A DABAWENYA ranked eighth in the December 2019 Dentist Licensure Examination, making her the sole topnotcher outside Luzon.
Nadine Angela Paola Macasaet Oreta, a graduate of the Davao Medical School Foundation (DMSF), garnered a passing rate of 81.7 percent.
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced the list of passers of the examination on Friday, December 20.
PRC announced that 540 out of 1,549 passed the December 2019 Dentist Licensure Examination (written phase) and 541 out of 687 passed the Dentist Licensure Examination (practical phase) given by the Board of Dentistry in Manila in December 2019.
Oreta, whose parents doctors Ferdinand and Karen are also licensed dentists, told SunStar Davao in a phone interview on Saturday, December 21, that she was only aiming to pass the examination.
She said she was shocked upon learning that her name was on the top 10 of the nationwide passers as she was not aiming to top the examination at all.
“It’s overwhelming because I did not expect to be a part of the top 10. I knew that people from Luzon have the edge (in their trainings),” 23-year-old Oreta said.
The first time taker who graduated June this year said the school prepared them in both written and practical exams, prior to flying to Manila for the review and examination.
“When we heard from PRC that there are only few takers who usually pass the examination, it added an extra challenge for us,” she said, adding only 30 to 50-percent of the total number of takers passed the examination.
She added that she sought help from her fellow alumna who passed the examination few years back. She added DMSF also produced topnotcher in the dentistry examination in the past.
She will next undergo training for specialization before going into practice.
She said a combination of hard work and faith is the key in achieving ones goal.
She also underscored the need for new dentists to serve especially in far-flung areas.
Commission in Higher Education (Ched) chairman Prospero De Vera III, in a previous event in Davao City in May 2019, also bared the need to offer more dentistry courses in the country.
Meanwhile, Elyssa Jane Fernandez Tan of the University of the East-Manila (UE-Manila) topped this year’s examination with a passing rate of 83.03 percent, followed by John Michael Briones Panganiban, also from the same school with 82.94-percent, then Maxine Anne Alejandrino Remulla of the University of the Philippines-Manila (UP-Manila) with 82.6 percent.
Also included in the top 10 are Lady Jessamine Mamacotao Diamel of UE-Manila (82.37 percent), Jayson Jhon Signo Palma of the Lyceum Northwest University-Dagupan City (82.27 percent), Aika Gail Jimenez Vera Cruz of UP-Manila (82.17 percent), Ansley Bernardo Yee of UP-Manila (81.8 percent), Oreta, Anna Lorraine Hitosis Tonel of UP-Manila (81.66 percent), and Marjorie Mariano Orlanda of Centro Escolar University-Makati (81.27 percent).
The full list of passers are posted on the PRC website.