Stuff You Need for 2nd Year

At the beginning of my 2nd year, I heard from some classmates that we had to buy some instruments to be used for our Physical Diagnosis class, along with other books and whatnot. During the course of my 2nd year, I realized, you don't really need to buy it all.

So here are some of the things that you should have, or at least save up for:

1. Otoscope and Opthalmoscope

     This is the priciest of the bunch, and if you cant really afford it right now, you can just borrow from your classmates during the practical exam in Physical diagnosis. 

Price: from Php3,500-12,000.00

Brand: Welch Allyn (super gaduper expensive, only buy it IF you think you want to go into Optha or something as your specialty~ advice from one doctor). 

You can also go for generic ones (made in China, these are the ones that can be found in Bambang, Tayuman, Manila areas), they're pretty nice, solid, compact, dont get broken easily, and costs about Php3,500- 4,500. Discrepancies in price are from the stores you buy them. At one store in Dasma, they were selling it for 4k, but in Bambang, I asked a friend to buy me one, it was about 3,500. 

Question: Should I buy a brand new one or 2nd hand? Much better if its brand new, at least its yours, and with 2nd hand ones, you cant really guarantee its 100% functional. 

2. Stethoscope

Equally pricey, they would ask you to have your own, but you can always borrow from a classmate for practical exams. I recommend getting your own since this is a staple in any doctor's handbag. MUST.HAVE.ONE.

Price: Anywhere from Php 800 (for generic ones) to Php10,000 (specialized Littman Steths)

Brand: You can get the cheaper ones like Baxtel which can also include a BP set, but during our practicals, some doctors commented that having a Littman is better since it has a better quality when listening to heart sounds, lung sounds, and the like. The Littman I have cost about Php 4,000. With additional costs, you can customize it by color (blue,red, pink, etc, and add on finishing touches like bronze, rainbow finish, etc, and have your name engraved on it). Online sellers are very reliable naman, and for sure, some upper classmen will sell you brand new ones too.

3. BP Set

Better to borrow it nalang, but I still bought my own so I could use it at home on my parents and relatives. Hahahaha

Price: Anywhere from Php500- Php 1,500.

Brand: They say Baxtel is good. There's a Welch Allyn brand one, but very very expensive. Couldnt afford it since I focused on the Steth and Otoscope. There's little difference in terms of quality (based on what doctors and classmates said) between Baxtel and Welch so I went for the cheaper one. 

4. Neuro Set

Sounds expensive right? Hahahaha Again, you can borrow these during practicals, but, its nice to have your own. This includes

• Neurohammer- costs about Php 75-150, just get the simple one
• Tuning Fork- doctors prefer the one thats 512 Hz instead of 256. And dont get the ones with the special head on it, the simple ones will do
• Jaeger Chart- about 25 pesos
• Snellen chart- but this is usually bought by group
• Pen Light- any will do, costs about Php 100-200
• Tape Measure
• Pinhole Occluder- no need to buy this one, you can make your own by getting a piece of paper and poking a hole in it. Voila! If you want to buy one, i think it costs about 30 pesos, but you only use it once or twice.

5. Books

I learned my lesson from last year, I didn't read my books as much as I wanted to, but I should have. Instead, this year, I just bought the baby books (companion books of the actual textbooks-very concise, short, easy to carry around). 

The only ones I bought were Robbins and Cotran's Patho Companion Book, Williams Obstetrics, Harrison's Manual of Medicine, Schwartz Surgery. I bought these all on Pinoy.md :) 

This year, you'll have to buy manuals in Pharmacology, Microbiology, Physical Diagnosis and Pathology. You must must must buy it because they dont allow photocopies. Each manual costs Php 500. Pharma has 2 manuals, Micro has 2. 

The reason I didnt use books that much this year was that the sheer volume of info was too much to go through in books (Im a pretty slow reader), and there's just not enough time to give my undivided attention to all the subjects. What happened instead was I relied more on past transcriptions, transcriptions from my classmates, and the lecture itself. If I didnt understand a certain topic, I'd go back to the book, or ebook, and other online sources like Medscape. For this, I invested in a brand new printer and paper. 

Some will also sell you their past transcriptions. They offered one set of past tranx which cost about Php 3 or 4,000. It was a good thing that I didnt buy it because some of the lectures had different doctors, and so the content also changed. What I did buy was a stack of the upper year's past exams/ evaluations. These past exams are pretty vital since they can help you determine key points that you need to focus on while studying. 

I AM A SURGEON

Saw this on FB, just wanted to share this. :)

"Marwin Matic

After all the brouhaha caused by the BIR ads, this video is for all doctors, surgeons and not.

May we remember, and others understand, that we chose this vocation not to be heroes, not to be saviors, not to be glorified, not to be rich or famous, and certainly not to impress; but because we know that we can endure giving a big part of ourselves to make that difference the world needs despite everything that life throws at us. Just like a medic in a crossfire, no circumstance, no bully nor ad can hinder us from what we are supposed to do.

Because we are doctors. That's what we have trained for... plus we believe in karma."


It can be watched here: I AM A SURGEON.

DLSHSI Scholarship Application Ongoing for SY 2014-2015

Hey guys, here's a sched of the application periods as well as the guidelines. :)

hope this helps! Good luck and God bless!

Aaaaaand....I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Hello friends and anons!

I’m so so sorry if it took me this long to write again. This 2nd year was just...tiring.

No. "Tiring" just doesn't cut it.

Exhausting. Draining. Spent. Consumed. Jaded. Tired. Weary.

It’s true what the upper years told me during my 1st year.

Enjoy it while you can.

The first year in Medicine was a stroll in the park. This year was a stroll through the gates of Mordor.  I wouldn’t doubt it for a second if the upper years told me that the 3rd year (and succeeding years in Medicine) would just get worse.  

The reason why it took me so long to write again was that I was struggling. The subjects were harder,  the workload/ study load was immense, the lecturers were even more strict, and, everything was just happening too fast.

This year, exams were all held in one week (most of the time). Unlike last year where one subject would be scheduled on Monday, another on Friday, or whatever random day they picked, this year, everything happened in a week. Usually, on one day, there would be at least 2 subjects; one in the morning, one in the afternoon. It would have been fine for just one day, but, by the 2^nd day, you’re just waiting for the week end.

I was studying my ass of as usual, and I thought that it was enough to get even a decent grade in that particular subject.

Exams were done. Results came out. Voila. I failed.

I got depressed, I went on an eating binge, and threw myself a small pity party to celebrate my failure.

And just like that, the party just started.

I failed another exam. And then another. And then another.  Sometimes, some of my exams would just resurrect from the dead due to the MPL. I’d rejoice in that, but, I knew that I wasn’t doing as well as I should.

That’s one of the things I noticed with these failures. They tend to haul you down, make you rearrange your priorities and alter your view on what’s enough. Your standards get lower, you sacrifice quality for quantity, and you just keep grabbing at loose ends and find yourself empty handed after it all.

Before, I studied to get to the top,  challenging myself to just do better.  Now, its more of study to get that passing grade. Even before the exam is done, I would be computing for the MPL (adjusted score) at the margins of my paper.  I’d look over my answers, make a quick calculation, and breathe a sigh of relief when I see that I know enough answers to save me for this exam. Quietly, I say a little prayer, and then promise to myself that I’d study harder next time to redeem the really bad grade.

And then it happens again. You get caught in the vicious cycle of just trying to get by. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. But ultimately, what happens is you just get stuck doing just enough.

Im not saying that if you keep failing, it means you’re not learning, or you’re lazy, or whatever.

It’s the effort that went behind it. If you poured everything into learning and studying for that exam and and still came up short, it just means that you have to try harder. Or smarter. 

When I failed my exams, I tried studying harder. I stuck with the same study routine I had in my first year. Then I failed again.

I continued doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a change somehow. And  then it struck me, its not going to work.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/35565_296671800447151_1518836922_n.jpg

Fine, Pinterest was my go to place for inspiration. And this just struck a chord. I tried different study methods. I worked with index cards, typing my own reviewers, reading, listening to recordings, etc. Up to now, I still haven’t figured out the best way for me to study. But Im doing better. Much better than before.

My grades improved slightly. I was still failing a few exams here and there, but I was getting used to it in a sense that it wasn’t so depressing enough to stop me from studying again with full force.

I used to be so envious of several of my classmates who seemed to get the hang of everything. They were getting really good grades, they were asking all the right questions during discussion, they were LEARNING. While some of us were on the sidelines trying to learn how to tie our own shoelaces, the toppers ( classmates who were excelling) were running about, executing complex drills and the like.

I knew that they studied before hand, that they took the time to review their basics, understood it, and just related it the present lesson, but, I just couldn’t do the same thing.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. I wanted to become the best, I wanted to perform and excel, but I just didn’t know how.

I still don’t know how. But one thing’s for sure, I. WILL.NOT.SETTLE.FOR.COMFORT.OR.MEDIOCRITY.

I may not be one of the smartest, or brightest in the class. But I will not settle for just being one of those people who tell themselves that “Its ok if I don’t do well now, I’ll just do better in the future, when Im a doctor. At least I’ll get to do things my way.”

Never become these people. Its tempting to think about it. Its even more tempting to live it and accept it as it is because so many people are doing it. But don’t do it.

I’ve met a few people , and some lecturers who proved this wrong. They may not have been the smartest of the bunch, but they worked like hell to get where they are.

We should do the same. We’re going to be doctors. Nobody wants a half-baked doctor.