A TOTAL of 1,421 aspiring doctors took the Physician Licensure Examination held on September 20 and 21, 2020 in different testing venues nationwide, the Professional Regulation Commission said.

The PRC said the conduct of the second part of the licensure exam was in response to the call of the Department of Health for additional medical doctors.

“As the results will soon be released after completing the necessary processes, passers will surely augment the shortage of healthcare professionals attending to Covid19 cases in the country,” the commission said.

“While the health crisis has forced PRC to make crucial decisions as regards licensure examinations, it will remain faithful to its mission to deliberately, scientifically, and consistently determine the competence of professionals such as those who will be called Medical Doctors,” it added.

The commission said the National Capital Region had 822 examinees, CAR had 63, Region II, 48, Region IV-A, 33, Region V, 52, Region VI, 50, Region VII, 124, Region VIII, 27, Region IX, 58, Region X, 53, and Region XI, 91.

“The PRC and the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine ensured that the required health and safety protocols including the minimum health standards set by the IATF-MEID and the DOH were strictly observed to guarantee the safety of the examinees and the examination personnel,” it said.

“This is in addition to other preparatory measures done by the PRC which includes the conduct of mandatory Covid-19 confirmatory testing to all PRC personnel who will serve as examination personnel and conduct of public information drive on the requirements of the PLE through tri-media involvement,” the agency added.