Ces-maryosep!

I watched Ces Drilon's primetime news show at ANC last night and marvelled at her complete ignorance and functional illiteracy about the plight of PTs here with the moratorium on Pinoy PTs taking the NPTE. It was amazing to see a news anchor impose her will on those being interviewed to the point she is sounding downright biased and not impartial as she should have been as a journalist. No wonder she never rose to the ranks of Karen Davila and Korina Sanchez or that she unwittingly travels to Sulu and gets kidnapped, this lady is nuts! Screws and bolts scattered all over the place. Hahahaha. I didn't see it coming though.

Anyway, there was mention of the PT thing on ANC and they invited some personalities which included people from DOLE, CHED, PRC and review centers. It was explained there that the government has no direct control over review centers as they are self-regulated. They cannot be under the Commission on Higher Education(CHED) as they are not degree giving bodies and therefore not under the jurisdiction of the said agency. Until then everything was fine and then Ces Drilon happened. Asking questions and making statements that are downright provoking but with an air of complete ignominy. To make it more painful, the president of one review center there answered with such a slow and weak response that made the interview almost unbearable. Are they both slow in the head? Drilon kept on rambling about how do you get your questions? Do you base it on books and which one? Are review centers still relevant? If the interviewee responds and the answer is something that doesn't appeal to Drilon's preference, she would shut the person up with "We are running out of time" or "We do not have time to delve into how you make your questions". Wow!

Are review centers still relevant? A nursing review owner was asked and he explained that the existence of review centers does not mean that schools do not educate their students well. However, there is a difference with having a theoretical knowledge about something and applying that knowledge to questions. Review centers, he said, teach students how to attack questions as test taking skills pertinent to licensure exams are not taught in schools. Of course, Drilon did not heed his explanation and casually moved on to the next questions.

Overall, the picture that was painted by Drilon was this. Allegations of cheating would hurt the chances of Pinoy healthcare professionals who want to work abroad and once more the review centers are to be blamed for this just like the June 2006 Nursing Licensure Exam. For review centers: You don't have to explain, just defend yourselves. For the government: Regulate them you assholes. They keep doing the same shit over and over again!

It truly is a grand exercise of ignorance by Drilon lambasting the licensure process but never having to undergo a licensure exam to get a job at ABS. Her credibility as a journalist is tarnished by her lack of research and feisty line of questioning that doesn't encourage meaningful conversation with her guests. Last night confirmed the adage: Light is faster than sound. That's why many people appear bright until you hear them speak. Thank you Ces Drilon for proving that statement true.

When a Month Becomes a Year

I went home after lunch from school yesterday and went to catch up on my sleep. I awoke refreshed and took to tweaking my computer when the call came. It was a land-line phone call and on the other end is a person from my agency. I found it weird that they call me at home but I realized I must've missed their call on my celphone. It must be something urgent for them to have call me directly at home. Alas, it was. I have received my ATT that morning and a few hours later news about NPTE test taking blew up in everybody's faces. PT graduates from India, Pakistan, Egypt and the Philippines are barred from taking the NPTE until the autumn of 2011 when the NPTE-YRLY exam will be available due to leakage of exam questions which is a serious offense to the FSBPT.

In my stunned disbelief, I posted an angry message on my Facebook wall which was followed by a series of text messages and Facebook messages and chats from friends and classmates here and abroad regarding the PT crisis we are facing. Soon after, everyone knew we were all in knee-deep shit and not knowing how to get out of it. I was scheduled for an embassy interview on the 22nd and my exam is next month and they're telling me I have to postpone everything for a year? What the hell was that? I paced around for awhile blowing smoke to try and discern what am I to do and finally decided on my most primal defense mechanism. I need a beer, a cold one. Ahhh lots of 'em. To make the long story short, I am soon sitting with Carmz, Dennis and Jini at SV chugging down beer.

The issue regarding St Louis was a very old issue that everyone thought had already died. FSBPT has thoroughly examined the evidences that they have gathered and they perhaps hadn't found sufficient evidence to prove that the review center was doling out recalled questions to students. If they had, they wouldn't have lost twice at the Department of Justice regarding the matter. Why then would they single out the four countries with special mention of the Philippines and not allow their graduates to take the exam? The answer is simple. There are fewer and fewer American students taking up PT due to the high cost of education and the rigid exam structure which has a high mortality rate. India, Pakistan, Egypt and the Philippines on the other hand send a lot of PTs in the US to work. It is a certainty that the Americans may be threatened that foreigners would take over the PT healthcare field in their own backyard. Why resurrect an already dead issue with the Filipino review centers? Filipinos have an edge over their counterparts because they speak English well and can hold high positions in PT clinics compared to other PTs who are doomed not to rise high in the corporate ladder because of language barrier, like Korean PTs.

It is not our fault that many Filipinos can pass the exam and few Americans can. Yeah, blame it on leakage of test questions for your convenience. But I'm pretty sure a lot of employers and hospitals would appeal this moratorium on taking the NPTE. They would not take this matte sitting down. There are a lot of them who prefer Pinoy PTs because we communicate well and are hardworking. Hopefully, FSBPT will see the fact that it is downright immoral and inhumane to punish everyone for the sins of a few. We will not give up our dreams and we will fight against this senseless bigotry and restore justice to our profession.

Getting Old, Anyone?

There are few subtle signs that your youth is slowly slipping away. It doesn't make you automatically old; it only means that your priorities in life are changing and that things that seem very important to you before seem less. Errr yes, that translates you you getting old (retracting my previous statement).

I have crossed the threshold of youth and maturity. Though I didn't cry (like Zaw and Tepi did when they heard What's Up by the 4 Non-blondes, the official I'm-25-and-nothing's-going-on-with-my-life-yet song), I felt a pang of sadness as I am indeed leaving a lot of fun things behind. I will be turning 26 on November, an age that makes me feel so old when I am with my students. Yet it is an age which my classmates at the center would regard as too young. An age in limbo where society doesn't necessarily dictate what you should do except perhaps hold a job. Some would suggest you have to settle down soon and some would suggest to have more stability first before jumping into marriage. Some would suggest you pursue your chosen profession and some would suggest you still have time to change directions if you want too. There are many more suggestions, I for one, don't even dare to pay even a little attention to. For now, I'm satisfied with my growth and how I am maturing (without sounding self-patronizing) rather gracefully.

I know I'm getting older because I can spend a Saturday night at home without any booze and yet not feel sorry for myself. It would have killed me when I was younger. I know I'm getting older because I don't mind jogging in a new subdivision quite a short distance from my house by myself. I know I'm getting older when I can listen to and talk about sex as casually as talking about the weather without blushing and getting wide-eyed. I'm getting older because I don't relate quite well with new singers and new songs and don't feel left out in the process as well. And perhaps, for now, I don't mind getting old at all. I've seen a lot of good and bad in my quarter-century of a lifetime. And I know, for sure, the best is yet to come.