that was conducted at several testing centers in Manila, Baguio City, Laoag, Angeles, Cabanatuan, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Pagadian, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, and Bacolod.
An ecstatic CON Dean Clowe Jondonero said he is “happy and honored” with these recent feats of the college emphasizing that “there is no place for mediocrity in MSU-IIT.”
In the last 10 years, or, since the CON became a separate college in 2005, Dean Jondonero said that the college has produced graduates who have topped the board exams – two who placed 6th; two who took 10th place; and, today, one who took 7th place.
Lady Aizahlyn Indoc Angod -7th place, Nursing Board Exam 2014
Angod, a magna cum laude graduate during the Institute’s 44th Commencement Exercise in April 2014, and who was ranked seventh with a rating of 85.40% in the 2014 NLE, also expressed joy to be among the country’s top ten examinees.
“I am honored and overwhelmed by all the greetings, all the congratulations,” she said.
Angod, who plans to take up medicine in the future believed that her four-year stay in MSU-IIT, with its quality education, was her best preparation to take the board exam.
She confessed of the usual jitters before taking the board exam but she did not find the exam “that difficult” admitting that if she found the exam on obstetrics and pediatrics (Maternity and Child Health Nursing) easy, the exam on Morality and Ethics she found the “hardest” because, she said, there were four choices for each question but some choices were “contradictory”.
A practicing nurse who had taken the board exam years earlier said that the exam on Morality and Ethics seemed to have “no correct answer.”
Dean Jondonero, on the other hand, said that he intends to continue to hire quality and experienced faculty members.
He also talked of a future construction of a Graduate dormitory and to send more faculty members to pursue post graduate degrees at the UP and at the St. Paul’s University in Tuguegarao even as he revealed that three faculty members who are currently finishing their Ph.D.’s are slated to resume teaching in the Institute in AY 2016.
Prof. John Paul Ben T. Silang receiving the awards during the Closing Program in behalf of his advisees who were reviewing for the PNLE 2014.
College of Nursing alumni Delvin Edwards Marquez, Lady Aizhalyn Angod, Hannah Bugtong, and Sandra Lois Laranjo garnered awards during the first MSU- IIT Innovation and Technology Fair dubbed Technovation 2014 held on September 25-26, 2014 at the Institute Mini Theatre.
The event highlighted researches and technological innovations and inventions made by graduate and undergraduate students of the Institute, with their respective advisers. Entries were categorized into four clusters: Cluster A for technologies related to Energy, Computer Applications and Animaton; Cluster B for Research and Development related to Environment; Cluster C for Health and Pharmaceuticals/Disaster Risk Reduction Management; and Cluster D for Food and Nutrition/Education research. Awards such as Best Project, Best Display, Industry Choice, Best Elevator Pitch, and Best Video Pitch were awarded to participants from each cluster.
Among the 27 entries from different teams in the Institute, Marquez’s study entitled “Evaluation of Wound Healing Effects of Ointments Formulated with Plant Leaf Extracts of Carica papaya, Cymbopogon citratus, and Psidium guajava on Exicional Wounds in Albino Rats” garnered first place as Best Innovative Project and Best in Oral presentation in Cluster C. He also won second place in Best Video Pitch.
The research study authored by Angod, Bugtong, and Laranjo entitled “Signus Vitalis: An Innovative Approach to Vital Signs Monitoring and Documentation Unsing Android Application and Smartphones” also won as Best Video Pitch, and second in Best Oral Presentation and Best Elevator Pitch, still in Cluster C.
Technofair 2014 also showcased lectures and workshops on innovation and technology, as well as discussions on the importance of promoting it in the academe. It also featured a talk given by Dr. Gary Wnek of the School of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Insitute alumni Engr. Rolly Micheal Racsa and Engr. Gil Micheal Regalado also shared their success stories to the participants.
The event was hosted by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension in coordination with the Intellectual Property Unit-Innovation and Technology Support Office (IPU-ITSO) and the Commission on Higher Education-Philippine Higher Education Research Network (CHED-PHERnet) Center, together with the Institute’s industry partners.
The College of Nusing held its 5th Annual Nursing Research Conference on March 19, 2014 at the College of Nursing Conference Hall, with the theme “Crossing Boundaries: Collaboration for Global Health,” hosted by the 2014 graduating batch, Les Desireux. Roselle Gay Villanueva, a fourth year Nursing student, was the overall chairperson of the research conference. Institute Chancellor, Dr. Sukarno Tanggol, also attended the event.
The research conference is held annually to provide a venue for graduating students to present their papers and to contribute to the development of global health.
Prof. Rudolf Cymorr Martinez, Associate Professor of the University of Santo Tomas College of Nursing, was the conference’s keynote speaker.
The research conference showcased 10 studies which were chosen as finalists out of 39 papers from different categories, namely, Health Service Delivery, Health Technology Development, Health Information System, Nursing Education, and Health Impacting Society, Culture, and Environment. Theses from other guest schools were also presented.
The top three undergraduate studies from the finalists, which were awarded after the presentation, include “Evaluation of Wound Healing Effects of Ointments Formulated with Plant Leaf Extracts of Carica papaya, Cymbopogan citratus, & Psidium guavaja on Excisional Wounds in Albino Rats” authored by Delvin Edwards A. Marquez; “Anti-Mitotic Activity of Guyabano (Annona muricata) Leaf Extract Using Allium cepa Test” by Raymund A. Apolinario, Paul Louie F. Gomez, Stacey Marianne A. Principe, and Lea Lynn R. Sialana; and “Cymbopogan citratus: An Alternative Hypertension Therapy” by Coniefe Maae G. Gamayao, Vanessa Marie M. Habajab, Flori Lane C. Paler, and Celeste B. Saladaga.
The CON reseachers together with the chairperson of the panel of judges Prof. Rudolf Cymorr Martinez from University of Sto. Tomas, Manila
Mr. Delvin Marquez awarded as best research paper for batch 2014 together with the research coordinator Prof. Gloria Shiela Coyoca, his research adviser Prof. John Paul Ben T. Silang, and CON dean Prof. Clowe D. Jondonero
The Institute’s College of Nursing, Institute clinic, and the Mayor’s office of Iligan City in cooperation with the City Health Office (CHO) and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Iligan launched the culmination of “Sagip-Piitan Health Initiative (Phase 1)” on August 6, 2014 at BJMP, Tipanoy.
The goals of the said initiative were commenced on July 14, 2014 by the 4th year students and clinical instructors of the College with the assistance of the BJMP-Iligan officers. Initially, health assessments and check-ups were conducted with the help of Dr. Muhammad Putting, from the Institute clinic, and a representative physician from the CHO. The “housemates” were then provided medications to suffice their needs.
Health education conducted by the students and instructors focused on proper hand washing, proper hygiene, wound care, infection control, and stress management as these were the problems commonly observed and should be prioritized during the ocular visit. Blood Typing, necessary for Hepatitis B screening and immunization, benefited 371 and 448 housemates respectively. Technology transfer activities such as making Akapulko Ointment and Camonade Juice were also conducted through demonstrations by the students and return demonstrations by the housemates. Forty housemates benefited from the Akapulko ointment and were followed up two weeks after its application which yielded good results.
The half-day culminating activity was opened by Prof. Clowe D. Jondonero, Dean of the College of Nursing.
“This is just Phase 1 so there’s more to come,” he said.
This was followed by a message of gratitude and inspiration from Mr. Melchor Alquizola, chief of staff of the City Mayor’s office. Presentation of results and findings on initial health assessment were then discussed by selected 4th year students.
The discussion focused on the housemates’ demographic profile which consisted of 400 males and 53 females, and top 10 morbidity cases experienced by the housemates. The list was topped by 172 cases of cough and colds, followed by 92 cases of headache, and 33 cases of skin itchiness. These findings were given appropriate interventions by CON faculty and students. These were validated by SJO3 Glenn L. Tinaan, chief custodian/jail nurse of BJMP-Iligan. He also thanked the people behind this initiative which he did not expect to be on such a large scale. He also expressed that it has greatly helped the housemates.
Responses were given by Dr. Jinky Bornales, Institute Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension; Dr. Cherlina C. Canaveral, City Health Officer II-, Iligan; Ms. Sonia Diosana, Jail matters volunteer CSWD/ Parole and Probation officer, City Mayor’s Office, Iligan; and a councilor from Brgy. Tipanoy. Giving of certificates then followed.
Selected housemates expressed their gratitude as they conveyed their responses to the organizers of the initiative. The closing remarks was done by Jail Officer Manuel.
The Phase 2 and 3 of the said initiative will be conducted on the next semester and summer of academic year 2014-2015.
Researchers and editors gathered at the Hotel Koresco, Cagayan de Oro City on August 4-5, 2014 for the 6th National Medical Writing and Train-The-Trainers (Part1) Workshop. The event was organized by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DOST) and the Philippine Association of Medical Journal Editors (PAMJE) endorsed by the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME).
TCON faculty members Prof. Beaven Andrew A. Atienza, Mrs. Lynuel R. Santillana, and this writer, together with other MSU-IIT participants, Dr. Franco G. Teves, Dr. Nimfa L. Bracamonte, Dr. Alita T. Roxas, Prof. Lady Lou M. D’Lonsod, Mr. Allan Dale Cabe, and Prof. Amabelle A. Embornas attended the workshop which aimed to help and guide health researchers in writing articles for medical journals.
Lectures were given by Professor Dr. Wilfred CG Peh, Executive Vice-President of Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) and President of Singapore Association of Medical Journal Editors (SAMJE); Professor Dr. Jose Florencio Fabella Lapeña, Jr., Secretary-General of APAME, President of PAMJE and Editor-in-Chief of the Philippine Journal of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery; and Professor Dr. Cecilia C. Maramba – Lazarte, member of APAME and PAMJE and Editor-in-chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society of the Philippines Journal.
Dr. Lapeña started the session by saying that research, no matter how good it is, will be incomplete until it has been published. Thus, what is not written, is not done.
Lectures and workshops in small groups included the recommended structure of a scientific paper, the individual components of the paper, and how to prepare a manuscript. Dr. Lazarte stressed the importance of seeking the advice of a biostatistician before beginning the research rather than waiting until the results are already obtained.
The role of editors and peer reviewers and how the manuscript is being processed were also discussed. As mentioned by Dr. Peh, it is important to construct the manuscript accordingly in order to maximize the material and enhance the chances of acceptance for publication.
The seminar-workshop was fruitful in enhancing the ability of the health researchers in maximizing the transmission of research findings to their chosen audience.
CON faculty members Prof. Roselyn M. Butalid, Prof. Beaven Andrew A. Atienza, and Mrs. Lynuel R. Santillana together with other MSU-IIT participants Dr. Franco G. Teves, Dr. Nimfa L. Bracamonte, Dr. Alita T. Roxas, Prof. Lady Lou M. D’Lonsod, Mr. Allan Dale Cabe, and Prof. Amabelle A. Embornas
