The province of Ilocos Norte is encouraging more Ilokano students to take up medicine as bright prospects await them in the future.

With the creation of the Doctor of Medicine program at the state-run Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City, local officials hope to welcome more doctors to serve local communities here, particularly in this time of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Inspired by the latest result of the 2020 Physician Licensure Examination (PLE) where all the seven pioneering graduates of the MMSU College of Medicine (COM) posted a 100 percent passing rate, Atty. Saul Paulo Lazo, chair of the committee on education, said Monday they are doubling the number of medical scholars to 16 this year.

Under the medical scholarship program of the Ilocos Norte government, each qualified medical scholar is entitled to free tuition and miscellaneous fees, including a monthly stipend for the whole academic year.

“The beneficiary is expected to render a return service to a government-managed hospital in the province equivalent to the number of years that he/she became a medical scholar,” said Lazo.

In 2019, Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc included the medical scholarship in its integrated provincial scholarship programs to produce more homegrown doctors in the province. The initial slot for the medical scholarship program prioritized the third and fourth year students who are residents of Ilocos Norte. (PNA)