THE UNIVERSITY ranked fifth among top-performing schools in the November 2020 licensure examinations for physicians, where four Thomasians made it to the top 10.
UST posted a 95.61-percent passing rate, with 436 of 456 examinees making the cut. This was lower than the University’s 99.31-percent mark (430 of 433 examinees) in the September 2019 examinations.
Adrian Emmanuel Teves led the newest batch of Thomasian physicians with an 88.58-percent score, the second highest among 4,704 exam takers nationwide. He shared the spot with Patrick Joseph Mabugat of the University of Saint La Salle.
Thomasian Henrick Ryan Fong placed third with an 88.33-percent mark. Florence Marie Maramba (88 percent) and Mark Dumago (87.67 percent) ranked sixth and ninth, respectively.
Former Varsitarian features editor Juan Carlos Moreno was among those who hurdled the exams.
Jomel Lapides of the University of the Philippines-Manila emerged as this year’s topnotcher, with a score of 88.67 percent.
Cebu Institute of Medicine was hailed top-performing school after posting a perfect passing rate, with all 138 takers making the cut. It also recorded a 100-percent passing rate in the September 2019 examinations.
Both batches of this year’s physician licensure examinations were deferred due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first batch, originally scheduled for March, was held in March and September this year.
The second batch, usually scheduled for September, was held from Nov. 10 to 11 and 15 to 16 this year.
The national passing rate in the November 2020 examinations slid to 75.21 percent (3,538 of 4,704 examinees) from 84.96 percent in September 2019 (4,006 of 4,715 examinees).
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) decided to push through with the second batch of physician board exams due to the “urgent need” for physicians amid the Covid-19 crisis.
