Recent medical technology board 6th placer Stephany Mae Salumbides Chi once thought of backing out during a difficult stretch of her review.
The former 2019 Binibining Catandungan from Cabugao, Bato said the last month of the online review classes at Lemar Review Hub was difficult because she started doubting herself despite preparing so much for the board exam.
She told the Tribune that she had two months to prepare for the board exam and the first month was okay as she was able to cover everything the lecturers in the review center asked them to study but at her own pace.
But the latter half of the review was markedly different and more difficult, she recalled.
“It even came to point that I thought about backing out and just taking the board exam in August. I’m glad my parents pushed me to go through with it saying that I have nothing to fear since I studied well, said the 22-year-old who celebrates her birthday this coming May 3.
“Thinking about it now, I think what made the board exam scary is the uncertainty. You will never know what topics the examiners will ask about and there are so many topics they can choose from,” Stephany mused. “I was afraid that I was not able to read all of the topics and that I studied “wrong” for the board exam.”
Knowing that the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) would release the results on May 14, which would cause her to get nervous, she decided to distract herself the entire day by watching movies and Asian TV dramas.
“Around 9 pm, wala pa ring result so natulog na lang talaga ako. Sabi ko, I’ll check na lang if magising ako anytime that night. True enough, I woke up around 11:30 pm and nakita ko flooded ng messages yung Messenger ko,” she said.
At first, she felt relieved as she though they were just congratulatory messages on her passing the board.
“Pero di lang pala yun. I looked at the list of topnotchers thrice siguro then zoomed on my name just to be sure bago ko kinatok sina mama sa kabilang kwarto. My parents were very happy. Di na ata kami nakatulog until 3 AM,” Stephany added.
She remembered being very calm when she found out about the result: “Maybe because a part of me still couldn’t believe it yet. But when I realized that so many people were happy with my victory, I felt extremely happy and humbled. I finally recognized the fact that I was part of the top ten and that I studied hard to get there.”
The eldest daughter of Orlie Chi and the former Riza Salumbides of San Ramon St., Cabugao, has Yvonne Margaret as her only sibling.
From her elementary and high school years at Cabugao Integrated School and Bato Rural Development High School, she took up medical technology at University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi where she graduated cum laude before entering her internship at Bicol Medical Center.
“Right now, I’m thinking of practicing the profession for a couple of months while thinking about if I should go into medicine,” she shared to the Tribune.