SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/29 August) – A 25-year-old Surigaonon nurse who graduated cum laude from the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM), learned from a friend’s text message on August 27 that he passed the Physician Licensure Exam. But he was surprised to find out when he checked the website of the Professional Regulatory Commission that he not only passed but topped it.
“My schoolmate friend texted me a simple congratulations but no mention of being a topnotcher. I had to check the Professional Regulatory Commission website myself and read the topnotchers’ list. I was surprised seeing my name on the number one spot,” Blake Warren Ang told MindaNews in an interview.
Ang is the third among five siblings of Surigao businessman Benito and Lucy Ang.
A total of 1,834 out of the 2,211 examinees passed, with Ang topping the exam at 89.42 per cent.
He said having topped his class raised expectations about his topping the board exams as well.
“It was not explicitly expressed but implied. During the board examinations, particularly on the first weekend, I was having difficulty with some subjects and had committed careless mistakes that were supposedly the easier ones. I had a hunch that I may have lost my chances of grabbing a place in the top 10,” he said.
For Ang, the board exam is a measure of how much one studied during his five years in medical school, and not how much one studied during the review.
In preparing for the exam, he said he relied on the knowledge he gained in medical school and the training during his post-graduate internship at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila.
Ang is both nurse and doctor now.
He finished his Nursing degree at Cebu Doctors University.
“I was satisfied with just finishing my degree in Nursing.
But soon enough when we had patient encounters and became student nurses in the hospitals, I became more interested and fascinated in caring for them. I said to myself that if I can do more for these patients, I’d be more fulfilled. As a Christian, I was given the gift of comprehension, gift of a sound mind and body to serve the sick.
This motivates me to strive hard and upgrade what was equipped in me to help in His ministry of healing,” he said.
“Being the topnotcher will not mean anything if you don’t have the heart to serve and help,” adding that patients won’t ask you about your ranking. What matters most is the dedication that your heart is in profession.”
Ang plans to specialize in surgery and wants to be a pediatric surgeon.
“I plan to specialize in surgery, contemplating between training either in Cebu or in Manila,” he said.
Asked if he would practice in Surigao he said: “As for the question of place of practice that I do not know yet. It ultimately depends on where I’m called to serve,” he said.
For medical students, here’s his piece of advice: “Study well while in med school and develop an inquisitive mind. Take inspiration in studying hard in order to serve your patients well in the future.” (Roel N. Catoto / MindaNews)
