THE UNIVERSITY recorded a 100-percent passing rate in the nursing board exams for the fifth straight year, with 16 Thomasians in the top 10.
It also ranked first among top-performing schools for the fifth consecutive year, results of the November 2019 nursing licensure examinations showed.
Jarvin Vincent Lumauig led the fresh batch of Thomasian nurses with a score of 88.4 percent, good for third.
Jana Aryn Apolinario and Phil Justin Soriano finished fourth, with similar 88.2-percent marks.
Bennette Salazar and Sheline Tumaliuan nabbed the fifth spot with identical 88-percent scores.
John Reynel Tamayo clinched the sixth spot after tallying 87.8 percent.
Maria-Jayne Lerma, Yannah Mae Loyola and Jireh Li Piñol captured the ninth spot, each scoring 87.2 percent.
John Howell Diric, Aaron Kyle Enriquez, Nicson Madulid, Patricia Dianne Melo, Clarice Gabrielle Sanchez, Arabelle Mae Tui and Marie Abigail Turingan shared the 10th spot after each scored 87 percent.
The University has been spotless in the nursing examinations since 2015.
‘Three-phase program’
According to Nursing Dean Rowena Escolar-Chua, the college has been conducting a “three-phase program” for the past four years, which has fueled UST’s perfect run in the nursing board exams.
The program consists of an almost year-long cycle of reviews, conducted by the nursing faculty, which begins in the final academic term of the graduating batch.
“As early as January, we give them an enrichment program which lasts for almost three months. It’s incorporated in their intensive nursing practicum. Mostly, they just go to hospitals but alongside that, they also now have preparations for lecture classes in relation to their board exams,” Escolar-Chua told the Varsitarian.
The second review phase starts before graduation: an enrichment program “encompassing all courses and post-tests.”
The third phase, incorporated into the review program four years ago, consists of post-tests and pre-board examinations.
Escolar-Chua said that only the enrichment program is mandatory and the students are free to enroll in other review centers. But the college’s performance in recent exams attracts students to three-phase program.
The national passing rate stood at only 55.20 percent.
