it's 3:05 AM. i can't sleep. i've been trying to read this thick textbook on my desk, preparing and studying for my next in-service exam. who knew that in residency we still had to take exams? as a sort of diversion, i started opening folders here in my files. i have files from med school, about time i deleted them right? i started looking at pictures too. scrolling through, i saw pictures from all the way back (scanned) as well as the most recent ones. what particularly drew my attention were the pictures from med school. yes, med school. that time of my life really is one of the most significant chapter in my life. it got me thinking of how i managed to survive it all, of how i managed to be where i am now.
it all started in 1996. i was still in second year highschool then. before that all i ever wanted was to be an engineer. dad was an engineer, so i wanted to emulate him. but i was never really good at math. up until that point i never really appreciated how good i was at my science subjects. it was because of my biology teacher that i started thinking about a career in medicine. she had started med school but had to stop because of financial reasons. she took up a teaching post in out school in order to earn and save for her med school tuition. she told us stories of her med school days, of how fun it was and how fulfilling. that got me thinking, hey maybe i can do that instead. after that i was gearing up for a career in medicine. i told my parents and they were very supportive. (oh, and my teacher was able to go back to med school after that.)
i took up bs public health in college. in my application form for UP, i chose bs fine arts and bs biology for up diliman and bs public health and bs biology for up manila. 3 pre-med courses and one course that totally has nothing to do with medicine. also checked the box for intarmed (7-year straight medicine program of UP), who knows right? i decided taking up a 4 year course for my pre-med even if another great opportunity was presented to me. had one of the best 4 years of my life. and it very well prepared me for med school. we took up subjects that would also be taken up in med school (anatomy, histology, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, etc) as well as having a strong background in microbiology and parasitology. got decent NMAT grades, good enough i guess to flaunt to the medical schools i applied to. at that point in my life, i was excitedly shouting, "med school here i come!"
i was at a fork in the road to becoming a doctor. which med school to go to? it was a choice of going to UST, where majority of my friends were going, or to UERM where i got accepted first, had an innovative teaching style (problem-based learning), and not to mention where all my doctors are. i decided to apply to UERM since i was assured of a spot, only having confirmation of my acceptance to UST after about a few days after enrolling. even after then i was presented with another option: UP med has just recalled me. an opening came up about a week after classes started. after weighing my options, i decided to stay. looking back, i think i made the right decision. i benefited from the teaching style of problem-based learning. making good friends and having a great time while i was there were bonuses. i was able to pass med school, clawed my way through the hell year that was medical clerkship and survived the grueling internship year. all that was left was to pass the board exam.
it was a rough three months. studying, or rather cramming for the boards was all i did from morning until early morning, only sleeping a couple of hours before repeating the cycle. i did get to have a vacation of some sort, having spent a week in boracay a month prior to the board exams. i said to myself that had i failed the exam, this trip was to blame. a lame excuse, i know. but lucky for me, i passed the boards on my first take. finally, all the hard work paid off.
looking through the pictures again, i began to scroll through my pictures during residency. time has really flown. from pictures during pre-residency, to first year and now to my fourth and final year, a lot has happened. a lot has changed. back then i was so unsure of the future. back then all i was hoping for was for this hospital to accept me into their training program. and after that, all i ever thought of was to survive first year residency. i have had my fair share of mistakes since then. from forgetting to check the patient's bleeding parameters resulting to a postponed procedure, to missing out findings in imaging studies, i've experienced them all. those experiences have taught me well. better to make mistakes now during training than to make mistakes in my private practice.
a little less than 6 months from now, i will have finished my residency training. this toxic year would be over. i will be relinquishing my duties as chief resident. next step: diplomate board exams. but that's looking at the future.
it all started in 1996. i was still in second year highschool then. before that all i ever wanted was to be an engineer. dad was an engineer, so i wanted to emulate him. but i was never really good at math. up until that point i never really appreciated how good i was at my science subjects. it was because of my biology teacher that i started thinking about a career in medicine. she had started med school but had to stop because of financial reasons. she took up a teaching post in out school in order to earn and save for her med school tuition. she told us stories of her med school days, of how fun it was and how fulfilling. that got me thinking, hey maybe i can do that instead. after that i was gearing up for a career in medicine. i told my parents and they were very supportive. (oh, and my teacher was able to go back to med school after that.)
i took up bs public health in college. in my application form for UP, i chose bs fine arts and bs biology for up diliman and bs public health and bs biology for up manila. 3 pre-med courses and one course that totally has nothing to do with medicine. also checked the box for intarmed (7-year straight medicine program of UP), who knows right? i decided taking up a 4 year course for my pre-med even if another great opportunity was presented to me. had one of the best 4 years of my life. and it very well prepared me for med school. we took up subjects that would also be taken up in med school (anatomy, histology, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, etc) as well as having a strong background in microbiology and parasitology. got decent NMAT grades, good enough i guess to flaunt to the medical schools i applied to. at that point in my life, i was excitedly shouting, "med school here i come!"
i was at a fork in the road to becoming a doctor. which med school to go to? it was a choice of going to UST, where majority of my friends were going, or to UERM where i got accepted first, had an innovative teaching style (problem-based learning), and not to mention where all my doctors are. i decided to apply to UERM since i was assured of a spot, only having confirmation of my acceptance to UST after about a few days after enrolling. even after then i was presented with another option: UP med has just recalled me. an opening came up about a week after classes started. after weighing my options, i decided to stay. looking back, i think i made the right decision. i benefited from the teaching style of problem-based learning. making good friends and having a great time while i was there were bonuses. i was able to pass med school, clawed my way through the hell year that was medical clerkship and survived the grueling internship year. all that was left was to pass the board exam.
it was a rough three months. studying, or rather cramming for the boards was all i did from morning until early morning, only sleeping a couple of hours before repeating the cycle. i did get to have a vacation of some sort, having spent a week in boracay a month prior to the board exams. i said to myself that had i failed the exam, this trip was to blame. a lame excuse, i know. but lucky for me, i passed the boards on my first take. finally, all the hard work paid off.
looking through the pictures again, i began to scroll through my pictures during residency. time has really flown. from pictures during pre-residency, to first year and now to my fourth and final year, a lot has happened. a lot has changed. back then i was so unsure of the future. back then all i was hoping for was for this hospital to accept me into their training program. and after that, all i ever thought of was to survive first year residency. i have had my fair share of mistakes since then. from forgetting to check the patient's bleeding parameters resulting to a postponed procedure, to missing out findings in imaging studies, i've experienced them all. those experiences have taught me well. better to make mistakes now during training than to make mistakes in my private practice.
a little less than 6 months from now, i will have finished my residency training. this toxic year would be over. i will be relinquishing my duties as chief resident. next step: diplomate board exams. but that's looking at the future.
