The topnotcher in the recently released results of the Nursing Licensure Examination said he is confident of getting a job in the medical field despite the oversupply of nurses in the country.
“I’m still hopeful about landing a job related to my course,” 7th placer Paul Gibson Sepe Reyes said.
The 21-year-old Reyes graduated magna cum laude in April 2011 from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.
He said that if he can’t work in a hospital, he can apply for a post as a company nurse.
He said he would also consider teaching in a nursing school or proceeding with a degree in medicine depending on his parents’ capacity to finance his schooling.
Reyes and Raymond Fabronero, both graduates of USC , placed seventh in the December 2011 nursing licensure examination with their 84.60 average.
Reyes is a native of Malaybalay, Bukidnon province. He graduated with honorable mention in elementary school and was the class salutatorian in high school in Bukidnon.
He enrolled in nursing at USC in Cebu City under an academic scholarship.
Upon graduation, he was given the Chemical Excellence Award for Community Health Nursing and Chemical Excellence Award for Hospital-related Nursing.
Reyes said that at first, he didn’t believe a classmate who told him he was among those who topped the exam until he looked up the results online.
Aside from the skills and knowledge acquired while training in USC, he attributed his success to God.
Topping the nursing board was unexpected, he said.
“I just gave my best because it was really hard. I only wanted to pass but since I’m in the top seven , I’m elated,” he said. Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan