THE UNIVERSITY dominated this year’s “off-season” licensure exams for physicians, physical therapists, and architects, yielding two Thomasian topnotchers.
Chicco Xerxes Pangan led this year’s newly registered physicians after getting a score of 86.33 percent.
Twenty-one out of 23 Thomasians made the cut, equivalent to a 91.30-percent passing rate. For the past two years, UST has maintained a 100-percent passing rate in the medicine board exams.
“We’re happy that UST maintained its standing as one of the best schools in the country,” said Faculty of Medicine and Surgery Dean Graciela Gonzaga.
There was only one topnotcher in the February board exams because Thomasian examinees usually take the August licensure exams. In August last year, six Thomasians entered the Top 10 list of passers.
The national passing rate was 48.67 percent (420 passers out of 863 examinees), lower than last year’s 52.53 percent (520 passers out of 990 examinees).
Only the Far Eastern University-Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation met the requirement set by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to be declared a top-performing school—at least 80-percent passing rate with a minimum of 50 examinees—after recording an 82.22 percent passing rate (74 passers out of 90 examinees).
Better standing for PT
In the physical therapy board exams, UST registered a 93.33-percent passing rate, with 14 passers out of 15 examinees. Four were first-time examinees, including the topnotcher.
This year’s passing rate was better than last year’s 84.62-percent, in which 11 out of 13 Thomasians made the cut. UST was named the second top-performing school last year.
This year, only UST met the requirements set by PRC to be included in the roster of top-performing schools. The commission requires schools to obtain a minimum passing rate of 80 percent and at least 15 examinees in the February board exams to be included in the list.
UST alumna Mary Kathleen Samarista led the newly registered physical therapists, garnering a score of 86.95 percent. Samarista bested Barbara Jane Auson of University of Perpetual Help-Laguna and Hyacinty Rosario Callao of Silliman University, who took the second and third places, respectively.
This year’s national passing rate slid to 49.22 percent or 285 passers out of 579 examinees, from last year’s 50.49 percent or 308 passers out of 610 examinees.
Meanwhile, UST’s passing rate in the occupational therapy board exams went up to 56.25 percent, with 18 out of 32 Thomasians passing the test. Last year, 18 out of 38 Thomasian examinees made the cut, equivalent to a 47.37-percent passing rate.
The national passing rate for occupational therapists stood at 50 percent, as half of the 64 examinees nationwide passed the test. Last year, only 27 out of 72 examinees passed the test, or a national passing rate of 37.50 percent.
UST has been the top producer of occupational therapists in the off-season board exams for the past four years.
Thomasian architects enter top 5
Meanwhile, UST posted a higher passing rate in the recent architecture licensure examinations, with five Thomasians entering the top 10 list.
Data from PRC showed that UST recorded a 79.9-percent passing rate as 174 out of 220 examinees made the cut. This was a few notches higher from last year’s 75-percent passing score in which 201 out of 268 examinees passed.
Among the 174 who passed, 154 were first-time examinees.
Earlwin Jerome Tion Tee, who placed second nationwide with a score of 86.5 percent, led the new batch of Thomasian architects.
Other Thomasians who entered the Top 10 were Jose Crisanto Cruz Estrella III and Mary Grace Yu Te (85.10 percent), Jose Ignacio Quebral Faustino (84.40 percent), and Nelson Arayata Roquero Jr. (83.70 percent), who grabbed the fourth, sixth and tenth places, respectively.
No university was named the top-performing school this year after failing to meet the requirements set by the PRC.
Last year, the University of San Carlos emerged as the lone top-performing school, with a 84-percent passing rate.
This year’s national passing rate went up to 52.41 percent or 816 passers out of 1,557 examinees, from last year’s 50.69 percent. Daphne J. Magturo and Nikka Lavinia G. Valenzuela
