SLU, UST, USC named top-performing schools in Pharmacy board exams

Three universities topped the August 2017 Pharmacy licensure examination – Saint Louis University (SLU) placed first, followed by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and the University of San Carlos (USC).

SLU topped the list with a passing rate of 97.27 percent, or 214 passers out of 220 examinees.

UST emerged as second in the list, acquiring a passing rate of 92.50 percent, or 296 passers out of 320 examinees, with four Thomasians landing in the Top 10 – a significant improvement from the results of the June 2016 examination where the University recorded a 63.64 percent passing rate with no Thomasian making the cut to the Top 10.

Patricia Joyce Si, summa cum laude of the UST Faculty of Pharmacy Batch 2017, scored 90.92 percent, placing fourth in overall rankings and leading the new roster of licensed Thomasian pharmacists.

"I am beyond happy and thankful because I [honestly wasn't] expecting this to happen, given that I wasn't able to study for the last few weeks," Si told the Dapitan Post in an online interview.

Thomasian graduates Madelaine Abraham (90.82 percent), Regine Li (90.53 percent) and Bill Que (90.50 percent) also made it to the Top 10, taking up the fifth, sixth and seventh places, respectively.

USC garnered the third spot in the list, with a passing rate of 92.11 percent or 70 passers out of 76 examinees.

USC graduate Jannylene Rose Chua topped with a score of 91.10 percent, besting nearly 5,000 other examinees – the largest number for the Pharmacy licensure examination by far.

Chua said landing a spot in the Top 10 had been one of her goals even before choosing a tertiary program to pursue, but the demands of the program discouraged her multiple times.

"I cried before, during, and after the exam. I really had a feeling I wouldn't get in the Top 10 anymore," Chua said in an online interview with Dapitan Post.

"It's so surreal, I did not expect it at all but so many people believed in me. I only started having confidence in myself this morning when I went to church and talked to God," she added.

Chua gave an advice to students who deal with the pressure imposed on fresh graduates when taking the licensure exams.

"Believe in yourself. Have some confidence. Always remember that if you really want it, God will make it happen for you," Chua said.

The national passing rate boosted to 54.81 percent, with a total of 2,784 passing out of 5,079 examinees, a slight step up compared to last year's record of 50.50 percent, or 1,406 passers out of 2,784 examinees. DANEA PATRICIA VILOG