Topnotcher is curious about health science

ECSTATIC over his placing first in the Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE), Benedict Rey Montas Serrano, 20, a graduate of Bicol University (BU), is now setting his sights on a higher goal: medical school.

Serrano, a son of two public school teachers from Barangay Rawis in Legazpi City, got a rating of 86.40 percent, besting 17,891 examinees from various schools in the country in the 2015 NLE held in May, the result of which was released on June 23.

Having one of its nursing graduates top the nursing exam is a first for BU, the premier state university in Bicol, although it has had past graduates in the top 10.

It was not the first licensure exam that was topped by Serrano. In April 2013, Serrano, then 18, was also the topnotcher in the midwifery licensure exam, garnering an 89.70-percent rating.

Passing the midwifery licensure exam is a must for those pursuing the ladderized Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) curriculum in BU, as failing the exam means the student could no longer proceed to third year nursing, Serrano said. The student will instead get a diploma in midwifery.

“If they did not (or could not) enroll for third year, they can still work with a diploma in midwifery,” said Dr. Emerlinda Alcala, dean of BU College of Nursing (BUCN).

Serrano said he opted to enroll in the ladderized program instead of the regular BSN course to experience all the stages of being a medical practitioner. “I am curious about health science. I want to study all the areas,” he said.

It was then no surprise to people close to Serrano that after he graduated with a BSN degree, cum laude, in March 2015, he decided to enroll in May at BU’s College of Medicine.

Serrano said there would be financial challenges as he pursues medicine since a younger sister is also in college in BU and a young brother is still in elementary school, with all of them relying only on the income of their public school teacher-parents, Dennis and Teodora, who are working at Pag-asa National High School, located a kilometer from their residence.

SERRANO photo by MARK ALVIC ESPLANA/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON.

Serrano’s hope now, he said, is to get a scholarship “to help me out on my next journey.”

Serrano said becoming a medical doctor has long been his dream but realizing his parents’ financial limitations, he opted for nursing as a stepping stone.

He never thought he would top the exam. “The exam was really tough. I am not the studious type who sleeps late at night because I know it is not good for our health,” he said.

Alcala said having Serrano at the top in the licensure exam would boost the morale of the school and has proven that BU “is a school of academic excellence.”

Aside from Serrano, six more graduates of BUCN also topped the exam. They are Marinell Ala Atos, who was third with 85.60 percent; Kristine Marie Basas, in sixth place with 84.80 percent; Ma. Jella Turallo, Michelle Ann Hilis and Dayanara Galpo Dimatulac, all tied in ninth place with 84.20 percent; and Mabelle Blancada Consulta, in tenth place, 84 percent.

Hilis, who is also pursuing medicine in BU, offered her feat to her mother Thelma, a public school teacher in her hometown Casiguran in Sorsogon province, and father, a farmer and an accounting clerk at Casiguran municipal hall.

“This is the best gift I can offer for them … especially since they are working so hard for us to have a good future,” said Hilis, the second of four children.

BU also has a 96.3-percent passing rate, with 102 of 106 examinees having passed the exam, which earned for BUCN the honor of being named one of the top 5 best performing nursing schools in the country.

To celebrate the first top 1 title for BUCN, the college is organizing a motorcade and testimonial party for Serrano, other topnotchers and passers on July 9, Alcala said.

“Since I entered this college in 1988, this is the first time that we got a top 1. So this really calls for a big celebration and thanksgiving. We, with my 29 teaching staff members, are very thankful that they have given us high honors, not only by passing but with very high passing percentage,” she said.

Alcala said all the topnotchers would each receive a P10,000 cash incentive. With a report from Michael B. Jaucian, Inquirer Southern Luzon