Thursday, April 1, 2010

"Grandslam Batch" History

In response to the rapid turn-over of health professionals due to the trend of migration and overseas work, the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing came with the idea of establishing a college of health sciences. St.Scholastica's College in Tacloban formally opened in June 2000 with 336 students.* By June 2006, the school saw the largest batch of enrollees to date- with more than 500 1st year students of BS Nursing, BS Pharmacy, BMLS, and BS Biology, adding to the increasing student population which was at a record high of more than 1,300 that year.One of the peculiarities of this batch was the large number of second coursers and transferees, with students coming from different areas in Region VIII, and some as far as Manila and Mindanao. All first year students had full academic load, with courses taught by some of the best General Education faculty, coming from respected institutions such as Divine Word University, University of the Philippines, and Leyte Normal University. Students were molded to achieve excellence in accordance to the four thrusts of the college: Christian Dimension, Instruction, Community Extension, and Research and Publication.
By the second semester there were 9 sections left out of the original 10 from the College of Nursing, an indication of the stringent promotion and retention which the school is known for. A maintaining grade of 2.2 (83%) General Weighted Average was required to remain in the college. The Dance Concert, National Service Training Program (NSTP) graduation and the annual First Year Research competition were the highlights as their first year concluded.
During the second year, the students began to have their major subjects under the tutelage of their esteemed instructors, mentors, and clinical preceptors. The batch showed excellence also in extra-curricular activities such as athletics- bagging the top spot in the Sportsfest for two consecutive years, when the competition was by year level. Before the summer of 2008 the students lined up at the Dean's office during the so-called "judgment day". Only those who met the grade requirement will proceed to summer classes.
One half of the entire batch in the College of Nursing did not meet the requirement, hence those students either shifted to another course or transferred to Nursing schools in Ormoc, Cebu, and Manila. The Dean's Listers were pooled together in Section A, as a strategy to "breed topnochers" according to the Dean of College Dr. Antonio Lim Jr.- this began with Batch Sugilite. After the summer class in Foundations of Nursing, 252 Nursing students attended the Capping and Badge-Pinning Ceremonies, signaling their transition into the clinical areas. The batch, set to graduate in 2010, was officially named Batch Chrysoberyl.
Nursing students were exposed to the different areas after their lecture and training in Maternal and Child Nursing, Operating Room Nursing, Emergency Medical Services and continued as well with Community Health Nursing, which began during the second year. The clinical performance and well as the grades in Preventive/Promotive and Curative/Rehabilitative Nursing became the basis of the selection for the students to proceed with the Psychiatric Affiliation and Community Immersion. In 2008, St. Scholastica's College Tacloban formally opened the 2-year Diploma in Midwifery.After a commendable case presentation of the first batch in the Psychiatric Affiliation at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center(VSMMC), and a successful Community Immersion in Alang-alang and Babatngon, Leyte, the batch returned for the Communicable Disease lectures and enhancement duties before embarking on their fourth year in the college.
Students of different courses worked on their respective researches/ mini thesis as the 1st semester commenced. For BSN level IV, a grueling four-month review, loaded with pre-tests and post-tests on 13 different areas in Nursing, topped with comprehensive major exams tested the student's competencies and readiness to be released into the "working world". Meanwhile, hospital duties and case presentations added to the rigor to ensure the student's clinical skills will be at par with professional standards. Meanwhile students of BS Pharmacy and BMLS also had their respective pre-board exams. Batch Chrysoberyl once again proved that they excelled in extra-curricular activities when they were hailed Champions during the 2010 College Days- earning the moniker "Grandslam Batch". When the final evaluation came, there were 190 candidates for graduation from the College of Nursing- barely 35% of the original population. Honors were given to Maita Amores, for the highest Academic Achievement from BS Pharmacy, and With Academic Distinction to the top six students of BS Nursing: Jessica Marie Dado, Keno Francis Parado, Ma.Hyacinth Pelias, Thaddeus Hinunangan, Carmella Delos Santos, and Stephanie Sim. The first batch of the 2-year Midwifery course also joined the graduation, along with the BS Biology and BS Pharmacy candidates.A salute to all the graduates of St. Scholastica's College Batch 2010, may God bless and guide you on the journey ahead.
* paraphrased from the Student Manual
***Special thanks to the Administration, the Faculty, Staff and Maintenance of our Alma Mater.

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