MANILA, Philippines – Achieving the top ranks of a national board examination is a milestone most professionals reach only once, if at all.
For Dr. Jorel Franco Antone Tangpuz, it happened twice—across two demanding disciplines, six years apart.
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| Photo courtesy: Jorel Franco Antone Tangpuz via CDN Life! |
In November 2019, Tangpuz placed fifth in the Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE). In October 2025, he again proved his academic rigor by ranking fourth in the Physicians Licensure Examination (PLE), a rare distinction that places him among a small group of Filipinos who have topped two major board exams.
According to CDN Life, rather than relying on last-minute reviews or sleepless nights, Tangpuz built his success on consistency and deliberate strategy.
He has long rejected cramming, describing it as ineffective for long-term retention. Instead, he embraced active learning, structured repetition, and daily engagement with material—habits he began developing as early as his undergraduate years and refined during medical school.
His preparation for the PLE spanned nearly 10 months, though he considers his real review to have started the moment he entered medical school.
While completing his postgraduate internship in early 2025, he studied almost daily, easing pressure as the exam approached.
He supplemented his preparation by enrolling in two review centers, focusing less on lectures and more on question banks, flashcards, and self-testing.
Central to his method was the use of flashcards through a digital app, which allowed him to apply spaced repetition.
By his own estimate, he created nearly 40,000 flashcards throughout medical school—many of which he shared with classmates. In the final month before the boards, he answered as many as 200 to 300 practice questions each day.
Tangpuz earned his medical degree from the Cebu Institute of Medicine, following his BS Nursing from Cebu Normal University.
While nursing gave him early exposure to patient care, he emphasizes that no pre-med course guarantees success in medicine, which he describes as an entirely different challenge.
Ultimately, his decision to pursue medicine was shaped by compassion, modeled by a physician- teacher who once cared for him, and by a shared dream with his mother, who was unable to study medicine herself.
Today, Dr. Tangpuz’s journey stands as proof that sustained effort, thoughtful strategy, and clear purpose, not shortcuts, are what lead to enduring success.
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express