I had a really good feeling about this year.. Like I could smell a championship coming...
Once again, my Stallions did't disappoint... =)
XAVIER JUNIORS REGAIN TIONG LIAN TITLE
February 23rd, 2008
by Henry Liao ‘72,
Hail to the Tiong Lian champions!
Twice over.
First, it was the Xavier Aspirants who secured their sixth consecutive championship in the Aspirants Division with a two-game finals’ sweep against Chiang Kai Shek.
Friday night (Feb. 22) at the Uno gym, it was the turn of their Big Brothers, the Xavier Juniors, to turn in the trick.
The Xavier Juniors registered a masterful 101-86 victory over Chiang Kai Shek in the deciding Game 3 of the best-of-three Juniors Division finals of the 32nd Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association tournament to regain the crown they lost to the Blue Dragons a year ago.
For only the fourth time in Tiong Lian history, one school annexed the Aspirants and Juniors Division titles in the same year. Chiang Kai Shek turned in the trick in 1991 and Xavier duplicated the feat in 2003, 2006 and this year.
The Golden Stallions took the opener of the Juniors Division in dramatic fashion, posting a come-from-behind 85-83 victory that shattered CKSC’s 16-game winning streak over two seasons. In Game 2, CKSC got back at Xavier, registering an 83-77 decision in a shootout that saw the protagonists combine for 20 three-pointers (11 by CKSC).
In the winner-take-all Game 3, both teams again torched the nets from beyond the three-point arc. Xavier knocked in 11 trifectas and CKSC connected on eight threes in the highest-scoring contest of the well-played titular series.
In the end, however, it was Xavier that proved to be the tougher nut to crack.
More than their impressive overall field-goal shooting (hovering around 50 percent) and suffocating team defense, it was the Golden Stallions’ gritty and determined stance that proved to be decisive.
As Banal, who completes his high school career with his first-ever championship, admitted in a television interview following the rubber match, this game was all about ‘heart.’
And it was Banal and his teammates who exhibited the heart of a champion throughout the 40-minute showdown – and not Chiang Kai Shek, the erstwhile reigning – and now deposed - titlist.
What was a close first quarter developed into a rout by game’s end.
Both teams casually exchanged baskets in the initial period before CKSC took the lead for the final time, 16-13, on a trey by Karl Villaflor.
Jeric Teng, a junior high-schooler who was the tournament’s scoring champion with a 30.5-point clip, quickly struck back with a three of his own to equalize the count, 16-all.
Xavier was ahead 21-18 (on Banal’s trey) at the end of the first 10-minute quarter.
Though the Blue Dragons were able to tie the score three times (18-all, 21-all and 23-all) bridging the first and second quarters, they would never lead at any time thereafter.
Another trifecta from Banal gave Xavier the lead for good, 26-23.
Halftime was 47-37, with the Gold and Blue ahead after 20 minutes for the first time in the series. Tomas Santos, Game 3’s surprise package, struck for eight markers during the period, including a pair from bonus-point territory.
Coach Lito Vergara’s battle-scarred troops continued with their torrid shooting in the third quarter as heady guard Robin Tan hit a pair of threes and Teng collected nine markers, including a trey that gave Xavier its largest advantage of 23, 75-52. Likewise, a tenacious help defense limited the touches of CKSC’s man-mountain Justin Chua and mesmerized its three-point marksmen.
John Laohoo connected on a three to end the third quarter at 75-55. But for the shellshocked CKSC unit of coach Sunny Co, it was the beginning of the end of its one-year reign.
Twice when CKSC attempted to pull close in the fourth period, at 77-60 and 82-65, it was Banal who doused the fire with a three-pointer on both occasions.
CKSC could not come closer than 13 points throughout the payoff period, slicing the deficit to 93-80 with 1:37 left on a last-ditch 5-0 run by the Blue Dragons.
The Batman and Robin duo of Banal and Teng bannered Xavier’s title crusade.
Teng finished with 27 points (on 10-15 FG and 5-9 FT clips, two three-pointers) 12 rebounds and seven assists while Banal totaled 23 markers (on 9-16 FG and 1-4 FT shooting, four three-pointers), nine boards and six blocked shots.
Robin Tan also played the game of his life, collecting a career-high 19 markers, including nine from the three-point area. Santos, a HS senior like Tan and Banal, contributed 16; Ian Umali, testing the defense of Justin Chua from time to time, had eight; and Miguel Tan wound up with seven.
Chiang Kai Shek was led by the 6-5 Chua, who had 30 points (on 13-21 FG and 4-7 FT shooting), 10 rebounds and five blocks in his farewell game as a Blue Dragon.
Villaflor (three three-pointers) knocked in 17 points and longtom artist Arnold Shih (four three-pointers) and bull-strong Laohoo had 16 and 15 markers, respectively, for the losers.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Post # 100: The 2007 Yearender
At present, it's 11:40pm of the last day of the year at Chinese General Hospital..
... and now it's February 23, 2008, and the Stallions just won another championship...
Oh how time flies... :P
Sayang, i was supposed to write a lengthy yearender but everyone had to go to the ER in anticipation of the flood of people with firecracker injuries that would come after the stroke oif midnight. Maybe I'll talk about that some other time... Maybe... :)
... and now it's February 23, 2008, and the Stallions just won another championship...
Oh how time flies... :P
Sayang, i was supposed to write a lengthy yearender but everyone had to go to the ER in anticipation of the flood of people with firecracker injuries that would come after the stroke oif midnight. Maybe I'll talk about that some other time... Maybe... :)
Monday, September 24, 2007
SIOD: Surgical Intern OFF Duty
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...)
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...)
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.
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