University of Cebu

Seventy-four days after the June 10 and 11, 2007 board exams, the College of Nursing of Banilad and Lapulapu-Mandaue Campuses were in a heightened state of elation. The reasons — Banilad produced two topnotchers and LM came out as the 2nd best performing Nursing school in the country.

The result of the 2007 Nursing Licensure Exams (NLE) was one of the most awaited in recent years in view of the leakage controversy of the previous year’s exams. Of the 64,909 who took the exams, only 31,275 passed. Cebu hugged the spotlight when nine out of the 61 topnotchers were products of Cebu nursing schools.

Jundell Andrade Castardo and Santonin Duarte Yu made a thrilling back-to-back victory. The two belonged to the 2006 pioneer batch of UC Banilad College of Nursing graduates. Although they passed the controversial 2006 licensure exams, they decided to retake the exams including Test 3 and 5. Castardo, recipient of Best in Theory and Best in Related Learning during graduation rites, garnered 86.8% to claim the rank 5; while Santonin Duarte Yu placed eighth with 86.2%. The duo’s performance not only vindicated their passing the 2006 exams but emphatically underscored the solid competency of UC’s nursing program. The passers from UC-LM were also the pioneer graduates of the Nursing program started four years ago.

UC President Atty. Augusto W. Go said he didn’t get to sleep upon learning of the results. UC Banilad Nursing Dean Dr. Helen Estrella reminded Atty. Go of his promise to award P100,000 to those who will land in the top two to 10 board passers. True to his word, he awarded checks of that amount to Castardo and Yu in the presence of their parents and clinical instructors during the blessing of Alicia Tower Residences, the newly constructed P80 million dormitory for UC students.

During the awarding, Atty. Go pointed to Dean Estrella as the woman who made it happen. During interview an with the media, Dr. Estrella acknowledged the role of the UC Administration and the late UC-LM Nursing Dean Dr. Ramilita Romano who passed away on July 15, 2007. Everyone said that it was Dr. Romano’s dream to produce Nursing board topnotchers.

For the dream to be realized, hard work has to be done. The students went through a yearlong review in UC. Thirty days before the board exams, the students were quartered in two seminaries for a thorough review scheme without any possible distractions.