A graduate of the Iligan Medical Center College (IMCC) of Iligan City in Lanao del Norte topped the November 2009 Nursing Licensure Examinations conducted by the Philippine Regulation Commission, besting 37,527 passers out of a total of 94,462 takers.

Clarie Bontol, 28, got an 87.80 rating followed by Bryan Asis of Lyceum of Batangas with 87.60 and Dickson Laude of St. Scholastica’s Colleges of Health and Sciences-Tacloban with 87.00.

A former University of the Philippines-Diliman BS Biology student, Bontol was ecstatic upon hearing that she topped the examination, the results of which were released Monday. It was the first time that her school topped the nursing board.

“Masaya po ako. Kahit nahirapan po ako at medyo tricky ‘yung exam masaya po ako at nakapasa ako especially nag-top ako. (I’m happy. Even if it was hard and a little tricky, I’m happy that I passed especially I topped it),” Bontol enthused in a phone interview with the Manila Bulletin.

Bontol, a native of Iligan City, graduated first honor from the IMCC in March of 2009. Before taking the November examinations at Xavier University of Cagayan de Oro, she finished her review at the St. Louis Review Center also in Cagayan de Oro.

She has not applied for work in any hospital and has no plans of working abroad.

However, her alma mater is offering her a teaching position in its Level II Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA)-accredited College of Nursing.

“We are elated and we praise God that our student topped the examinations,” said IMCC College of Nursing dean, Elizabeth Alagar.

Alagar said the school will give Bontol an award of recognition and, as an incentive and tradition of the school, will refund the tuition she had paid over her three-year stay in the higher education institution.

IMCC has consistently produced topnotchers since it opened its nursing program in 1975, the latest being – before Bontol – Jeanna Lou Morales who placed 9th in the June 2006 nursing licensure exams. The school has also consistently gone beyond the national average passing rate.

Other topnotchers in this year’s exam came from the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities and Arellano University of Manila who tied at 86.60 percent; and from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), St. Paul University Iloilo and San Pedro College Davao who all scored 86.40 percent.

Dr. Ruth Padilla, PRC Commissioner-in-charge for nursing and allied profession, said the Board of Nursing which administered the examination used two categories in determining the top performing schools.

In the category with 100 and more examinees, the top performing schools were St. Paul University (SPU) Iloilo, St. Louis University Baguio and the PLM.

SPU got an average of 100 percent, which means that all its 138 examinees passed the board.

SLU and PLM, on the other hand, scored 99.54 percent and 98.48 percent, respectively.

For category 30 to 99 examinees, the top performing schools were Bukidnon State College of Malaybalay and West Visayas State University in La Paz, Iloilo, which both got 100 percent passing rates.

Second and third in rank were the University of St. Louis, Tuguegarao with 97.30 percent and the New Era University in Quezon City with 89.47 percent.

Padilla said 48 of the 37,527 who passed landed in the top 10.

“We’re happy that those who topped are from the provinces. At least nakikita natin na nai-improve naman ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa schools in provinces that are not included in centers of excellence (schools in the provinces not included as centers of excellence are somehow showing signs of improvement),'' she told the Bulletin.

Padilla, a nurse herself, said Bontol’s topping the board implies that it is not just the university where she came from but her individual self that has to be largely commended for the achievement.

Meanwhile, the PRC said it will hold the oath-taking ceremony for the new nurses at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City on March 8 and 9.