Nursing board topnotcher plays SIMS3 during review

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines - — Phhysician board exam topnotcher Blake Warren Coloma Ang said she played Dota 2 and Starcraft during his review days, but Marian Vanslembrouck of Silliman University said she was playing Sims 3, while reviewing, on her way to top the recent Nursing Licensure exams with a score of 85.80.

"Sims 3 was my stress reliever, along with sleep," the 19-year-old Vanslembrouck told The Freeman, adding that playing the video game made her "live another life for a few hours."

Aside from playing Sims 3, Vanslembrouck also credited her teachers for her achievement of ranking third among over 35,000 board takers across the country. "I have great teachers, and I'm thankful because if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have learned many things about the nursing profession," she said.

Vanslembrouck further told The Freeman that her experiences as SU's Student Government president last school year helped her prepare better for the board exams.

"One of the things that I learned during my stint as SUSG president was to prepare well whenever we had activities so our programs would go smoothly as planned. I think it got translated during my preparations for the board exams, since I did my best to prepare so that I would have no regrets," she said.

Vanslembrouck said, just like everyone else, she also felt scared about the board exam, describing it as a "monster that should be conquered."

She said: "I guess that's a normal feeling, but I think it's important for future takers to remember that the board exam isn't designed to fail you, but rather to assess how much you know about the nursing profession."

Passing the exams is not much of a problem if takers do well in their studies, said Vanslembrouck, who now plans to teach in a review center, for the meantime, while considering in taking up law or a masters degree in business administration later on.

"My dad taught me to never stop learning. My plans might change, but those are the things I'm looking forward to for now," said Vanslembrouck, who was a consistent honor student in college, and placed first runner-up during the Miss Silliman beauty pageant in 2010.  (FREEMAN)