CEBU CITY—As young as 3 years old, Venil Lovely Estella Bolambao dreamt of becoming a doctor, enamored by a child prodigy who became a teenage medical practitioner in the American television series, “Doogie Howser, M.D.”
She did, though she would not be one in her teens like the character played by Neil Patrick Harris.
Still, she made her parents proud by topping the recent board examinations for physicians with a rating of 88.33 percent.
Bolambao, a graduate of Southwestern University College of Medicine in Cebu City, and two other Cebuanos made it to the top 10 in a field of 594 other successful examinees.
Mark Malalay Ando from the Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU) College of Medicine placed third (86.83 percent) and schoolmate Rodrigo Go
Monleon Jr., who was eighth (85.75 percent). They would be given full refund of their tuition and priority slots for the residency program of their hospital, even teaching slots, said Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr., CDU owner.
Bolambao, 27, was with fellow examinees at a beach resort on Mactan Island in the afternoon of Feb. 18, when she was told about the results of the licensure exams. She did aim to be in the top 10 but didn’t expect to be No. 1 because, she said the tests, held on Feb. 8, 9, 15 and 16 were very difficult.
Aside from her parents, Bolambao dedicated her feat to her grandmother, Visitacion, who died five years ago at the age of 96. “I think wherever she is right now, she is happy for me,” she said.
Her grandmother took care of her when she was in the elementary, accompanying her to school, because her parents were busy working. Her father, Venancio, 65, is a retired bank manager and her mother, Nilda, also 65, is a businesswoman.
Bolambao took up nursing at Cebu Normal University (CNU), graduating cum laude in 2007. She passed the nursing board but did not make it to the top. She decided to teach in CNU for two years.
She said her family could not afford to send her to medical school, but she could not easily let go of her dream to become a doctor. “I also saw that my parents were getting old. I want to take of them, give them the right prescription,” she said.
She also wanted to help poor patients.
The opportunity came when Bolambao received the Don Matias Hipolito C. Aznar scholarship at Southwestern University, on condition that she maintains an average grade of 2.0. Not only did she keep the high grades, but she also graduated magna cum laude in 2013.
Bolambao drew strength from prayers and she refused to pressure herself while studying and even during the review. She made sure she would unwind every Friday night and Saturday morning, going out with friends or simply staying in her room to read the Bible.
Bolambao plans to specialize in internal medicine in a private hospital, where the training is “better.”