At first, I took the DOH Internship program. My first rotation was at PCMC (Pedia Hospital at QC)…I found it really boring (pls don’t get me wrong, I’m not mayabang, it’s just really boring especially if you came from a vacation and you’re looking for something exciting! though I heard, pedia rotation at East Ave is way more exciting, it’ll take a month I think before East Ave pedia rotation starts and I can’t wait that long). So I went to PGH, took my chances, asked them if they are still accepting interns…they said they’re full but if someone backs out, they’ll text me. So after 4-5 days, I got a text from Maam Bles of PGH saying I was scheduled on an interview the next day.

At the day of the interview, (I can’t remember what was I wearing, though I remember my mom texting me, “yuck, why are you wearing that? that’s too old-fashioned!” believe it or not, that’s my mom, what I wear matters to her A LOT.), I remember I was a bit scared. I really don’t have any idea about that interview. When I entered the room, a mestizo surgeon on his 50’s (I forgot his name) was smiling at me, asking me to sit down. I sat down with my heart beating so fast, I can’t breath but he seemed nice, so after a few minutes I was able to calm myself down. I think it was the first time I had a real interview. I was lucky enough I got exempted during UST entrance interviews. So yeah, I wasn’t expecting any of the questions, it was too personal. They say you have to be confident but not arrogant…is that even possible? i don’t know. I can’t even remember my answers to his questions. after a few minutes, it’s over.

Today, I’m at PGH doing my internship.

Do i regret it? No.

Am i enjoying it? Yes.

Did i ever wonder what would it be like if i stayed at DOH? sometimes. very few sometimes.

I still can’t believe 4 months have passed since internship started.

During the first 2 months, we were at surgery. and then a month in minors. and now we are on our first half of pedia rotation. sometimes it’s toxic, sometimes it’s benign but most of the times, it’s fun. PGH is way different from UST. Both are good hospitals, only different patients (in quality and quantity) and nicer residents at PGH (hehe!). I hope all residents in my other future rotation are nice nicer too.

so back to my first statement…

it’s already August.

It’s August 29, 2011.

The HOLY MONTH of RAMADHAN has passed (Aug 1-29, 2011).

Tomorrow is Eid’L Fitr. and It’s 2 AM and I’m still awake.

Can’t decide on what to wear tomorrow. hehe! But I think I’ll end up wearing that green dress from my grandmother.

They say it’s a relatively benign rotation since most surgeon residents are “chill” lang however during the first 4 sub-rotation, i didn’t feel the benign-ness people were saying. we spent 10 days for each subrotation.

1st sub-rotation: ER/OPD: benign compared to our medicine ER/OPD rotation, the only bad thing about this rotation is from-status duty should stay at the OPD til 5 pm. bum.

2nd sub-rotation: GS 1-3-5: mostly cases about breast, thyroid and trauma

3rd sub-rotation: GS 2-4: mostly GI cases, lots of emergency appendectomy

4th sub-rotation: Neuro-plastic surg: we had a lot of neuro patients and most of them should be monitored every hour. bum. Most neuro OR takes like the whole day. Plastic cases are way cooler.

5th sub-rotation: Uro-Pedia surg: relatively benign compared to other sub-rotation.

6th sub-rotation: ortho-tcvs: ortho residents are very strict.

WOOHOO! CLERKSHIP IS OVER!

>>wrote this entry last April. I can’t even remember i wrote it.

so where did i stop.. my latest entry was about my retreat in Caleruega which was a very memorable experience for me even though I’m not a Catholic/Christian/even thinking of converting into one.

after Pedia rotation, next in line was a 2-month rotation in OB-GYNE. first 2 weeks at Gyne department, another 2 weeks at Fabella Hospital and a month at OB department.  what makes this rotation different (aside from I’ve been so looking forward to it since birth) is the consultants were all very active/bibo, they never miss a group discussion and the schedule was very hectic..ward case and other con and grand rounds presentation in the morning and then journal reporting, skills lab lectures and small group discussion in the afternoon. it was crazy! good thing we don’t really have a lot of patients (compared to the ones we have at Fabella which was overwhelming).

As always, outside rotation is a chance for us to do the real thing and sometimes to be the boss of ourselves since at UST Hospital, we don’t really get to do hands-on procedure/operation, all we do mostly is to know the history and PE by heart, monitor vital signs, refer to intern/residents if unstable, observe procedures, assist/retract in surgical operations and a lot of paper works and case conferences and “boljaking”.

Personally, i enjoyed all my outside rotation. At Fabella, we get to deliver babies alone (not really alone, we have a student nurse or a midwife to assist us).  usually we get to deliver at least 5 NSDs/clerk a day since we are only required to deliver babies of primigravids then CSD in between. it felt like a factory producing at least 50-100 babies a day…i told you it was overwhelming! there were so many patients, there was no time to talk, to discuss, to read.

But when we got back at UST, that’s when we learn the theories and the reason behind every step/technique. and then i realized that even though it is tempting to jump and do the thing already, it is still better to do it step by step…learn the theories first then apply it. coz it would be confusing doing something, not knowing the reason or rationale behind.

i did enjoy this rotation as expected. so yeah I’m going to be an OB-GYNE… hahaha! kidding! coz i enjoyed ob-gyne, same way as i enjoyed pedia. it’s too early to say…

P.S. a lot of our consultants (most of them females) are single (never been married) and they are like in their 40-50’s already. they say if you take up ob-gyne and you’re single, you are going to be single forever. it’s like a curse! so i am not going to be an ob-gyne because i don’t want to be single forever unless i get married before residency which i don’t think will happen because I’m so choosy when it comes to boys because I’m a feminist and sometimes i believe men sucks (except for the men in my family)…ohmygawd I AM going to be single forever! :’(

what: 3-day retreat

who: section B

where: Caleruega, Batangas

to cut the long story short.

i came.

i had fun with friends.

i had fun with classmates.

i enjoyed Fr. Nilo’s words of wisdom.

i left.

everything was worth remembering.

after 1 month at the community.. we are so finally back in the wards.. PEDIA ward for 1 month!!! first of all, i like kids. being at the pedia ward is sooo much better than at the medicine wards (definitely, no fun at all). the pedia residents were nicer too. and the kids, i love them! they are adorable. even though they are annoying sometimes, they’re kids, they have a right to be annoying so it’s forgivable..unlike adults who are if annoying is really annoying. haha! i enjoyed my pedia ward rotation even though i missed the halloween trick or treat costume party with the kids since i was on duty at the nursery.

now, i’m at Pedia ER/OPD for another month..so far so good. i’m not yet done with my teaching with the consultant but i hope i’ll be done next week, or the week after that. inshaAllah.

by the way, super funny ni toni gonzaga at john lloyd in their movie My Amnesia Girl, cheesy-est movie ever! haha! D

Just finished downloading Easy A..will now watch it. toodles!

So just imagine the anxiety and the panic days before the written revalida which was today November 27, 2010. FYI, it’s not just an ordinary test. it’s the real Revalida, the original Revalida, or whatever you want to call it.

Preparation…

no watching TV shows such as TVD, GG, GA, Glee, HIMYM, and Friends (yes, Friends.. I’m finally done with season 1, 9 more seasons to go, haha!). Facebook/WWW hiatus, no more going out with friends, no more watching movies. no more telebabad with loved ones. imagine???

Last night…

oddly, i had a good night sleep. i was supposed to stay up late but i think my brain got so tired from all the reading which i am not used to anymore since i started clerkship. haha! i admit i don’t really read these days as much as i did when i was still in "school". being in the hospital drains all your energy until you have no more left with you when you get home.

so you might be wondering how i was able to study everything? of course i was not able to study everything, that would be impossible. there’s too much to read but too little time especially if you are like me who decided to start studying a week before the test when others already started studying months before the test. yes, months! we take the revalida very seriously. i do, believe me.

The Test…

The written revalida was made up of 200 questions about anything from first year to fourth year lectures in medical school. it was like a physician board exam. we took the first part (100 items) at 8-10am then the second part (100 items) at 10-12nn. minutes before the test, all i did is pray and pray to Allah. i was really anxious. i have to pass this test, no matter what. i really have to! the second part of the test was the worst. maybe because it was really difficult or my brain cells are all used up already and i can’t think anymore. but then fortunately, i was able to finish the test. Alhamdulillah.

Immediately right after the Test… (in denial)

we (suz and gem) decided to go out and celebrate even though we don’t know the result yet. we just want to have fun coz finally it’s over. so we went to Greenbelt, ate at Marciano’s (the food was yummy!) and watched a movie (My Amnesia Girl, i know right? haha! coz all the cinemas were showing harry potter and we already saw harry potter at SM MOA IMAX. fortunately i enjoyed watching the movie, laugh trip til the end, hihi..). the whole time we tried not to think about the outcome of the test. even though we knew the answer key was already posted even before we got to greenbelt. yes, it’s that fast! after the movie, Miguel invited us to his party at QC but i can’t take it anymore, i have to check my papers, i have to know if i pass or not..it’s driving me mad already. so we got a cab and went back to our place asap.

Tonight…

as soon as i got home, i took my red pen and started checking my papers (we get to keep our questionnaire, cool huh?). Gemma already sent me a copy of the answer key. my hands were even trembling..it’s really a pain to check your own paper. for every wrong answer, i can feel the beat of my heart so hard, it hurts. and then i started counting all my wrong answers… and finally…the long wait is over… the anxiety is over…Thanks to Allah, i passed. i really passed! Alhamdulillah.

I called my mom and my grandma and i told them the good news. it’s so funny coz it felt like they were going to take the written revalida with me coz they too were anxious about the test. that is how supportive they can be! haha! i love them!

we were required to assist in at least one operation a day and then observe other operations for the rest of the day. It was fun especially if you’re the one assisting the surgeon. we get to observe a lot of operations including laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open tenotomy, herniorraphy, MRM, VATS, excision of masses, AV fistula, gastrostomy, fistulectomy etc..

They (the surgery residents) kept on asking us why did we take surgery as one of our electives when we are already going to spend a 2-month rotation in surgery..

our usual answer would be: “we like surgery.”

and their usual reply: “weee…ung totoo?”

so isn’t our answer believable? do we look like the type who is not really into surgery but instead took up surgery elective because they heard it’s not a toxic elective and you get to assist residents (sometimes hot, sometimes cute, most of the times witty) at the OR, (punas their sweaty head at your shoulders, get their cellphones at their pockets while they are operating, stand too close to them for hours, talk to them since they have no choice but to talk to you coz they’re stuck with you in a small OR, stare at them without them knowing since they are so busy concentrating on what they are doing, laugh at their jokes coz their laughs make u laugh too, admire their work coz you know it’ll make them smile and it’s cute when they smile, etc..)

maybe we do…JOKE! (referring to my crush only.. haha!)

BUT it’s also true that i really do like surgery.. i like making use of silvery stuffs like the scissors, metz, allis, forceps, etc; i like the smell of sterilium on my hands; i like opening up other people’s body without killing them coz it makes me feel so powerful; i like the feeling of warm living body tissues on my hands coz who doesn’t love touching a hot body (that’s why people like Jacob); i like getting my hands dirty with blood coz red is my favorite color too; i like suturing coz i’ve always wanted to sew; i like wearing the dark green OR gown, i’ve always find it fashionable; i like wearing the scrubs coz i find it so comfortable; i like it when people give me what i asked for; i like having my own OR where i could play my music while doing my work; and most importantly i just like treating/curing people with my own hands.

I love them so much!

They definitely know what makes me happy.

High School friends forever!

1st week elective: Pathology

only 2 students per week were allowed to do patho elective, that would be me and suzy (my girlfriend). we were instructed to come to patho lab at 6:30 AM because Dr. Lopez read slides at 6.30 in the morning and sometimes even earlier but since it’s in our genes to be late and that’s something non-modifiable, we were never able to come to the lab on time.

on our first day, i just came from the medicine department coz i was on duty the night before so that means i was wearing the same uniform i wore the day before, i haven’t taken a bath, i was sweaty all over, i was bringing 3 bags with me, i am too slow and i can’t seem to process what i’m hearing..in short it was embarrassing to death!

At the lab, they read slides while explaining it to us; they cut specimens and convert it in something very minute and can only be viewed under the microscope, they even allowed us to cut placentas; they taught us about pap smear stuff, FNAB, renal biopsy, etc; they make us attend different conferences and grand rounds, not just patho conferences but including ob-gyn, pedia, renal, etc.

we only have three requirements: journal appraisal, clinico-pathological correlation presentation, and an exit quiz. The residents and consultants are nice to us. they were never strict. Dr. Mosey Moreno, our favorite resident, is the nicest of all coz he’s funny without even trying to be funny.

so at the end, we really enjoyed our stay in pathology lab that’s why we treated them with a bilao of maki, bilao of miki bihon, and softdrinks..hahaha!

we still need to see Dr. Mosey coz he wanted to discuss the answers of our quiz.

our 2-month medicine rotation is divided into 6 subspecialty which we will be spending 10 days each..

1st stop: GI

    1st year resident in charge: Dr. Barredo

    on our first day in medicine, i am already on a 24-hr duty. kill me now! it was like the worst day of my clerkship so far but good thing i didn’t die. i lived a longer life.. haha! i did things i am not proud of (will definitely not write it here) but i’m just a medical clerk, lowest form of animal in the medical world hence i am allowed to commit mistakes, it’s my right! :p

2nd stop: Infectious diseases-Pulmo

   1st half: 1st year resident: Dr. Nadia      3rd year resident: Dr. Co

   2nd half: 1st year resident: Dr. Balili       3rd year resident: Dr. Delgado

Dr. Nadia (Muljadi?) is from indonesia. btw she’s not a muslim ( i thought she was) She’s really really nice but i really find it hard to understand her accent. lagi ako napapahamak ng accent nya. but she’s one of my favorite residents..in short close kami.. haha! D

Dr. Co is also known as the walking Harrison. He doesn’t take “i don’t know” for an answer. i heard he’s the top student of his class and he also topped the boards during his time. He’s rich and from a good family that’s why he doesn’t really understand people who doesn’t belong in his class (upper class). we don’t understand him either.

halfway in our rotation in IT-Pulmo, there was a change in the residents-in-charge..

Dr. Delgado is also known as Edward Cullen coz he’s too whitey white and he is my first love. joke! He is totally good at everything he does. He’s one of the best resident teacher ever. we totally learned a lot from him. he’d always give us assignments and would ask us a lot of questions, sensible and relevant questions. and then if you’re lucky he’d smile at you, his precious smile! which he doesn’t usually wear. but i used to see it a lot.. haha! that’s why i fell in love with him.. haha!

it was during this rotation, we’d do a lot of edema rounds..sometimes even anasarca rounds.. our whole body would swell coz we’d do bedside discussion of each patient and we’re not allowed to sit.

3rd stop: ER-OPD

   1st year resident: Dr. Barredo

   Duty residents: Dr. De Guzman, Dr. Carandang

Duty at the ER is the most toxic ever. one time, i almost felt like crying coz i was just so tired and that insensitive doctor from radiology department is just making it worse. i did dream of becoming an ER doctor but after my ER rotation, i had second thoughts but i haven’t closed my doors yet.

4th stop: Hema-Onco-Rheuma

    1st year resident: Dr. Nadia     3rd year resident: Dr. Co

    Hema Fellow: Dr. Julian     rheuma fellow: Dr. Sora

since we’ve already met Dr. Nadia and Dr. Co, we started to understand them.. what they want and they don’t want.. Dr. Co is still the same but this time he’d try teaching us even though he still gets mad at us every time we can’t answer his questions but we got used to his infamous lines “you should know that” “what if it gets ask in your revalida?” “you will fail the revalida” etc.. etc.. but at least we didn’t get to hear him say “i don’t need you” “i don’t like you wala kang pera” “manigas ka”  which we heard he used to tell the other groups.. but he did shout at me once “bulag ka ba?” HAHA! i know it’s weird but it just made me want to laugh so hard..i started to like him. i even always greeted him at the hallway, oddly he’d greet me too. sometimes my groupmates would even tease me. sometimes i think he’s trying hard to connect with other people but he’s just too different.. zero EQ.

during this rotation, i had a very makulit young patient who is suffering from ALL whom i got very close to. his story is sad, same with all cancer patients, especially young ones. they are living their perfect lives and poof one day they woke up with a cancer but still it did not stop them from believing..instead their faith just get stronger. amazing!

5th stop: CardioVascular

     1st year resident: Dr. Rillon     3rd year resident: Dr. Velasco

     1st year resident: Dr. Barredo   3rd year resident: Dr. Co (for the 3rd time!)

CV is the most exciting rotation ever. i began to like CV because of Dr. Garcia. I really admire her a lot but since she gave me a not-so-high grade when i was in third year, i started to hate CV but now i like it again.. haha! during this rotation, we did a lot of code blue here, there and everywhere..young, middle-aged, old..male, female. people just die everyday. it was sad. Every time i do CPR, i’d pray so hard that the patient will live but nothing, they still die.

6th stop: Endo-Nephro

     1st year resident: Dr. Balili     3rd year resident: Dr. Romano

Another exciting rotation.. i’ve always been fascinated by endocrinologic diseases, partly because of Dr. Gomez who i think is a very good doctor..as for nephro, i’ve always enjoyed it because of Dr. Marcial who has taught us a lot of things about nephro when we were in third year. we had a lot of CKDs, DM, Electrolyte imbalances, etc. and guess what, my group did the last duty. i didn’t even get a minute of sleep that last night at medicine department.

in each rotation, we had a lot of patients, some are nice, some are mean, some are toxic, some are chill…but as thomasian doctor, we were always taught the  thomasian values, the 3 C’s: Competence, Compassion and Commitment which helped us become clerks who value patient care above all. (YES! weee! haha!)

it was a roller coaster ride! the laughs! the drama! the issues! mixed emotions everywhere but all in all it made us stronger, wiser, and better clinicians.