The Lost Signature (The NCLEX-RN)
Category: About the NCLEX-RN, Filipino Nurses, Filipino Nurses' Stories, Posted on August 13th, 2009 by adminNo Comments
I am a nurse in the Philippines for five years now and I would like to share this unhappy story that happened to me when I took the NCLEX-RN in Hong Kong. Or have I really taken it? Read further to find out.
Like most of the nurses in the Philippines, I have always been tempted to work in America because of countless opportunities. I always see US-based Filipino nurses coming home and looking fantastic and fabulous, obviously contented with what their jobs in the US are giving them. With all those in mind, I planned to take the NCLEX-RN. I went through all the applications and processing for the exam.
Everything was ready and I was bound for Hong Kong where I will take the exam since the NCLEX-RN wasn’t offered in Manila that time. I could say I was very ready to take the exam and very excited as well because it will be my first time in Hong Kong. Knowing Hong Kong to be a beautiful place, I was more than ecstatic. Then came the date of my departure, it was scheduled a day prior to my exam. I was already in the airport two hours before my flight. It took two hours and a half to reach Hong Kong. I was at the Hong Kong international airport waiting for my turn to have my passport inspected by the immigration. I felt no jet lag, excitement flooded my emotions. Then my turn came, the immigration personnel was courteous in asking me how long will I be staying in Hong Kong and I answered him courteously too. Unlike the others, it took him a considerable amount of time inspecting my passport; I was puzzled and was starting to feel my heart beating faster not because of excitement but of anxiety. When he came back to me, he said there has been a problem.
The rest was an extremely unpleasant experience. I forgot to affix my signature on my passport and it was their rule that it should be affixed even before planning to go on a trip. To make the long story short, I was sent back to the Philippines on that same day, a situation they call “A to A” or airport to airport. I could still remember my vision turned hazy and I thought I was going to pass out during that moment. I cared less for the embarrassment that I place myself into, what I was worried about was all the money that I have paid for the exam and all efforts that I had exerted. I was teary when I got back home to the Philippines, I didn’t know how to confront my family, I was so ashamed. I had no chance of taking another flight back to Hong Kong and the time of my exam is nearing. Yes, my exam was forfeited. There goes my money and effort, it could have been much sweeter if I took the exam and failed compared to not taking it at all and paying and exerting the same amount of money and effort. I was mentally and emotionally troubled for days.
I shared this experience to warn all the future NCLEX takers to bear in mind all the almost invisible details that pose as a huge pain in the ass if neglected. Usually, we only focus too much on the major details and less on the minor, a mistake that almost killed my dream of working in the USA.