Nursing leadership and scholarship in the Philippines have evolved alongside the country's shifting socio-political and educational landscape. This feature article presents a first-person narrative of a nurse leader's journey from humble beginnings in Santiago, Isabela, to national and global leadership roles in education, regulation, and advocacy. This article aimed to illustrate how personal vocation, grounded in service and faith, can transform into professional leadership and scholarship that shape institutions, influence policy, and nurture future generations of Filipino nurses. Using autobiographical lens, I recounted formative experiences across clinical practice, education, administration, and regulation. These reflections are interwoven with leadership theories and scholarly evidence from global nursing literature that demonstrate how enduring principles such as servant leadership, integrity, resilience, compassion, and mentorship can guide professional practice. This narrative highlighted milestones such as pioneering collegiate nursing education at UERMMC, spearheading faculty and curricular reforms as Dean, championing ethical practice during the nursing licensure examination scandal, and advancing professional regulation through initiatives like the Career Progression and Specialization Program. It also underscored the role of resilience in overcoming personal affliction, the importance of mentorship in sustaining legacy, and the impact of integrity in safeguarding nursing's credibility. From the parable of the mustard seed to the reality of nation-building through nursing, this life story affirmed that leadership and scholarship are not individual achievements but collective legacies. By embracing lifelong learning, ethical practice and a commitment to national service, Filipino nurses can continue to grow as competent practitioners, compassionate caregivers, and visionary leaders who contribute to equitable and sustainable health systems. In telling this story, I also sought to situate my journey within the broader context of nursing leadership in the Philippines, where enduring challenges and emerging opportunities continue to call for vision, resilience, and integrity.

Human ; Scholarship ; Fellowships And Scholarships ; Resilience ; Resilience, Psychological ; Regulation ; Social Control, Formal ; Mentorships ; Mentors ; Education, Nursing ; Philippines

Performance in the eight Nurse Licensure Examinations from December 2006 to December 2010 was analyzed to describe how graduates of colleges of nursing nationwide performed in the tests and to determine the factors that correlate with the examinees' scores. The study included all the graduates of colleges of nursing who participated in the eight Nurse Licensure Examinations. Data were collected through a review of secondary data from the Professional Regulation Commission - the passing percentage and average rating of schools, testing centers in the subjects tested and type of examinees. The variables from each NLE were categorized into Examinee variables, Institutional variables, and Program and Other variables. Based on the NLE results, the study concluded that those who took the examination for the first time (first timers) performed better, had higher passing percentage and significantly higher average rating than repeaters in all the NLEs. Among the repeaters, those who took the examination for at most two times showed higher passing percentage and average rating. Examinees from accredited schools also had higher passing percentage and average rating than examinees from non-accredited schools. Those from government-owned schools showed higher passing percentage in all NLEs and significantly higher average ratings in six (6) out of the eight (8) NLEs than examinees from non-government-owned schools. The study found that the accredited and government-owned schools had higher passing percentage and average rating compared to non-accredited and non-government-owned schools. Significant differences were found in the passing percentage and average rating of the examinees across regions and testing centers. Of the five subjects tested, the examinees performed best in Nursing Practice I and III. Their lowest passing percentage and average rating was in Nursing Practice IV. Number of examinees per school appeared not to have affected nor influenced either the passing percentage or average rating of schools in the eight (8) NLEs. The study reveals significant findings that correlate the performance of graduates of Philippine colleges of nursing in the 8 NLEs with selected variables and these findings may provide a better understanding of the issues and problems concerning the performance of examinees in the NLE.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Nursing ; Nurses ; Licensure, Nursing ; Accreditation