Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia celebrated the results of the June 2013 Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE), which were released on Monday in the Philippines. The parents of the examinees, as well as their relatives working in the Kingdom, expressed pride and joy at the success of their children.

“Our hard work and struggle has paid off,” Juan Ramos told Arab News. Ramos, 45, a system support supervisor working for United Motors for the last 17 years and whose daughter Olivia passed the NLE, said words cannot express the happiness he felt when he heard the news. “Not only did she graduate Cum Laude (with honors) at college, she also passed the board exam. She is now a bona fide nurse,” he added.

Of the 37,887 who took the exam, 16,219 students passed. Some of those who took the exam said the two-day nursing board exam is “not-your-average” exam because it consists of five parts that test knowledge and experience. Nicanor Amao, who works as a supply chain coordinator at Al-Mofadaly Trading and whose child, Claire, passed the NLE, said that there are struggles that parents like him often go through in this situation.

One is overcoming the distance for regular communication.

Noel Navato, 49, works at a medical support and services company and agreed that distance is the main problem that OFW parents experience when they send their children to the Philippines for college study, besides financial hardships. He added that the secret behind a child’s success is good parenting despite the long distance.

“We should always try to make our children feel that they are not alone in the Philippines. I call my daughter Trisha as often as I can because I know that it inspires her. Because of that and her hard work, she passed the exam,” Navato said.

Olivia, Claire and Trisha, now official nurses, used to be students at some of the top Filipino schools in Saudi Arabia during their elementary and high school days. According to them, they have plans to return to the Kingdom and work as nurses, but one of them said that she has other plans. “Passing the exam and becoming a nurse is my “chapter 1.” I will be proceeding with the next chapter of my life, which is becoming a doctor. Therefore, I will pursue medicine,” Olivia said.

Meanwhile, nursing graduates continue to prepare for the second round of nursing board examinations that will take place on Dec. 7-8, 2013. The deadline for filing for first-time examinees is Oct. 25, while Oct. 11 is the deadline.