LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte (PIA) – History has been made in the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) as they produced Top 1 and sustained a 100 percent passing rate in the recent March 2023 Physician Licensure Examination.
Dr. Aira Cassandra Castro, 25, from MMSU ranks Top 1 with a rating of 89 percent. Other examinees who passed from the university are Dr. Christian Alvin Arca, Dr. Neil Justine dela Cruz, Dr. Marianne Shem Caraang, and Dr. Mida Dorothy Manayon.
This continually marked the university’s consecutive perfect record in the board examination for medical doctors.
Castro, who has shown consistent excellence in her studies, graduated summa cum laude in 2017 at MMSU with the degree Bachelor of Science in Biology and cum laude in Doctor of Medicine in 2021.
During a press briefing held a day after the results were released, the topnotcher said she wants to pay it forward and serve in the province- first in the academe and eventually at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMHMC).
“I always want to serve Ilocos Norte. So, MMMHMC po ang choice ko,” said Castro who hails from Laoag City.
“Ang plan ko po now, before ako pumasok sa MMMHMC, mag-academe po muna sa College of Medicine para po matulungan nating mag-train ang mga younger generations natin na Ilokano doctors. After that, mag-coordinate po with PGIN (Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte) dahil isa rin akong scholar nila. Depende po kung saan po yung area na nangangailangan, doon po ako pupunta. Afterwards, pag nag-residency na ako, I’m choosing between pathology and internal medicine,” added Castro.
