By Lynette Joy A. Pasajol

Far Eastern University’s (FEU) Institute of Health Sciences and Nursing (IHSN) team attributed their win in the Metro Pacific Health & Asian Hospital's Battle of the Nightingales (BOTN): An Inter-School Nursing Quiz Bowl to the University’s comprehensive nursing education, last August 23.

The FEU IHSN Nursing team, led by Russell Capulong, Chloe Faye Cruz, and Beatrice Santiago with coaches Daryl Jake Fornolles and Orlane Dimaunahan, secured third place among seven participating nursing schools.

In an interview with FEU Advocate, team member Capulong highlighted how their education at FEU led to success in the competition.

“I think that the complexity of the questions given to us during exams and quizzes, which particularly involve real-life scenarios and situational questions, has helped us be accustomed to the reality of our course,” he said.

Capulong also stressed that beyond attaining high grades, the nursing program is about acquiring essential knowledge to “become the best nurses that we can be.”

Additionally, Santiago shared their doubts about making it to the final round of the competition, as they faced a tiebreaker with the team from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). 

“Grabe kasi talaga ‘yung pressure and experience that time since nung una akala talaga namin, hindi na kami pasok sa final round… Nailaban pa rin namin ‘yung FEU, and hindi rin namin ine-expect na makaka tiebreaker namin ‘yung UST (The pressure and experience during that time were really intense, because at first, we genuinely thought we wouldn't make it to the final round... But we still managed to fight for FEU, and we also didn't anticipate that we would end up having a tiebreaker with UST),” she stated.

As part of their preparation, the team initiated a review of foundational concepts from their first year and watched past competition live streams to understand the quiz bowl's dynamics.

Their preparation process with their coaches involved a combination of sample questions, in-house reviews, and specialized tutoring. 

Capulong stated that Asian Health provided guidelines and mechanics before the event, prompting the team to focus on studying Medical-Surgical Nursing and Maternal and Child Nursing as the specified focus of the competition.

“It was specified that the focus will be on Medical-Surgical Nursing and Maternal and Child Nursing concepts. These two concepts were the hardest for all three of us, which prompted us to allocate the majority of our time to studying these subjects,” Capulong added.

Santiago also shared her sentiments about being able to bring recognition to the University’s Nursing program.

“Taking the pressure and making history is such a big deal for us but still, it has been a privilege and an honor for me since this is my last year in college…  I never thought that I would be given a chance to have this kind of opportunity,” she commented.

The BOTN featured several participating schools, including Dr. Yanga’s College Inc., Saint Michael’s College of Laguna, St. Dominic College of Asia, FEU, UST, Philippine Women’s University, and Siena College of Taytay. 

Siena College of Taytay claimed championship in the quiz bowl, with Saint Michael’s College of Laguna securing the second-place post.

Organized by Metro Pacific Health and its member hospitals, the BOTN Inter-School Nursing Quiz Bowl in multiple regions, including Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, and Mindanao. 

Initiated by West Metro Medical Center in 2017, this competition culminates with the national championship in October 2023. 

The recognized champion in the regionals will advance to represent their area at the BOTN National Championship.

(Photo courtesy of Beatrice Santiago)