Push Admin

Article (news)

Ralph Jason Tulmo

Patricia Nicole Caasi

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">From 4:30 a.m. until midnight, Ralph Jayson Tulmo had reviewed daily for the 2024 Medical Technologist Licensure (MTL) Examination where he eventually placed third.  </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The feat is a full circle moment for Tulmo, whose father topped the same med-tech exam 39 years ago.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fralph.tulmo%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0352WYX5Ub4m7shyNxYUcz2AdKcrBvQTkSSjoqNmuycYekg2KBMWHMRJ9XkZ4oXQU9l&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500&amp;is_preview=true" width="500" height="709" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br id="isPasted"/></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo, who graduated summa cum laude at Riverside College in Bacolod City, said his parents Wilson and Janet Lydia both have careers in the medical field and had advised him to choose medical technology as his pre-med course.  </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I asked my dad what he thinks the best pre-med course is, and of course, I mean, he may be biased but he did say medical technology. He gave his reasons for it, it seems to me at that time, those were very good reasons,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“It&#x27;s a nice training if you want to become a medical doctor because you get to have an in-depth understanding of the different activities or processes that are being performed in the lab so that you are able to obtain accurate clinical evidence, lab results ng mga pasyente mo for you to make good diagnosis.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Out of 9,068 takers of the MTL exam, Tulmo ranked third with a 92.7 percent average. </span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>PREPARATION &amp; CHALLENGES</strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo said he spent 5 months reviewing for the exam – a period which also reignited his passion for medical technology after experiencing struggles during the pandemic.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“The training provided by these lectures, once again [made me] re-discover my passion for med-tech. Suddenly, the subject started to become more interesting. And in those concepts, those lessons, which I found very difficult to understand during the pandemic, became very clear to me,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But the 23-year-old Tulmo admitted that preparing for the rigorous exam took a toll on his mental health. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Sometimes, kasi feeling mo, pag nagpapahinga ka, feeling mo parang you&#x27;re  not doing your best. Parang, you don&#x27;t want to allow yourself to rest. Kahit, for example, i-try mo magpahinga, manood ng TV o matulog, palagay mo parang nawawalan ka ng oras,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“It&#x27;s just a lot to read and memorize. Especially, of course, if you&#x27;re aiming for the top or the highest spot or aiming to be a top notcher, it&#x27;s inevitable that you&#x27;re gonna be stressed, that you&#x27;re gonna be anxious, worried at times. Not just at times, almost every day of your review, you will be worried talaga,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo said he later realized it was important to take breaks and have enough rest to better remember a huge volume of information.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Kung pagod ka na, kahit ano pang basa mo ng mga materyales, hindi na yan papasok sa ulo mo. It is important to understand that rest is just as important as you’re studying. Your relaxation, your rest day, or rest hours, they will give you your fuel to stu</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">dy harder and study smarter and better, in general,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br/><br/></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>SUPPORT SYSTEM</strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fralph.tulmo%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02oUyqU493NfpWFPMGtTiA9725mjYaj4ew719nLJz56y3syUfZL8cHgaGPHfk8tADZl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500&amp;is_preview=true" width="500" height="250" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo learned of the exam results after failing to answer a phone call and getting mentions on Facebook. He told his parents the news at 1:30 a.m.           </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“The moment I received it, I first spoke to my father kasi he was just next to me. So I woke him up. Sinenyas ko sa kanya, sabi ko number 3. Then kasi pinatulog ko si mommy sa ibang kwarto para hindi siya ma-tense, pinuntahan namin si mommy, tapos ginising na namin to say the news to her,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo said earning one of the top spots in the MTL exam was never possible without the help and support of his parents. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“It feels amazing. Siyempre yung goal ko talaga mag top 1 sana talaga. Pero it&#x27;s okay. Top three is already very good. Kasi for me it wasn&#x27;t really about the top spot. It was about sharing the same [path], the same seat in history as my dad,” he said. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo said his career-driven parents gave him advice for his studies and provided him with the emotional support that he needed in his pre-med journey.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Very big advantage for me and very helpful to me as well. Kasi, syempre normal talaga ng mga days leading to the board exam, ida-doubt mo yung sarili mo. Tatanungin mo kung kaya mo ba talaga. So may mga worries ka at may mga doubts ka na pwede mong i-express sa kanila. And of course, they will be there to guide you and to offer their own advice,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Mga two days leading to the board exam, kinausap ko si daddy, sabi ko sa kanya kung kaya ko ba talaga ‘to? Parang na-mental block na kasi ako.  He told me to pray and </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">help me understand, this is all part of the process. You just have to show up on the board exam day and give your best,” he added.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He also shared how other students should not let pressure hold them back from achieving their fullest potential and use it as a driving force to thrive in their chosen fields.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“You can allow pressure to come at you from the path, but you can’t allow pressure to push you down or you can take that pressure and put it behind you and use it as a fuel or a source of motivation,” he said.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br/></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">After his exam feat, </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tulmo said he plans to teach at the same review center where he studied and pursue medical school this year. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>From 4:30 a.m. until midnight, Ralph Jayson Tulmo had reviewed daily for the 2024 Medical Technologist Licensure (MTL) Examination where he eventually placed third. The feat is a full circle moment for Tulmo, whose father topped the same med-tech exam 39 years ago.</p>

From 4:30 a.m. until midnight, Ralph Jayson Tulmo had reviewed daily for the 2024 Medical Technologist Licensure (MTL) Examination where he eventually placed third. The feat is a full circle moment for Tulmo, whose father topped the same med-tech exam 39 years ago.

Full circle moment: Bacolod student tops same med-tech exam that his father aced in 1985

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

News

Full circle moment: Bacolod student tops same med-tech exam that his father aced in 1985

Patricia Nicole Caasi

Published April 30, 2024 09:23 AM PHT

Read More:

medtech

medical technologist

licensure exam

MTL exam

medical school

doctors

Ralph Jayson Tulmo

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.