Frequently
Asked Questions
About Aaron “CY” Tuesca Untalan
(behind the name is the person)
Q: Aaron
“CY” Tuesca Untalan is that you’re real name or just
a pseudonym?
A: Yes that is my real name; My Pseudonym in nursing is CY Untalan.
Q: What
does “CY” stands for?
A: Actually it stands for CYANIDE because it’s my favorite compound.
And I am more known in the Nursing world as “CY”.
Q: What
is your real job?
A: Real? Well as far as I’m concerned my profession is a Nurse,
a Writer, a Lecturer and a Clinical Instructor. But my REAL job is to
be a husband to my wife, a father to my daughter, a mentor to my students,
and a person to another individual.
Q: What
companies have you worked for?
A: I worked in Advent Review Center (first job), I also worked in Olivarez
College (3 years), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (1 year), and various
review centers, international and local and publishing companies (up
to present).
Q: If you
are to choose between writing, nursing, and teaching what would you
do for good?
A: Well that is a very difficult question… being a nurse and a
lecturer are just the things that I’ve learned later in life.
But my talent in writing is God given. So I would choose to be a writer
for good…
Q: How early
did you discover your God given talent?
A: I remember when I was in grade 4 that the things that I wrote in
my formal theme compositions are somewhat different from my classmates.
During my high school and college days I have received a lot of awards
in writing.
Q: If you
love writing so much, why did you become a nurse?
A: A good question, well it started out as a pre-med course but later
on I learned to love the profession. And even though I’m a nurse,
I can still write. The passion to write is there I just need an outlet.
Q: Did you
own a lot of books as a student?
A: No I graduated from PLM with only 2 nursing books.
Q: What
are those 2?
A: Kozier, which I have read cover-to-cover for 3 times, and Wood, which
I got from a book sale for 20 Pesos.
Q: Right
now how many books do you own?
A: Because I am now an author I have 2,000 plus books, 700 plus of them
are all nursing and healthcare related.
Q: How many
books have you written?
A: In Nursing alone I have written 11 books, 8 of them are already published,
and I am continuously writing if I have spare time. In literature I
also have a few published works in a different pseudonym.
Q: What
is the best part of being a Nurse?
A: The best part of my profession is that, the patients are very open
to you. They let you come to their lives, to touch their world, and
whenever the nurse patient interaction is finished, they always leave
a small part of their selves to you and you also left a small part of
you to them.
Q: What
is the worst part of being a Nurse?
A: Getting all the attention for all the wrong reasons especially this
times, and the pressure from my relatives and friends to leave the country
and to work abroad.
Q: Why don’t
you like to work abroad?
A: For me working abroad is my last option, I still hope for a better
tomorrow in the Philippines.
Q: What
is the best part of being a Lecturer?
A: Going into different places, meeting other people, knowing that I
am well known in the different parts of the country, and some parts
of the world.
Q: What
is the worst part of being a Lecturer?
A: Sore throat especially after a number of days of lecture, plus bus
and plane rides.
Q: Do you
advice those who want to teach to become lecturers?
A: I advice them to have a clinical experience first, then to be a Clinical
Instructor, after doing those things that’s the time to try their
skills in the review. The idea is to gain experience first, to have
a few steps ahead from your students.
Q: What
is the best part of being a Writer?
A: Having a voice to tell the world what you want to say, knowing that
in some way people know what you think.
Q: Can you
really say what you want even in Nursing Books?
A: Yes, I seize the opportunity to talk to my readers even in the preface,
and first pages of my books.
Q: What
is the worst part of being a Writer?
A: Deadlines, pressure from the publishers and readers, a blank page
together with a blank mind, PIRACY, PIRACY, PIRACY, and not having enough
time to write.
Q: Can your
readers ask you to sign your books when they meet you?
A: My nursing books yes, but I always tell them that the value of that
book is within it, and not in my signature but I don’t sign my
(other) literary books because I’m using my pseudonym they admire
the pseudonym not Aaron T. Untalan.
Q: Do you
advice students to go to review centers after graduation to review for
the Local Boards?
A: As a matter of fact I do, and I also carry the name of some review
centers because I know that they want the best for the students, and
they value more the students per se, rather than the money they will
make.
Q: How about
for CGFNS and NCLEX review, should they seek the help of review centers?
A: They need it much more, because there is a very big difference between
the Philippine practice of Nursing, compared with the foreign set-up,
but personally I can say that for me the CGFNS and NCLEX are far more
easier than our Local boards.
Q: CGFNS
and NCLEX are easier, How come?
A: I find it easier due to a lot of factors but basically because all
you have to do is to study the concepts in the book or reviewers, unlike
in the local boards there are a lot of “Out of the book”
questions.
Q: If I
am a nursing graduate where would you advice me to go for a review?
A: It depends on a lot of things, for example, what school did you go
to? What is the level of your knowledge? A lot of consideration should
be made. Because I believe that different review centers should cater
different types of students. Better email me personally at contact@aaroncyuntalan.com
so that I can asses what type of review you need.
Q: What
can you say about nursing Schools nowadays?
A: There are a lot of good nursing schools who produce a lot of good
nurses, but the numbers of dreadful nursing schools are also increasing.
Q: What
do you mean when you say Dreadful Nursing Schools?
A: Business institutions that uses the Nursing Profession to create
money, don’t get me wrong it is ok to make money but there are
some nursing schools that are offering shortcuts for a pay, taking a
lot of students without screening and without considering the capability
of their resources to accommodate and to teach those students, hiring
deans who has other deanship in different schools (appearance deans),
making the curriculum shorter, and a lot of different things.
Q: Do you
have any opinion on Second coursers? (Their first course is not nursing)
A: I have seen a lot... and I personally don’t want to comment.
Q: How about
Nursing-Medics? (Their first course is Medicine)
A: Again… next question please.
Q: Ok, How
about nursing students as a whole?
A: In general terms I can see a lot of potential excellent nurses, but
the problem is most of this will be nurses took nursing for all the
wrong reasons.
Q: Readers
noticed there is always a quote on the first page of your every book.
What is that all about?
A: I call those quotable quotes; some of them originally came from me,
others I’ve read, or noted from other speakers. That is one way
of talking to my students, giving them something to think about.
Q: How can
I get a copy of your books?
A: Most of my books are in Jade Bookstore 526-528 United Nations Avenue,
Ermita Manila. With Telephone Numbers (02) 525-04-64/ 525-04-68.
My Medi-Surgi-Xing is in C&E bookstore (C & E bookstore [02]
928-7298/ [02] 929-13-44) and you can also check all leading National
Bookstores Nationwide, but usually the stocks are easily gone.
Q: If someone
wants to talk to you for an interview or they wan to invite you in their
revue, or as a guest speaker is it possible?
A: It is, but depends upon my availability and the place.
Q: How can
they contact you?
A: They can email me at contact@aaroncyuntalan.com
Q: If a
regular person/reader would like to contact you, can they reach you?
A: Yes they can email me just the same, I am willing to share everything
that I know, and I am willing to answer every question that I can.
Q: Do you
consider yourself famous?
A: I do, whenever I received an average of 3 calls or text per day,
and 5 emails coming from my readers.
Q: Your
famous line is “Humanity first before other country” what
does it mean?
A: It is my slogan as Nurse, because usually our nurses are motivated
by the dollars that they earn, and our students are the same. This saying
simply means before any other reason the first reason of being a nurse
is service…
[FAQ last updated March 2006]
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