As Filipinos welcome the country’s new batch of physicians amid a prevailing coronavirus pandemic, aspiring young doctors shared how reports of milestones involving the 2020 medical board exam have inspired them a lot.
The Professional Regulation Commission on Thursday released the list of those who passed the Physician Licensure Examination (PLE) taken earlier this month.
3,538 out of 4,704 takers were able to pass the medical board exam and secure themselves as the country’s newest set of doctors at a time when the world is beset with a public health crisis.
Details of their oath-taking ceremony are yet to be announced.
Last September, PRC conducted the first PLE for aspiring doctors after it was postponed in March due to the pandemic.
A total of 800 out of 1,424 examinees passed the medical board at that time.
Meanwhile, this month’s results yielded noteworthy achievements as familiar names appeared in the roster.
Among those who passed with flying colors is Tiffany Uy, the notable undergraduate of the University of the Philippines who finished college with a historic general weighted average of 1.004, equivalent to a score of 99.9%.
She is the student to have held the highest grade record in the history of UP since World War 2.
This year, Uy passed the PLE and made it in the top five takers’ list with a score of 88.08%.
Jomel Lapides, the top-notcher of the nursing board exam in 2011, also took the highest score in November 2020’s PLE.
Tricia Robredo, a daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo, also passed the PLE.
She graduated with a dual degree in Doctor of Medicine and Master of Business Administration from the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health last July.
Other prominent personalities who have earned the license to heal are former celebrities Sofia Babao, the granddaughter of veteran actress Caridad Sanchez, Alec Dungo, a housemate at PBB Teen Edition 4, and Angeli Gonzales, a former teen actress.
The release of this month’s PLE results prompted the keyword “Congratulations Doc” to enter in local Twitter’s top trending list as of Thursday afternoon, as well as other related words such as “Doctor” and “Tiffany Uy.”
Reports of the passers’ noteworthy successes have prompted those who aspire to be physicians in the future to express their elation as they dream of becoming the next healers of the country.
“Seeing ‘Congratulations Doc’ sa top trends for me makes me feel so giddy!!!! Sobrang saya sa feeling grabe, in God’s will, I will get that MD (medical doctor) right after my surname,” a Twitter user wrote with pleading eyes emoji.
“Congratulations Doc! Can’t wait for others to say this to me in the future,” exclaimed another online user with a smiling-face-with-hearts emoji.
“Seeing ‘Congratulations Doc’ trending inspires me to become one. I’ll get that title in God’s will,” a different social media user said with a series of emojis.
Another Filipino shared a graphic congratulating the new batch of physicians and wrote: “Congratulations Doc! It inspires me. I’ll make sure I’ll become part of that SOON! I’m really proud.”
Healthcare workers, especially nowadays, are highly regarded as they work in the frontlines against the raging pandemic that has globally infected millions of people.