After a very long break (again) in between blog posts, I finally have adequate computer time to myself here at the Surgery office to get blogging again. :)
4 months of Medicine has passed, 4 absolutely CRAZY months of it... Let me break it down for you.. two months are spent manning the floors and different buildings of CGH, 1 month is commited to the ER (as in Pre, Duty, and From, ER ka lang! Nakakasuka!), and the other month is split between Radiology (where you still go on MIOD duties every 3 days), and Psychiatry where they send you off to the master loony bin of them all, the National Center for Mental Health, which is more popularly known as MENTAL HOSPITAL. Bwahahaha!
The three months sucked badly, especially ER.. Now I know that I'll never go into Medicine... :P
The other "Minors" month was another story, especially the Mental rotation. It was just pure heaven.. I could go home every day, 'coz Mental was just a 10-minute jeep ride away! :D Sigh..
Now, with all of that behind me, I'm presently in the midst of my 1st month of my Surgery ER/Community rotation. All the Surgery residents ROCK!! I love Surgery! :D I guess it's kinda early to give an assessment of everything, but nevertheless, I'm actually having fun for a change! ;) Watch out for further updates. (oh yeah, I might even throw in some stories from Medicine.. if I feel like it...)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
CGH: Call God's Help...
I'm here at home, happily "From" my 6th duty of internship... The days have gone by pretty fast, although they seem to drag on forever if you're on duty. Anyway, after an exhausting duty spent running around, pumping and shocking people back to life, its time for a little R&R.
The benefits for interns at CGH are as good as advertised. However, the "one building-one intern" duties are pretty accurate as well. :P
I feel that i fit in quite well at CGH. Sure, the duties are really killer, and the "solo building" resonsibility a bit overwhelming, but I'm sure most of my co-interns would agree that the relazed atmosphere we have is a fresh change from the one we decided to leave behind.
Sure, I've thought of leaving for another institution, especially on the st 2 duties. But I thought better of it, since I got myself into this fully aware that it wasn't going to be easy. And besides, there's a wealth of experience to be gained by working and staying where I already am.
I'm presently rotating in the Department of Internal Medicine. That means we own about 1/3 of the entire hospital complex. That's a lot of ground to cover.. Unfortunately, we are not granted "From" status while in Medicine, all 4 hellish months of it.. And with good reason. When its my turn to be on duty, I'm pretty happy that the From duty peple stay to help out until 4pm when the duty people assume posts. Its a different deal on saturdays and sundays. No good thing comes without a price. The weekends off for the interns is a reality. However, those who are on duty assume posts immediately at8am until 7am the followng day ("skeleton force").
It's getting pretty tiring. I'm glad I'll be moving in to the free accomodations available to us (another ne of the many CGH benefits) 'coz I don't think I can keep up commuting to and from the house any more.. The strain is just too great. I need a place where I can crash after a duty ASAP. :P
We'll just see how things play out. Catch you some other time ;)
The benefits for interns at CGH are as good as advertised. However, the "one building-one intern" duties are pretty accurate as well. :P
I feel that i fit in quite well at CGH. Sure, the duties are really killer, and the "solo building" resonsibility a bit overwhelming, but I'm sure most of my co-interns would agree that the relazed atmosphere we have is a fresh change from the one we decided to leave behind.
Sure, I've thought of leaving for another institution, especially on the st 2 duties. But I thought better of it, since I got myself into this fully aware that it wasn't going to be easy. And besides, there's a wealth of experience to be gained by working and staying where I already am.
I'm presently rotating in the Department of Internal Medicine. That means we own about 1/3 of the entire hospital complex. That's a lot of ground to cover.. Unfortunately, we are not granted "From" status while in Medicine, all 4 hellish months of it.. And with good reason. When its my turn to be on duty, I'm pretty happy that the From duty peple stay to help out until 4pm when the duty people assume posts. Its a different deal on saturdays and sundays. No good thing comes without a price. The weekends off for the interns is a reality. However, those who are on duty assume posts immediately at8am until 7am the followng day ("skeleton force").
It's getting pretty tiring. I'm glad I'll be moving in to the free accomodations available to us (another ne of the many CGH benefits) 'coz I don't think I can keep up commuting to and from the house any more.. The strain is just too great. I need a place where I can crash after a duty ASAP. :P
We'll just see how things play out. Catch you some other time ;)
Monday, April 30, 2007
Clerkship Update: Neurology, Medicine, the Retreat, Electives
Ok, now I'm really running out of time, so I'll be going really fast. Internship starts in roughly 3 days! I just fear that I won't be able to do justice to the rest of the services that I'm going to talk about, but what the hell..
NEUROLOGY
Ok, after spending about a full week in the loony bin, I had to move on to the organic causes of brain disease, the realm of mighty Neurology.. :D
Oh yeah, before I totally leave Psychiatry, I just wanna give a shout-out to Dr. Orestes Solis for making our Psych stay as bearable as possible. Thanks doc!
We made the swap with the outgoing Neuro clerks, them taking charge of the CC and us the Neuro ward. It was a really taxing job. You get all these critical patients, a majority of which require Neuroimaging immediately prior to beig brought up to the ward. And for some wweird reason, most CVAs tend to occur at night... Why the hell is that? :P Needless to say, me and Johnny were run ragged by the duty days we had in this service. In fairness to the Neuro department (who is also the Psych department), they were very forgiving when things couldn't get done as quickly as they would like, 'because they understand that the jobs are so many, but the clerks are so few... hehehe
The lectures we had in Neuro-Psych were very interesting. Listening to the great Dr. Poblete go about his thing makes Neurology seem so easy. I guess he's the prime example of someone who has a real gift for teaching.. I mean, I'm kinda biased towards Neuro as a subspecialty, given my condition and all, but hearing him make the subject matter palatable even to a lowly clerk kinda made me want to learn more and more... a rarity these days.. hehe
I have to note that this was the firat service wherein a patient expired while under my care.. WEll, not really, because I wasn't there when it happened, but the patient was decked under my name, so technically, that was my patient..
Also, life was a bit more bearable because we got along pretty well with our dutymate intern that time. Thanks Achi Margie!! ;) A shout-out is also due for Dr. Marc Molina, the hammer-twirling Neuro resident. Thanks boss! Hope to see you again in two years. :D
Then, before we knew it, Medicine already knocking at the door...
We had our orientation about two days before the start of the rotation.. Man, these Medicine peple really knew how to intimidate the hell out of you.. We had heard of the rumors but dismissed them as just ghost stories created by the other previous groups to keep the mystique of Medicine going.. But nay! Upon entry, the residents suddenly distributed test papers containg 50 items! This was stuff that, according to them, we needed to have known prior to starting the rotation!! Failure would mean a 7-day demerit even before we actually started!! No one could say a word...
After the exam, (which I obviously failed) they began a relentless orientation that haunts me to this day. The pressure placed on us was so great, tha tsome actually went home with migraines that night. They bombarded us with the various responsibilities we were to have, the numerous conferences we were to attend, the TONS of paperwork we were expected to accomplish, and a great many more.. We were dead scared...
We made our courtesy calls to different residents heading our various teams. I was in Team 4 (Go Team 4!!) with Kat LD, Janys, Christine, Justin, Haidee O., Nice, and Jacky. To add to our anxiety was the fact that our senior resident was the formidable Chief Resident Dr. Maureen Valentin! (ulp!) Our junior RIC (Resident in Charge) was Dr. Christine Untalan. ( I had seen her before on my undergraduate years when she was an intern, and I thought she looked tough..) They set down the rules and told us their expectations, during which we were able to breath a bit because they actually SEEMED nice! But still, I was on my guard, because you never know what the next day might bring..
The night before the big exchange, I was on duty at Neurology, which meant that I was FROM on the day we began!! Oh crap.. :S
I don't really recall the details of that 1st day, but I guess that was sort of a baptism for the entire group. No, we weren't handed demerit by the millions or anything of that sort. I guess being saddled with ACTUAL responsibilities provided a fresh change for us hardworking clerks, and I daresay we responded positively.
I could go on forever about that various day-to-day experiences I've had while rotating in Med, since most are firmly ingrained in my mind, but in the interest of tme, space, and practicality, I'll have to give a brief overview na lang.
Our first ever Team Intern was Gary. He was a walking Harrison's!!! He was very knowledgable and took time to teach us the nitty-gritty of stuff we had to do or needed to learn. He also willingly covered for us during those times we were absolutely shorthanded. Thanks Kuya Gary!!
During the middle of the 1st month, we had an intern swap, and new residents as well. This time our Team Intern was Mo (short for Moreen) who belonged to the beloved group of interns our group had grown to know so well. Our team residents were Dr. Emerson De Jesus and Dr. Romina Laguesma. And in the middle of our second month, we retained Dr. Emer as our senior, and got the slightly more OC Dr. Frederick Gabriel as our junior resident. And with that also came an intern swap. And lo and behold! We got Marge as our final Team Intern!!
The department wasn't as bad as adviertised. I now truly feel that Medicine as a clerkship rotation is seriously overrated. Fine, the workload is really a killer, but the Medical staff are SOOOO nice!! (at least, from my personal point of view) I guess it's really like that when you become "their" clerks. I recall during the OB days when people would argue over who makes the referrals to Medicine because they were really so scary...
I really learned A LOT from this rotation, mainly because this was probably the main "meat" of what being a doctor was about. (kaya nga tinawag na Medicine diba?). Also because we had good teachers in the ward (residents and interns) and my own personal interest in IM.
I have nothing but good words to say about the Medicine residents! They are so damn nice! They care about their clerks, have the drive and desire to teach, and (contrary to popular belief) aren't out to make our lives miserable! :D They were always there to answer our questions (but most of the time you'll also be asked a question yourself) :D.
Shoutouts go to the ENTIRE Medicine department, with particular thanks to the following:
Dr. Mossy Valentin
Dr. Emer De Jesus
Dr. Lyza Galia - current cheif res!! woohoo!
Dr. Bea Medrano
Dr. Hendra Nurjadin
Dr. Tin Untalan
Dr. Mina Laguesma
Dr. Eric Gabriel
Dr. Regina Yao
Dr. Julie Tapispisan
Dr. Isser Sugay
And to our beloved interns as well!
Thank you all!!! Medicine wouldn't have been the way it was without all of you!! :D
THE RETREAT
Now, in the middle of our second month in Medicine (just when I felt that I was about to totally burn out), we had the much-anticipated Clerks' Retreat at Angels' Hills in Tagaytay.. What followed was the three most relaxing days of Clerkship, EVER!! Nobody wanted to really do anything except sleep, eat, take pictures, and have a good laugh with friends.. I have nothing but fond memories of the place, and I do hope I'll be able to return someday... :D
ELECTIVES
Ok, after Medicine (yehey!), we were rewarded with the privelege of choosing our elective rotations for 1 month save for Radiology (the compulsory elective..). I opted to get 2 weeks of Medicine (under Dr. J. Go), 1 week of Neurology (yes, you read that one right), and the last week was for Radio.
The Medicine ("Dr. Go") elective was a hoot! We were finally free of the burden of having patients tied to our name and could now look at patients more objectively and "learn at the feet of the master". :P Dr. Go is a brillant man, no doubt about that, a trait only outdone by his generosity towards his clerks. We went on rounds with him at the CD ward and his Pay patients. He allowed us to sit in with his academic seesions for the residents. He brought us to the Christmas parties of the various medicine departments which had invited him. (It was nearing Christmas at that time, which worked pretty well for us, since we Electives people didn't have to do duties during the holidays. He fed our brains and kept our mouths stuffed with food. :P It all ended on a good note, and we were grateful to have been under him.
Next up was my Neurology elective. A lot of people thought I was pretty nuts to go and get myself involved in Neurology again, seeing as it's such a txic rotation that no one wants to put themselves through again. But I liked Neurology, and I'll go through it alone if I had to.. which I did.. :D It's a good thing the actual Neurology rotators at that time were all Medtechs. It made my stay there more enjoyable. Plus the fact that the interns there were also fun to be with. :) As an Elective rotator, I got to see what life was beyond all the q1 monitorings and the late-night runs to the CT scan. I went around with the senior resident to answer referrals. I got to hang out at the EEG room, I was regarded with respet by the Neurology resident staff and even got invited to have breakfast with them atMcDo. :D Of course, I still had to do 1 duty even though it was just an elective, and I helped out my Neuro friends by sharing their workload (except for monitoring of course!). After 7 interesting days, it was time to go to the final elective..
Radiology was cool, both literally and figuratively. We spent most of our time in air-conditioned rooms, doing light to minimal work, looking at impressive imaging devices and watching imaging-dependent procedures. The Radio staff was very kind as well. And i guess we got along fine with the Radio interns we had (Thanks Fritz! See you in Neuro!).
Well, I guess that's that for now. I'll wrap up the Sapang and Pedia rotations tomorrow.
NEUROLOGY
Ok, after spending about a full week in the loony bin, I had to move on to the organic causes of brain disease, the realm of mighty Neurology.. :D
Oh yeah, before I totally leave Psychiatry, I just wanna give a shout-out to Dr. Orestes Solis for making our Psych stay as bearable as possible. Thanks doc!
We made the swap with the outgoing Neuro clerks, them taking charge of the CC and us the Neuro ward. It was a really taxing job. You get all these critical patients, a majority of which require Neuroimaging immediately prior to beig brought up to the ward. And for some wweird reason, most CVAs tend to occur at night... Why the hell is that? :P Needless to say, me and Johnny were run ragged by the duty days we had in this service. In fairness to the Neuro department (who is also the Psych department), they were very forgiving when things couldn't get done as quickly as they would like, 'because they understand that the jobs are so many, but the clerks are so few... hehehe
The lectures we had in Neuro-Psych were very interesting. Listening to the great Dr. Poblete go about his thing makes Neurology seem so easy. I guess he's the prime example of someone who has a real gift for teaching.. I mean, I'm kinda biased towards Neuro as a subspecialty, given my condition and all, but hearing him make the subject matter palatable even to a lowly clerk kinda made me want to learn more and more... a rarity these days.. hehe
I have to note that this was the firat service wherein a patient expired while under my care.. WEll, not really, because I wasn't there when it happened, but the patient was decked under my name, so technically, that was my patient..
Also, life was a bit more bearable because we got along pretty well with our dutymate intern that time. Thanks Achi Margie!! ;) A shout-out is also due for Dr. Marc Molina, the hammer-twirling Neuro resident. Thanks boss! Hope to see you again in two years. :D
Then, before we knew it, Medicine already knocking at the door...
We had our orientation about two days before the start of the rotation.. Man, these Medicine peple really knew how to intimidate the hell out of you.. We had heard of the rumors but dismissed them as just ghost stories created by the other previous groups to keep the mystique of Medicine going.. But nay! Upon entry, the residents suddenly distributed test papers containg 50 items! This was stuff that, according to them, we needed to have known prior to starting the rotation!! Failure would mean a 7-day demerit even before we actually started!! No one could say a word...
After the exam, (which I obviously failed) they began a relentless orientation that haunts me to this day. The pressure placed on us was so great, tha tsome actually went home with migraines that night. They bombarded us with the various responsibilities we were to have, the numerous conferences we were to attend, the TONS of paperwork we were expected to accomplish, and a great many more.. We were dead scared...
We made our courtesy calls to different residents heading our various teams. I was in Team 4 (Go Team 4!!) with Kat LD, Janys, Christine, Justin, Haidee O., Nice, and Jacky. To add to our anxiety was the fact that our senior resident was the formidable Chief Resident Dr. Maureen Valentin! (ulp!) Our junior RIC (Resident in Charge) was Dr. Christine Untalan. ( I had seen her before on my undergraduate years when she was an intern, and I thought she looked tough..) They set down the rules and told us their expectations, during which we were able to breath a bit because they actually SEEMED nice! But still, I was on my guard, because you never know what the next day might bring..
The night before the big exchange, I was on duty at Neurology, which meant that I was FROM on the day we began!! Oh crap.. :S
I don't really recall the details of that 1st day, but I guess that was sort of a baptism for the entire group. No, we weren't handed demerit by the millions or anything of that sort. I guess being saddled with ACTUAL responsibilities provided a fresh change for us hardworking clerks, and I daresay we responded positively.
I could go on forever about that various day-to-day experiences I've had while rotating in Med, since most are firmly ingrained in my mind, but in the interest of tme, space, and practicality, I'll have to give a brief overview na lang.
Our first ever Team Intern was Gary. He was a walking Harrison's!!! He was very knowledgable and took time to teach us the nitty-gritty of stuff we had to do or needed to learn. He also willingly covered for us during those times we were absolutely shorthanded. Thanks Kuya Gary!!
During the middle of the 1st month, we had an intern swap, and new residents as well. This time our Team Intern was Mo (short for Moreen) who belonged to the beloved group of interns our group had grown to know so well. Our team residents were Dr. Emerson De Jesus and Dr. Romina Laguesma. And in the middle of our second month, we retained Dr. Emer as our senior, and got the slightly more OC Dr. Frederick Gabriel as our junior resident. And with that also came an intern swap. And lo and behold! We got Marge as our final Team Intern!!
The department wasn't as bad as adviertised. I now truly feel that Medicine as a clerkship rotation is seriously overrated. Fine, the workload is really a killer, but the Medical staff are SOOOO nice!! (at least, from my personal point of view) I guess it's really like that when you become "their" clerks. I recall during the OB days when people would argue over who makes the referrals to Medicine because they were really so scary...
I really learned A LOT from this rotation, mainly because this was probably the main "meat" of what being a doctor was about. (kaya nga tinawag na Medicine diba?). Also because we had good teachers in the ward (residents and interns) and my own personal interest in IM.
I have nothing but good words to say about the Medicine residents! They are so damn nice! They care about their clerks, have the drive and desire to teach, and (contrary to popular belief) aren't out to make our lives miserable! :D They were always there to answer our questions (but most of the time you'll also be asked a question yourself) :D.
Shoutouts go to the ENTIRE Medicine department, with particular thanks to the following:
Dr. Mossy Valentin
Dr. Emer De Jesus
Dr. Lyza Galia - current cheif res!! woohoo!
Dr. Bea Medrano
Dr. Hendra Nurjadin
Dr. Tin Untalan
Dr. Mina Laguesma
Dr. Eric Gabriel
Dr. Regina Yao
Dr. Julie Tapispisan
Dr. Isser Sugay
And to our beloved interns as well!
Thank you all!!! Medicine wouldn't have been the way it was without all of you!! :D
THE RETREAT
Now, in the middle of our second month in Medicine (just when I felt that I was about to totally burn out), we had the much-anticipated Clerks' Retreat at Angels' Hills in Tagaytay.. What followed was the three most relaxing days of Clerkship, EVER!! Nobody wanted to really do anything except sleep, eat, take pictures, and have a good laugh with friends.. I have nothing but fond memories of the place, and I do hope I'll be able to return someday... :D
ELECTIVES
Ok, after Medicine (yehey!), we were rewarded with the privelege of choosing our elective rotations for 1 month save for Radiology (the compulsory elective..). I opted to get 2 weeks of Medicine (under Dr. J. Go), 1 week of Neurology (yes, you read that one right), and the last week was for Radio.
The Medicine ("Dr. Go") elective was a hoot! We were finally free of the burden of having patients tied to our name and could now look at patients more objectively and "learn at the feet of the master". :P Dr. Go is a brillant man, no doubt about that, a trait only outdone by his generosity towards his clerks. We went on rounds with him at the CD ward and his Pay patients. He allowed us to sit in with his academic seesions for the residents. He brought us to the Christmas parties of the various medicine departments which had invited him. (It was nearing Christmas at that time, which worked pretty well for us, since we Electives people didn't have to do duties during the holidays. He fed our brains and kept our mouths stuffed with food. :P It all ended on a good note, and we were grateful to have been under him.
Next up was my Neurology elective. A lot of people thought I was pretty nuts to go and get myself involved in Neurology again, seeing as it's such a txic rotation that no one wants to put themselves through again. But I liked Neurology, and I'll go through it alone if I had to.. which I did.. :D It's a good thing the actual Neurology rotators at that time were all Medtechs. It made my stay there more enjoyable. Plus the fact that the interns there were also fun to be with. :) As an Elective rotator, I got to see what life was beyond all the q1 monitorings and the late-night runs to the CT scan. I went around with the senior resident to answer referrals. I got to hang out at the EEG room, I was regarded with respet by the Neurology resident staff and even got invited to have breakfast with them atMcDo. :D Of course, I still had to do 1 duty even though it was just an elective, and I helped out my Neuro friends by sharing their workload (except for monitoring of course!). After 7 interesting days, it was time to go to the final elective..
Radiology was cool, both literally and figuratively. We spent most of our time in air-conditioned rooms, doing light to minimal work, looking at impressive imaging devices and watching imaging-dependent procedures. The Radio staff was very kind as well. And i guess we got along fine with the Radio interns we had (Thanks Fritz! See you in Neuro!).
Well, I guess that's that for now. I'll wrap up the Sapang and Pedia rotations tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Clerkship update: Psychiatry
The memories now grow dim, and I must act quickly..
PSYCHIATRY
After Dermatology, it was time to go to the loony bin of Psychiatry. The "psych ward" in UST-CD was actually called the Community Center. It was classified as Semi-Pay, so we didn't really have to do anything regarding actual patient care, and were just involved with the interviewing of new patients, the daily progress notes, and the discharge papers. The stay there was basically unremarkable, the most memorable thing there was the fact that I was able to get at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep during duty nights. =) It could've been more, but we had an arrangement with our friends at Neuro that we would go out and monitor their patients from 8 or 9pm up to 12mn so that they could get some much-needed shut-eye.
Life at the CC was pretty dull. We were cooped up all day at the Clerks room, which was locked to prevent the crazies roaming outside from getting in. It would've been a totally benign rotation had it not been for the Resident's night, wherein we were expecdted to help out. I won't dwell on this because my memories of the preparations are mainly of being really really tired and worn out.. But the residents' night itself was a real blast, and I had a huge kick out of watching my past, present, and soon-to-be residents perform onstage.
I also remember (with a grain of salt) that I was the most toxic clerk during Psych because of the endless paperwork I had to do.. It seemed as though I had a Midas touch of sorts, as every one of the patients I handled at the CC were discharged during my time.. It was at that point that I discovered how much easier life could be if only I had my own laptop that I could use..
Whoops, have to go! I'll follow up later with Neurology..
PSYCHIATRY
After Dermatology, it was time to go to the loony bin of Psychiatry. The "psych ward" in UST-CD was actually called the Community Center. It was classified as Semi-Pay, so we didn't really have to do anything regarding actual patient care, and were just involved with the interviewing of new patients, the daily progress notes, and the discharge papers. The stay there was basically unremarkable, the most memorable thing there was the fact that I was able to get at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep during duty nights. =) It could've been more, but we had an arrangement with our friends at Neuro that we would go out and monitor their patients from 8 or 9pm up to 12mn so that they could get some much-needed shut-eye.
Life at the CC was pretty dull. We were cooped up all day at the Clerks room, which was locked to prevent the crazies roaming outside from getting in. It would've been a totally benign rotation had it not been for the Resident's night, wherein we were expecdted to help out. I won't dwell on this because my memories of the preparations are mainly of being really really tired and worn out.. But the residents' night itself was a real blast, and I had a huge kick out of watching my past, present, and soon-to-be residents perform onstage.
I also remember (with a grain of salt) that I was the most toxic clerk during Psych because of the endless paperwork I had to do.. It seemed as though I had a Midas touch of sorts, as every one of the patients I handled at the CC were discharged during my time.. It was at that point that I discovered how much easier life could be if only I had my own laptop that I could use..
Whoops, have to go! I'll follow up later with Neurology..
Bloody Monday
Just got back from the USTH-Blood Bank where I donated blood for a former patient of mine in Medicine who still owed the hospital 3 units of blood. This has been coming for a long time already, ever since I promised him that I would donate on his behalf when things got a little less toxic for me. Why the sudden burst of charitabilty one might ask.. Well, I guess it was because he and his family were real nice when they first came under my care. I admitted him twice during my 2 month stint in Medicine, and I would say that he was the best patient I ever had during clerkship. =) So today, I went and honored that promise.
Today we had our offficial interns' orientation at the MRI building of the Chinese General Hospital. As my luck would have it, my first rotation is Medicine, all FOUR months of it.. :=P It dosen't sound so bad, although the chief resident admitted that it was the most dreaded rotation of them all.
By the way things are shaping up, any my general feeling about all this, it seems as though we're gonna have ourselves a great year.. =) I hope I'll be able to do a good job and pull this one off without a hitch.
Today we had our offficial interns' orientation at the MRI building of the Chinese General Hospital. As my luck would have it, my first rotation is Medicine, all FOUR months of it.. :=P It dosen't sound so bad, although the chief resident admitted that it was the most dreaded rotation of them all.
By the way things are shaping up, any my general feeling about all this, it seems as though we're gonna have ourselves a great year.. =) I hope I'll be able to do a good job and pull this one off without a hitch.
Friday, April 20, 2007
.. and the rest of the hospital stay was unremarkable..
Finally, I can once and for all hang up the blasted clerkship uniform, after a long tiring year filled with aches, pains, and new experiences. :)
Yes ladies and gentlemen, my clerkship is officially over (although it's about 4 days late because I still had to finish my Pedia OPD teaching with Dr. Rabago, which I did about two hours ago..)
I know it sounds cliché, but I never thought I'd see the day that I'd reach this point. And to tell you frankly, it feels GREAT!!!
It feels so good to be finally rid of the hospital once and for all.. well, maybe for the next couple of weeks.. But at least I'll be having my internship at another institution for a fresh change. :)
Some people frown on those "renegades" who opt to have their internship outside the safety of UST, but I say Phooey on them! I've gotten so saturated with the system that I need a breath of fresh air!
There are a lot of different reasons that influence one's choice of hospital for internship. For some, closeness to home is a big factor, as they might be fed up with being stuck in a dorm and miss the time that could be spent with family if they just came home everyday. For others, the relatively lighter load that some hospitals promise is a big come-on. These poor souls have probably been so drained during clerkship that it wouldn't hurt to get a little R&R before the boards. Still, others opt for a lot of action and "hands-on" experience, thus they go for those more toxic institutions like JRRMMC or UP-PGH. There are people who crave more "learning" or are just reluctant to leave UST, so they just stay. Then there are those whh want to just get away from UST with all the associated heartacjes and disappointments that happened throughout the year.
Looking back, can I say that it's been a good year?.. Well, I guess so.. Despite all the exhaustion and humbling experiences that go with being the lowest animal in the hospital, I was able to pick up a few things that would hopefully prepare me for what lies ahead...
I know I have so much backlog with respect to my clerkship stories, so I'll be finishing them up one by one shortly..
Yes ladies and gentlemen, my clerkship is officially over (although it's about 4 days late because I still had to finish my Pedia OPD teaching with Dr. Rabago, which I did about two hours ago..)
I know it sounds cliché, but I never thought I'd see the day that I'd reach this point. And to tell you frankly, it feels GREAT!!!
It feels so good to be finally rid of the hospital once and for all.. well, maybe for the next couple of weeks.. But at least I'll be having my internship at another institution for a fresh change. :)
Some people frown on those "renegades" who opt to have their internship outside the safety of UST, but I say Phooey on them! I've gotten so saturated with the system that I need a breath of fresh air!
There are a lot of different reasons that influence one's choice of hospital for internship. For some, closeness to home is a big factor, as they might be fed up with being stuck in a dorm and miss the time that could be spent with family if they just came home everyday. For others, the relatively lighter load that some hospitals promise is a big come-on. These poor souls have probably been so drained during clerkship that it wouldn't hurt to get a little R&R before the boards. Still, others opt for a lot of action and "hands-on" experience, thus they go for those more toxic institutions like JRRMMC or UP-PGH. There are people who crave more "learning" or are just reluctant to leave UST, so they just stay. Then there are those whh want to just get away from UST with all the associated heartacjes and disappointments that happened throughout the year.
Looking back, can I say that it's been a good year?.. Well, I guess so.. Despite all the exhaustion and humbling experiences that go with being the lowest animal in the hospital, I was able to pick up a few things that would hopefully prepare me for what lies ahead...
I know I have so much backlog with respect to my clerkship stories, so I'll be finishing them up one by one shortly..
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Pediatrics OPD, and back to Fabella..
It's the last day of our Pedia OPD rotation. Tomorrow, our group (8) will plunge headlong to our final clerkship rotation, Pediatrics Ward, which is divided into 6 separate posts, namely: Fabella, 316, 318, 320/324, 322, and Nursery, each taking up 5 days. I'll elaborate on this later when I eventually finish clerkship (man, it feels so good to say things with such certainty!) :D.
I'll give a brief rundown on Pedia OPD. The OPD rotation is divided into 3 posts: ER, Sick-Baby Clinic (SBC), and Well-Baby Clinic (WBC). I first rotated through the ER. 8 days of sliding duty, oh man.. As expected, it was really tiring, having to go on duty every other day. But it wasn't as bad as Medicine ER. Complaints were the typical fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or ciugh and colds. Management was quite simple, and we hardly ever admitted any patients. :) I also liked the ER post coz it gave us time to study for the revalida. I was fortunate enough to be ER before the revalida. Swerte-swertehan na lang talaga yung mga posts. But the ER peeps passed din naman eh, so its no biggie. After duty hours, you went to the PICU to attend PICU rounds (a new development by the Pedia department as far as I know). Then you'd have to go back to the SBC OPD to help out until 12nn, where you get to go home. :D Oh yeah, that's one thing I really like about Pedia, they have FROM status (which means that if you are from duty, you don't have to stay as long as the pre-duty people. May distinction kumbaga).
Next up was the Sick-Baby Clinic. It was pretty tiring, coz there were just so many pedia patients coming in for consult! But I guess it was ok, since we got sundays off and saturdays were half day. =D It is one of the most dreaded OPDs to rotate in 'coz of the stories that they have remained open even until 9pm because no cut-off was implemented. Fortunately, that never happened during my time. =D It was in the midst of the Sick-Baby rotation when I had my revalida.. which turned out well in the end. =)
Last up was the Well-Baby Clinic. The WBC was located on the 2nd floor of the OPD, where it shares the corridor with Derma, Medicine, and Neuro/Psych. Patients there came in mostly for their scheduled immunizations. That is also where the Neurodevelopmental clinic is located. I had the "privilege" of being decked with a new neurodev patient, and I was in awe of the way the clinic was conducted..
I'll follow up at another date with the Pedia Ward stories.
I'll give a brief rundown on Pedia OPD. The OPD rotation is divided into 3 posts: ER, Sick-Baby Clinic (SBC), and Well-Baby Clinic (WBC). I first rotated through the ER. 8 days of sliding duty, oh man.. As expected, it was really tiring, having to go on duty every other day. But it wasn't as bad as Medicine ER. Complaints were the typical fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or ciugh and colds. Management was quite simple, and we hardly ever admitted any patients. :) I also liked the ER post coz it gave us time to study for the revalida. I was fortunate enough to be ER before the revalida. Swerte-swertehan na lang talaga yung mga posts. But the ER peeps passed din naman eh, so its no biggie. After duty hours, you went to the PICU to attend PICU rounds (a new development by the Pedia department as far as I know). Then you'd have to go back to the SBC OPD to help out until 12nn, where you get to go home. :D Oh yeah, that's one thing I really like about Pedia, they have FROM status (which means that if you are from duty, you don't have to stay as long as the pre-duty people. May distinction kumbaga).
Next up was the Sick-Baby Clinic. It was pretty tiring, coz there were just so many pedia patients coming in for consult! But I guess it was ok, since we got sundays off and saturdays were half day. =D It is one of the most dreaded OPDs to rotate in 'coz of the stories that they have remained open even until 9pm because no cut-off was implemented. Fortunately, that never happened during my time. =D It was in the midst of the Sick-Baby rotation when I had my revalida.. which turned out well in the end. =)
Last up was the Well-Baby Clinic. The WBC was located on the 2nd floor of the OPD, where it shares the corridor with Derma, Medicine, and Neuro/Psych. Patients there came in mostly for their scheduled immunizations. That is also where the Neurodevelopmental clinic is located. I had the "privilege" of being decked with a new neurodev patient, and I was in awe of the way the clinic was conducted..
I'll follow up at another date with the Pedia Ward stories.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Revalida 2007: The last day
Revalida season is finally over (unless there were tribes that opted to re-schedule beyond today that we were unaware of).
Looking back, it was really a life-changing experience. Besides the fact that I had finally earned my MD, it brought newfound confidence in my abilities.
But before anything else, I want to thank the Lord for the revalida. It may have seemed like a horrible trial by fire, but it greatly deepened my faith and I learned to trust God even more. My father was right in saying that it does not matter if you are the smartest guy on the planet. There are so many variables beyond your control, so many things that are left up to luck and chance, things that only God can help you with.. Thank you so much.. I offer my MD up to you, because without you, I would have nothing, and without your help, this would not have come to be..
This makes me think back to first year, even as far as my MedTech internship days.. It was like "Wow, will I ever make it to that point when I would be taking my own revalida? What would it be like?" and stuff like that. Now that I've crossed the threshold from "pre-Rev" to "post-Rev", when I take a look at all the things I've been through to get to this point, it just seems absolutely incredible... All these books I've read (?), all the stuff I've learned, all the things I've seen (in clerkship), all the insights gained, etc.. everything leading up to this culmination of roughly four years' worth of sacrifices and hard decisions.
Yeah, I know I'm babbling, but I guess that's just what happens when you're feeling a million different emotions and want to say so many things at the same time. I have to wrap up now. Need to be back at the OPD in a while..
Looking back, it was really a life-changing experience. Besides the fact that I had finally earned my MD, it brought newfound confidence in my abilities.
But before anything else, I want to thank the Lord for the revalida. It may have seemed like a horrible trial by fire, but it greatly deepened my faith and I learned to trust God even more. My father was right in saying that it does not matter if you are the smartest guy on the planet. There are so many variables beyond your control, so many things that are left up to luck and chance, things that only God can help you with.. Thank you so much.. I offer my MD up to you, because without you, I would have nothing, and without your help, this would not have come to be..
This makes me think back to first year, even as far as my MedTech internship days.. It was like "Wow, will I ever make it to that point when I would be taking my own revalida? What would it be like?" and stuff like that. Now that I've crossed the threshold from "pre-Rev" to "post-Rev", when I take a look at all the things I've been through to get to this point, it just seems absolutely incredible... All these books I've read (?), all the stuff I've learned, all the things I've seen (in clerkship), all the insights gained, etc.. everything leading up to this culmination of roughly four years' worth of sacrifices and hard decisions.
Yeah, I know I'm babbling, but I guess that's just what happens when you're feeling a million different emotions and want to say so many things at the same time. I have to wrap up now. Need to be back at the OPD in a while..
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Clerkship update: Dermatology
At last, some free time to myself.
I've decided to shelve the San Lazaro Chronicles indefinitely (or until I finish clerkship) and will now continue my stories of the other rotations while the memories are still fresh..
DERMATOLOGY
Now, picking up from where I previously left off (about 3-4 entries ago), it was time to move on to Derma. Now, the cool thing about derma is that it was mainly an OPD thing. This meant I got to go home every day and have Sundays off for two weeks. However, Dermatology requires a clerk on duty every day to answer calls and referrals from both the ERCD and TR-Pay, kinda like an acting intern. (Hehe, intern na rin nga pala ako in a few weeks time..) After seeing the patient in qestion, you text your resident on duty for disposition of the patient. As the duty clerk, it's also your responsibility to check up on all ward referrals to Derma, and also to monitor and do scut work if ever there would be patients confined at the 3-bed Dermatology Ward. Seems pretty benign enough dosen't it? Not quite...
The OPD experience there is really very extensive. You see a great number of patients with varying complaints every day, ranging from the most disturbing skin lesions, to the silliest of problems like simple acne (especially on Saturdays, when the OPD is only open for half the day). However, I still felt unprepared for the revalida if ever I should get a Derma case for my clinicals.. Nahihirapan kasi ako magdistinguish and gumawa ng differentials.. Buti na lang hinde!!!
It's a relatively stress-free rotation, and your only concern is getting the required 3 teachings from 3 different consultants before the rotation was over. This proved to be a bit more chellenging on our part, because we rotated there duringthe pre-residency period, where aspiring candidates for residency fill the hospital and pick up some of the slack. It dosen't really sound so bad, but when you consider the fact that they also take patients to present to consultants, sometimes you find yourselves scrambling near the end to finish. Don't get me wrong, the Derma pre-residents were nice, and we got along with most of them pretty well. As a matter of fact, the 3 among them who we were secretly rooting for were eventually accepted as residents!! :D Belated congratulations to Drs. Ces, Ingrid, and Pam!
Derma duty was a differnt thing for me altogether. Derma had no official clerks' room, so the poor derma clerk on duty either 1)went home if home was nearby to await any calls, or 2) was forced to squat at a clerks' room of another service to spend the night and rest. I had two duty nights. The first one found me all alone, while I had Johnny Ona during the 2nd duty. The first one wasn't so bad, I had a handful of calls to the ER, had a patient admitted to the ward. It was pretty tiring from 5pm til midnight, but things quieted down thereafter. I found myself squatting at the Neuro Clerks room and Surgery Clerks' room on two different occasions, dead tired but happy that the blasted duty would be ending in a few hours. Oh yeah, I also worked on the discharge papers of another patient who woud be leaving the following day..
The duty with Pat was a different deal. We were being toxic in bursts, admitting an obnoxious "scaly man" who had exfoliative dermatitis. Being called to the ER/TR about 5-6 different times, and admitting an equally diffcult "scaly lady" at 4am in the morning. We squatted at the Legal Med office, though I can't remember who among our classmates were duty there at the time.. Toxic talaga yung combination namin ni Pat!!
We had a grand duty for the residents before moving on to Neurology and Psychiatry. KFC chicken.. Mmm... :D
That's all the time I have for now. I'll be heading back to the Pedia OPD in a while. More catch-up updates to follow next time..
Rotation stories not yet told:
San Lazaro
Psychiatry
Neurology
Medicine (Medyo mahaba ito)
"Dr. Go" (Medicine) elective
Neurology elective
Radiology ( the cumpolsory elective..)
Community Med (Sapang! Wohoo!)
Pediatrics OPD (still ongoing)
Pediatrics Ward (including Nursery and Fabella part II)
The Lord has done great things for me.. Never in my entire life have I imagined that I would one day earn the right to have an MD attached to my name... Thank you po..
I've decided to shelve the San Lazaro Chronicles indefinitely (or until I finish clerkship) and will now continue my stories of the other rotations while the memories are still fresh..
DERMATOLOGY
Now, picking up from where I previously left off (about 3-4 entries ago), it was time to move on to Derma. Now, the cool thing about derma is that it was mainly an OPD thing. This meant I got to go home every day and have Sundays off for two weeks. However, Dermatology requires a clerk on duty every day to answer calls and referrals from both the ERCD and TR-Pay, kinda like an acting intern. (Hehe, intern na rin nga pala ako in a few weeks time..) After seeing the patient in qestion, you text your resident on duty for disposition of the patient. As the duty clerk, it's also your responsibility to check up on all ward referrals to Derma, and also to monitor and do scut work if ever there would be patients confined at the 3-bed Dermatology Ward. Seems pretty benign enough dosen't it? Not quite...
The OPD experience there is really very extensive. You see a great number of patients with varying complaints every day, ranging from the most disturbing skin lesions, to the silliest of problems like simple acne (especially on Saturdays, when the OPD is only open for half the day). However, I still felt unprepared for the revalida if ever I should get a Derma case for my clinicals.. Nahihirapan kasi ako magdistinguish and gumawa ng differentials.. Buti na lang hinde!!!
It's a relatively stress-free rotation, and your only concern is getting the required 3 teachings from 3 different consultants before the rotation was over. This proved to be a bit more chellenging on our part, because we rotated there duringthe pre-residency period, where aspiring candidates for residency fill the hospital and pick up some of the slack. It dosen't really sound so bad, but when you consider the fact that they also take patients to present to consultants, sometimes you find yourselves scrambling near the end to finish. Don't get me wrong, the Derma pre-residents were nice, and we got along with most of them pretty well. As a matter of fact, the 3 among them who we were secretly rooting for were eventually accepted as residents!! :D Belated congratulations to Drs. Ces, Ingrid, and Pam!
Derma duty was a differnt thing for me altogether. Derma had no official clerks' room, so the poor derma clerk on duty either 1)went home if home was nearby to await any calls, or 2) was forced to squat at a clerks' room of another service to spend the night and rest. I had two duty nights. The first one found me all alone, while I had Johnny Ona during the 2nd duty. The first one wasn't so bad, I had a handful of calls to the ER, had a patient admitted to the ward. It was pretty tiring from 5pm til midnight, but things quieted down thereafter. I found myself squatting at the Neuro Clerks room and Surgery Clerks' room on two different occasions, dead tired but happy that the blasted duty would be ending in a few hours. Oh yeah, I also worked on the discharge papers of another patient who woud be leaving the following day..
The duty with Pat was a different deal. We were being toxic in bursts, admitting an obnoxious "scaly man" who had exfoliative dermatitis. Being called to the ER/TR about 5-6 different times, and admitting an equally diffcult "scaly lady" at 4am in the morning. We squatted at the Legal Med office, though I can't remember who among our classmates were duty there at the time.. Toxic talaga yung combination namin ni Pat!!
We had a grand duty for the residents before moving on to Neurology and Psychiatry. KFC chicken.. Mmm... :D
That's all the time I have for now. I'll be heading back to the Pedia OPD in a while. More catch-up updates to follow next time..
Rotation stories not yet told:
San Lazaro
Psychiatry
Neurology
Medicine (Medyo mahaba ito)
"Dr. Go" (Medicine) elective
Neurology elective
Radiology ( the cumpolsory elective..)
Community Med (Sapang! Wohoo!)
Pediatrics OPD (still ongoing)
Pediatrics Ward (including Nursery and Fabella part II)
The Lord has done great things for me.. Never in my entire life have I imagined that I would one day earn the right to have an MD attached to my name... Thank you po..
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Brainiax, M.D. -> Revalidated
Whew! That went well..
I'm sorry for the rather long hiatus from the blogging scene. My life has been pretty hectic these past few months. Don't worry, I intend to "make kwento" those other rotations that I've yet to blog about. But for now, this is my only concern...
I've just passed the dreaded Revalida, the nightmare of every UST Medical Clerk on the brink of graduation.. Nobody said it was gonna be easy, and especially not for our group.. Let me break it down for you to make it easier to understand..
The Revalida is the "be-all" and "end-all" of the examinations that a UST medical student takes during his/her clerkship. It is basically the final examination that we have to hurdle before we earn our precious medical degree. (in other words, the right to attach "MD" to our names)
It comes in two separate steps, the written, and the orals. The written revalida is a COMPREHENSIVE examination with a scope encompassing the entirety of our first three years of medical schooling. A lot of basic questions are thrown in, along with clinical correlations to make sure that you're able to apply what you've learned to at least some basic degree. Passing this examination earns you an exemption from the first part of the oral examinations, the BASICS.
The Oral Revalida is divided into two exercises; the BASICS, and the CLINICALS & EMERGENCIES. With the basics, you can be asked anything under the sun from the basic disciplines of medicine, like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and the rest. Whereas the CLINCALS tests your skills as a basic physician wherein you have to examine an actual patient, come up with your own diagnosis and management plan, and discuss/defend your answers. The EMERGENCIES immediately follows the CLINICALS, and this I have grouped them together. For this part, you draw three eergency cases and select one for thorough discussion. The element of luck is very important in the clinicals, as the clinical cases you get to see and the emergencies are drawn purely by chance.
The Revalidas are conducted by groups of three faculty members (each of which is called a tribunal, or "tribe"). The matching of tribes to students is also by random drawing. As our luck would have it, me and my "tribemates" (Nats and Raissa) got a consultant that has been feared throughout the history of the revalida.. Needless to say, a lot of tears were shed in Sapang Palay that fateful day when the tribes were drawn. Suddenly, there was this giant weight upon my shoulders, and there was this constant fear of failing the Revalida.
For the benefit of the other non-UST Med people out there, failing the revalida means that: 1) you won't be able to attend the graduation of your batch, 2) you have to do 3-4 months more extra hospital time, 3) you have to take yet another revalida in order to finish, and 4) you have to pay tuition for that extra time.
My heart bleeds for all our batchmates who didn't make it... :(
I don't want to seem like I'm bragging about my experience, so I'll just leave things as is for the meantime, as respect to those who have yet to take their revalida...
Thank you Lord, for being there when I really needed you....
Basta ikaw...
I'm sorry for the rather long hiatus from the blogging scene. My life has been pretty hectic these past few months. Don't worry, I intend to "make kwento" those other rotations that I've yet to blog about. But for now, this is my only concern...
I've just passed the dreaded Revalida, the nightmare of every UST Medical Clerk on the brink of graduation.. Nobody said it was gonna be easy, and especially not for our group.. Let me break it down for you to make it easier to understand..
The Revalida is the "be-all" and "end-all" of the examinations that a UST medical student takes during his/her clerkship. It is basically the final examination that we have to hurdle before we earn our precious medical degree. (in other words, the right to attach "MD" to our names)
It comes in two separate steps, the written, and the orals. The written revalida is a COMPREHENSIVE examination with a scope encompassing the entirety of our first three years of medical schooling. A lot of basic questions are thrown in, along with clinical correlations to make sure that you're able to apply what you've learned to at least some basic degree. Passing this examination earns you an exemption from the first part of the oral examinations, the BASICS.
The Oral Revalida is divided into two exercises; the BASICS, and the CLINICALS & EMERGENCIES. With the basics, you can be asked anything under the sun from the basic disciplines of medicine, like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and the rest. Whereas the CLINCALS tests your skills as a basic physician wherein you have to examine an actual patient, come up with your own diagnosis and management plan, and discuss/defend your answers. The EMERGENCIES immediately follows the CLINICALS, and this I have grouped them together. For this part, you draw three eergency cases and select one for thorough discussion. The element of luck is very important in the clinicals, as the clinical cases you get to see and the emergencies are drawn purely by chance.
The Revalidas are conducted by groups of three faculty members (each of which is called a tribunal, or "tribe"). The matching of tribes to students is also by random drawing. As our luck would have it, me and my "tribemates" (Nats and Raissa) got a consultant that has been feared throughout the history of the revalida.. Needless to say, a lot of tears were shed in Sapang Palay that fateful day when the tribes were drawn. Suddenly, there was this giant weight upon my shoulders, and there was this constant fear of failing the Revalida.
For the benefit of the other non-UST Med people out there, failing the revalida means that: 1) you won't be able to attend the graduation of your batch, 2) you have to do 3-4 months more extra hospital time, 3) you have to take yet another revalida in order to finish, and 4) you have to pay tuition for that extra time.
My heart bleeds for all our batchmates who didn't make it... :(
I don't want to seem like I'm bragging about my experience, so I'll just leave things as is for the meantime, as respect to those who have yet to take their revalida...
Thank you Lord, for being there when I really needed you....
Basta ikaw...
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