A GROUP of medical students asked the Professional Regulation Commission to postpone the Physician Licensure Examination in September because of the surge in Covid19 cases.

The Philippine Medical Students’ Association said that the examinees’ health and safety must be prioritized.

“We believe that in the face of the recent surge of active cases and overall worsening health crisis in the country, the health, safety, and protection of all PLE takers should be given utmost importance,” PMSA said in a statement.

“Our future doctors deserve to be treated with the same compassion and understanding that they are taught to extend to all of their patients,” it added.

Stressing that the health crisis has affected the emotional and mental well-being of the students, PMSA said that the examinees may not be in proper shape to take the PLE.

“As examinees are required to submit a certificate of quarantine or a negative RT-PCR swab test, while others will be traveling from distant places to examination sites, the resources used for these requisites may be wasted if no early announcement on the postponement is made,” it said.

“This is exemplified by the cancellation of the August 2021 Social Workers Licensure Examination in NCR only 2 days before the exam. Test takers expressed their deep anger and frustration on the sudden postponement which has wasted precious funds for their RT-PCR tests and travel costs,” it added.

PMSA also called on PRC to release specific guidelines on the PLE for all community quarantine levels, provide standardized form of support to all PLE takers across the country, and ensure support to any PLE taker, examination proctors and administrators, and facility personnel who will be infected with Covid19.

“We hail them as the new heroes of our time as they will soon be physicians to the Filipino masses in the middle of a raging pandemic, but for them to best serve us in the frontlines or elsewhere, we must put primary importance to their safety and holistic well-being,” it said.