After pursuing nursing amid financial hardship, Lee Chen Padilla Ducusin, the son of a tricycle driver, placed third nationwide in the August and September 2026 Nurses Licensure Examination with a 91.80% rating, capping a nursing education his family worked hard to sustain.
Ducusin said there were days when he went to school with barely enough money for transportation. His mother, Carol, worked as a market vendor, while his father, Reynaldo, drove a tricycle. He said the family depended on a small grocery business and eventually sold their tricycle as expenses continued to pile up.
“May mga araw na umiiyak ang aking mga magulang dahil sa hirap ng pagsuporta sa aking pag-aaral.”
Ducusin said the family accumulated debts while supporting his studies. At one point, he considered stopping school to find work and said goodbye to close college friends because he thought he might have to leave nursing.
He instead began making nursing reviewers and notes, which he sold to fellow students for allowance.
“Naisipan kong gumawa ng sarili kong mga reviewer at notes upang gamitin sa aking pag-aaral at ibenta sa aking mga kapwa estudyante para lang magkaroon ng allowance.”
He said writing the materials pushed him to study nursing concepts more closely.
Before the examination, Ducusin stayed in Baguio City to review. He recalled low review-center scores, pressure and self-doubt. After the first day, he returned to studying for the next.
When the exams ended, he went to Baguio Cathedral and prayed simply to pass.
The results released in September placed him third nationwide.
“Hindi man ako nagtapos bilang isang honor student, ang aking pagiging Top 3 sa board exam ang naging patunay na kahit sino ay kayang maging isang Topnotcher.”
His finish came after years when staying in nursing school had at times been uncertain.
