2009: The year that was..

*This entry was supposed to be my "2009 year-ender special", but since I blogged a little too late, I was forced to make some changes.. :P

Well, it's been a very interesting year to say the least.. This will probably go down as one of the most eventful years in my life..

I had already mentioned the other significant stuff in previous entries, like: the trip to HK, the XS Tiong Lian championship, getting engaged, surviving Ondoy, etc.. so I'll focus on the last few months of the year, which have been REALLY packed with stories just waiting to spill out..

The previous entry showed me as an anxious pre-res , around 6 days before the start of the action. When I eventually got started in Cardinal, I really didn't know what to expect. It was really fortunate that one of the first year residents was a batchmate from my MedTech years. Besides that, everything was an unknown quantity.. The consultants, the other residents, the training program, heck, even the hospital layout was unfamiliar to me! I had not been in a hospital for so long that I had no idea where to begin.. It was here where I had the pleasure of meeting six smart and lovely ladies who were my batchmates for that month. I had drawn first duty, and what a duty it was! November 1 was our first day, and since it was a holiday, the residents were on skeletal force duty. This meant that only the residents (and interns) on duty that day were required to come in. Although the duty itself was pretty toxic (we had around 3 mortalities, along with a bunch of other crazy stuff going on), I found myself slowly falling in love with the place. As the days dragged on, I found myself more and more immersed with life in the hospital, and I was kinda liking it too! :D Everything was starting to come back to me.. The extra energy needed for duty, the insertion skills, the necessary rapport with patients (and consultants as well). When the month finally came to a close, we had a "batch night out" at Banapple at El Terazzo along Tomas Morato. The portions were generous and the food was excellent! The price was definitely worth it! :D Afterwards, we then hung out at Triad bar along Mother Ignacia, but had a little detour for a photo-op at the Big Brother House in front of ABS-CBN before proceeding.

Having finished with 2 batches of pre-residents, the training committee called us back for our final interviews. 20 were called for pre-residency, 13 survived, and 8 were chosen.. Congratulations to my MROD batchmates!!

- Dr. Uzziel De Mesa

- Dr. Janice Ong

- Dr. Jonathan Vincent Paez

- Dr. Joy Sarmiento

- Dr. Marie Christine Semira

- Dr. Marc Josef So

- Dr. Gretchen Olivia Soriano

*It was also a real hoot when I found out that I had 3 medschool bachmates who were also accepted in different departments.

- Dr. Chad Conrad Panlaque (Surgery)

- Dr. Ryan Benedict Babasa (Anesthesiology)

- Dr. Maria Sofia Batto (OB-GYN)

*See you guys around! :D

Shortly after we received the good news, we got texts requiring us to show up the following day for DANCE practice.. Apparently, it was a long-standing tradition at CSMC that the incoming first year residents performed a dance number at the annual Department of Internal Medicine Christmas Party. It was a dance contest invitational of sorts, with cash prizes awarded to the winning teams. We were fortunate to have Dr.Abby Te dancing along with us because she missed dancing with her batch last year since she was out of the country. Just our luck, because she is an accomplished dancer and made most of the choreography we used. We danced to a medley of Michael Jackson songs. :D Prior to the presentation, some of us went on an adventure to the heart of Divisoria to buy much needed costume items and Christmas decorations for the party. It was one of the most exhausting days we ever had!! :P After coming back to the hospital with our loot, we still had to attend dance practice, and then go to the welcoming party our incoming chief resident put together for us (Thanks Dr. Jay!)

Fast forward to the day of the event.. Our group, composed of pre-residents, interns, doc Abby, doc Nino (the ultra-nimble chief resident), and with the special participation of Dr. Percival Pangilinan, took first place during the IM Xmas party! (first place among only 2 competitors! :P The opposing team was really good, as they traditionally took home the first prize year in and year out).

Fresh from our victory, we then danced again during the Hospital-wide Christmas party 2 days later where we represented the Doctors and took 3rd place out of 4. Not a bad haul overall.. :P

After all the madness died down, we started going on duty again to assure a relatively smooth transition to next year, since it's really difficult to be expected to "hit the ground running" :P The department had its annual Residents' Christmas party at the office, where we gave gifts to our Kris Kringle "babies". Starting Dec 21, w e went on sliding (every other day duty) so that the residents could be split into two groups, with one half having vacation before Christmas, and the other one, after. It was pretty rough, but we managed to pull through (thank goodness). A last party at the house of the IM Department Chairman capped off this wonderfully interesting year.. Now we stand at the peak of the slope, bracing ourselves for the long and steep ride... Wish us luck, 'coz here we go...