Not Sure About Med School?

NOT SURE ABOUT MED SCHOOL?

Its been about 2 months since school started, and I still don’t regret going to Med School.

Through the weeks, different horror stories came up about students who got  kicked out, or realized by the end of their 1^st year in med school that it just wasn’t for them.

I was just sitting through it all and thought, can that ever happen to me?

Well it can.

I just said that there IS a possibility that later on in med school that I might realize that I don’t really want it, or that I’m not made for it; but the truth is, I want to be here, and I have to be here.

Horror stories:

Ø  Med school is hard, and it will suck the social life out of you.

Ø  If you are not smart, don’t go into med school.

Ø  The professors/doctors are terrors.

Ø  Average sleeping time for med students is about 2 hours a day.

Ø  Its expensive and time consuming.

Ø  Your classmates might not be there by the next school year.

***all pictures included are not mine, just got them off the internet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvar/6955985416/

The truth is...

Ø  Med school is hard, and it will suck the social life out of you.

Its hard only if you think it is, and if you don’t set your priorities right, it will suck all the life out of you. Honestly, med students still have fun, get drunk, and party. With all the exams, practicals, quizzes, and workload, it just gives us more reasons to unload and celebrate.

Ø  Its expensive and time consuming.

Expensive, yes, you can see my previous blog on med school expenses for that. Time consuming, absolutely. Sometimes 24 hours isn’t enough to tackle everything you wanted to.

Ø  If you are not smart, don’t go into med school.

If you are not COMMITTED or at least DEDICATED (in general), DONT GO INTO MED SCHOOL.

A lot of students here never planned on taking up Medicine. Some were forced by parents, some, just wanted to study a little more, and some just want to be kick ass doctors.

But in Med School, I will reiterate, you need to be committed. Just baseline COMMITTED.

You don’t have to like Med School 100% of the time, you can have your down periods too ( like I do, sometimes I just get frustrated with certain subjects and think, wtf am I doing here anyways?) . But the most important thing you can do is STAY COMMITTED.

First off, you owe it to your parents. Medicine is no joke. Php100k+ is no joke. You can feed a 100 families for a week with that money. The least you can do is study hard.

I’m not saying that if you do fully, and truly realize that Med school is not for you, don’t quit. If you are absolutely, 100% sure that its not for you, go.

But if there is even a .05% that you still want to be a doctor, I say fight for that .05% and let it grow along with your commitment.

In med school, there are lot of smart people. But being smart can only get you so far. COMMITMENT and DEDICATION is the key.

Ø  The professors/doctors are terrors.

Partially true. I think all doctors/lecturers/professors can become terrors if you don’t listen, understand, and participate in class. Whats there to be scared about anyway? That there is a graded recitation? Then why didn’t you study? That they can shame you in front of the class? Then why didn’t you put in the extra effort to study harder, or at extremes, grow a set of balls in that moment?

I honestly think that Med School, to a certain extent, should scare you, terrify you, and turn your life upside down. Why? Because in the real world, when you are actually practicing, there will be moments where it does exactly that—life or death situation, conflicting schedules or parties, horrible patients, you’re getting sued for malpractice, etc.

But here at DLSHSI, the professors are nurturing. Yes, I used the word nurturing. They will guide you every step of the way, they will get mad you but will let you know that its for your own good, they will be there for you when you need help (academic, financial, personal, etc).

Dont mistake nurturing for babying. Babying implies that you can sit on your ass all day and get spoonfed, and when you fail or meet an obstacle, the professor does it for you. No.

Nurturing, they help you grow, they encourage you.

With the professors here at HSI, all I have to say is that they are AWESOME. Want to know why? Well, enrol here.

Ø  Your classmates might not be there for the next school year.

I personally haven’t encountered this yet since we’re just 2 months into the school year, but upper years have told us that there are cases of classmates who just left.

Some didn’t continue medicine because they realized they really didn’t like it.

Some just took a leave of absence—maybe they got burnt out, tired, or just needed to step away and see the big picture.

AND some just failed too many subjects that they had to get kicked out.

Ø  Average sleeping time for med students is about 2 hours a day.

True IF you didn’t study beforehand and is used to cramming. I have classmates who have time to go to the gym, work out, join afterschool activities, party, and whatnot. They learned how to manage their workload.

Read this blog about the effects of sleep deprivation in med students. :)

***all pictures included are not mine, just got them off the internet.

As one doctor/professor said, “There is not such thing as time management.” Really? Well he does have a point, you cant really manage the time, you can only manage your tasks.

***all pictures included are not mine, just got them off the internet.

Study a week earlier, tackle the hard subjects first when you’re still fresh, learn new techniques for studying at the same time. Try to discover what learning style works for you. DONT CRAM.

I mean, you owe it to your patient to be the best damn doctor that they have ever encountered. Am I right?

The Academic Avalanche

Hey guys, I apologize if I havent posted in awhile. The pace in med school kinda picked up when July settled in.

As i said before, things went into hyperdrive when July settled in. June was the typical settling in phase where doctors/professors slipped in a quiz or two, letting you gain a solid foothold on studying again.

BOOM!
Then July came in.

Every other week we had quizzes and major exams, and it came to a point where you just couldnt study as much as you wanted to because you were dead tired.

Major exams that happened this month: Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, and this week would be Community Medicine and Bioethics.

Seriously, of all the major exams that came and went, Anatomy was probably the most mind boggling thing I encountered since our freshmen orientation with the mock exams.

I prepared for that exam like everyone has prepared for the oncoming zombie apocalpyse.

I kid you not. I spent a majority of my weekdays + 80% of my weekend reviewing everything and I was kind of pumped for the exam already.

Day of the exam, 7am in the morning, my dorm mates and I came out of our rooms at exactly the same time with blank faces, silently staring at each other, when, very quietly, one whispered... oh my g*d, I dont know anything.

All of us kinda went into a crazed panic since the exam was a bout 3 hours away. 

GROUP STUDY NOW!

Nobody brushed their teeth, fixed their hair, or took out the morning glories scattered all over, we got our stuff out and went to one room and started reviewing each other like there was no tomorrow. 

We spent two hours studying, took a bath, then went for the exam.

Here we go.

About an hour later, I was feeling pretty good about the results. But within a few minutes, panic set in again as we prepared for the practical exams for that afternoon.

For the practical exams, they set up 80 stations in the laboratory where there would be around 65-70 microscopes set up with specimens, around 5 pictures, and 5 resting stations. Every 20 seconds we a buzzer would sound out and everyone had to move to the next station.

This type of exam gives you an adrenalin rush. It was awesome and at the same time, depressing.

Within 20 minutes or so, we finished all 80 questions and headed out the laboratory. And everyone was kind of high with the rush. We headed out, ate, and made merry while doomsday/judgement day waited silently.

About 2-3 days, results came out. And I failed both the theoretical and practical. And so did 80% of the batch.

It was kind of comforting to know that, but deep inside, I was depressed because I studied my ass off and I still failed. 

Good thing that they lowered the passing rate a little, and I passed both, but, it still frustrated me. 

I will not be an average/ mediocre doctor. I will study my ass off, and one day I will top the exams.

Shit just got real.

Thank You Doc JC!!!

Cool thing happened this week. :)

HSI really takes care of their students. one of the things they do is have this Guidance Day for freshie Med students, which was more of a talk on adjusting to the medschool life. And after 3 weeks of med school, I have to say that I need all the help that I can get to survive my first year.

Well, to be fair, it IS the adjustment period for every student, but, I think there's no excuse for failing a quiz (which I had done yet again, hahahaha--quiet sobbing) or being unable to read all the material you need to understand the lesson beforehand. 

Honestly, I had difficulties in memorizing and understanding all the information that came out of each 3-4 hour lecture. But, the anxiety this caused me was lessened somewhat by this seminar.

I'm not bulls--ting you when I say that their pointers helped a ton load and you could actually see the results the day after.

 Doc Tata started the seminar with a few words of wisdom to impart on our young fragile, impressionable minds (lolwhut? hahahaha) and made us think about our future as med students. Are you living the dream for your parents? Yourself? Your boyfriend?

Next up, Doc JAA, our doctor/lecturer/professor for Embryology as well as our Student Adviser. We sent a good part of the hour just laughing. He gave us the statistics on med students, what works, what doesnt work in med school, and--my favorite part--categorizing things to do into neat little categories namely: a) negotiable or non-negotiable.


Physiology? Non-negotiable.
Biochemistry? Non-negotiable.
Anatomy? Non-negotiable.
Boyfriend/ Girlfriend? Pwede bang non-negotiable?


He also covered effective studying techniques as well as the usual techniques practiced by students that excel, students that are average in performance, and those who perform poorly. 


One of my favorites is using mnemonics for studying. He gave out a few examples (sorry, couldn't remember them that much, hahahaha) and my dorm mate and I tried it out while studying for Histology--Connective Tissue. 


Another doctor, Doc Kent was also there, and I wish he could have shared more of his experiences also. 

Aaaand finally. The rush I had that day. 


Doc JC, shared his experiences on surviving his first year of medicine. He excelled in his first year, being exempted from all the finals in all the subjects, and at the same time, still being active in several student/academic organizations. Pretty hard to follow that, right? Well he showed us that it is completely attainable, if he could do it, why couldn't we?


Well, in one of the slides he presented, he showed....(drumroll please....) one of my blog entries!!!! He said that he came upon the blog on the internet, and he wasnt sure if the author of the blog was present already, or was in thE room.


GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. I was freaking out in my seat. I turned white right then and there and my seatmate asked if I was feeling ok. 


I actually wasnt sure if it was my entry because it was so long ago, but it was my post about why you wanted to take up Medicine. 


It surprised me that Doc JC, or anyone actually from my school would stumble upon this blog. (I'm not sure who actually reads my blog, I sometimes think that they got misdirected to this page or something. hahahaha)


And what he said made me sooooo happy. He commended me for the blog/post that I wrote and said that I should come by the office and let him know it was me. 


WELL, that sure didn;t happen. I was scared/shy as hell. And I didnt know how to react to it all. 


But it certainly made my day. 


THANK YOU DOC JC!!!!

Will be sharing more of their tips and advice in another post, kind of groggy from all the studying. :)) Happy weekend guys!

The Great Human LaSallian Star!

Today is the end of our 100 years, and the start of HSI's Jubilee year. :) Check out the photos within this week once I have the time to upload.

2nd Week of Med

SUBJECTS OF THE WEEK: Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Community Medicine


From now on, I'm just remembering the week based on the subjects for the week. Why? Because everything else seems like a blur, and the only way I can remember events is when I associate them with the mind-boggling, overwhelming, and at times, depressing lectures--just like the ones we had this week.


First off, June 13 was the first day of classes for the rest of the courses in HSI (PT, OT, Nursing, Rad Tech) and we all met up at the Animo Center for the Opening Ceremonies. The place was awesomely decorated, taking on a carnival theme, balloons were everywhere!

They hired stiltsmen (dunno if this is a correct term for the entertainer, hahahaha) and a mascot too!

Cavite's symphony band came in through the middle aisle playing Michael Jackson's Thriller with the entertainers dancing to the beat, and then the finalists for the Talentadong Pinoy show (pretty much like America's X Factor or something) performed for an hour. 

People were cheering loudly, and just high as hell (hahahaha) and the performances moved on to the different dance groups of each college. 

By lunchtime, they ended the opening ceremonies and we were free to go...study. :)) 

The day before, it was Labor day i think, I didn't go home, I just decided to stay at the dorm to make up for the lack of knowledge in Biochemistry. Spent the whole half of the morning studying basic/highschool chemistry using my brother's book. Yup, if you have your old highschool chemistry book, I recommend  you use it. It really does help you a lot especially with the bonds (ionic, covalent), the hydrocarbons, structures of the functional groups, etc. The second half of the day, I spent on review for Organic Chemistry. Our Doctor-lecturer advised us to backtrack on orgchem so Biochem can come a little bit easier for us. 

So for the next 6 hours, in between mini breaks on FB, I studied orgchem. I did this at HSI's student center, located at the old med building. Its a small room furnished with study tables, benches, a small sink (for those who study there overnight), and airconditioned. Its open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is open only for Med students. This was a lifesaver for me since the dorm is full of temptations (food, bed, tv), and it was stuffy and hot, so going to the Student Center was pure heaven. Not to mention that you can charge your laptop and cellphones there and wifi! woot! woot! The connection there is pretty fast, so the only con in studying there is the unlimited access to the internet.

http://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/Gallery/MED/images/IMG_3379_jpg.jpg

For the internet connection, you have to have your devices configured by the school's IT staff located at the ground floor of the Angelo King Building. You are only limited to 2 devices, so I had my smartphone and laptop configured. 

Anywho, I spent the next few hours in the student center and got to meet upper classmen, and honestly, I was thinking--these guys are invincible. They passed the first year. HAHAHAHAHA

They were absolutely friendly, and gave me tips on how to study for certain exams. For example, in Biochemistry, the questions are pretty straightforward so all you need to do is remember structures and functions. In Physiology, it helps to read it AT LEAST two times so you can understand the processes. 

But the usual advice is: STUDY STUDY STUDY. No matter what subject it may be, you MUST MUST MUST STUDY. and READ a lot. In Med, you can;t just stick to one book and expect everything to be there. For the doctors, they usually use 2-3 references for their presentations/lectures. And, if you can (and you should), read all the books. 

So Biochemistry down, we have, drum roll please... ANATOMY.

This subject really depresses me. Results for the first two quizzes came out, and surprise surprise. I failed both of them by a measly one point (7/10). Its frustrating when you studied your ass of the week before, and boom, you still fail. But, as the professors and upperclassmen advised, try to accumulate as many extra points as you can to make up for the failures. They're pretty generous with it, but the failures are overwhelmingly strong in this subject.

We had our laboratory period in the Old Med building, and looked at the cells found in different parts of the body.

We looked at cells from the spinal cord, blood smear, compact bone, and liver. Each student had their own microscope and set of slides.

The last time I used the microscope was in highschool, and using one again, and more extensively, was pretty fun. 

Physiology was the same, and the topics were already merging with the ones in Histology and Biochemistry. Well, of course, they're supposed to be interrelated, but you'd never expect it to just blend in perfectly unlike the way of teaching in highschool and college where each subject is boxed seperately with little to no connection bridging them together. 

This week was tiring, but still gotta push. This is just the second week. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH/

Panic Sets In

School tomorrow. 

I woke up today with an oncoming panic attack. I swear by the holy nose hair of Badjula that I just stood up from bed in a panic frenzy remembering that I'll be going back to the dorm and start a brand new week of med school.

Why was I panicking?

Because its a habit. Joke. Lol.

Some subjects were worrying me a whole lot--namely, Biochemistry, Physiology, and Anatomy.

Physiology- I can understand it, its pretty good, but the pacing is really, really fast. I'm having a little bit of a difficulty with the ions and whatnot floating in and out but, the sheer volume of stuff to study.

Next up, Anatomy. This is stressing me up a little bit because of the before lecture and after lecture quizzes that they have. Say goodbye to the 1/4 sheet pad papers that you leech off of your classmate because the professors in Med do it by bubble sheet.

Its 10 items, no erasures, they flash the questions on screen for 20-30 seconds per item. 

What's so stressful about this???

Out of the 10 items, you can only have two wrong answers to pass. Yup. 8/10 is passing. 7/10, your quiz is crap and you learned nothing.

In my time (nope, I'm not that old, I just like to talk like an old timer), 6/10 was the passing, and with the really nice, easily persuaded teachers, you can pass with only 5 items.

It would have been ok if I didn't  spend 3 hours on that one particular topic, but, what can I say, I think I may have gotten a 7/10. I'm still adjusting, trying to study a little bit faster, and a little more efficient. Holy Badjula knows I'm trying.

The professors/ doctors are really nice but absolutely strict, and I guess for good reason too. 

CHED dictates that if a student fails 40% of their load, they are automatically kicked of the roll. Meaning... you will be kicked out of the Doctor of Medicine program and will never be accepted into the DLSHSI Med Program. Ever. 

Guess what? Anatomy makes up 39.5% of the academic load in first year.

39.5%

So all you need is just one more subject (minor or major), anything to fill up that .5% that remains, and BOOM. You are taken out.

Every doctor-lecturer emphasized that. Every single one. 

Harsh, but its the truth. They said that around 6-10 students were not able to be promoted to the 2nd year because of failure in this one.

Good news is, if you failed JUST Anatomy, meaning you didn't fill up the whole 40%, you can still take up Anatomy next year. Yey!

Finally, Biochemistry. 

The doctor-lecturer was awesome, really nice. The topic? not so nice.

We were reviewing the basic (ahem ahem) concepts in Organic Chemistry. The doctor was assuming that all of us took this up in college and was going through the subjects like food goes through you during diarrhea.

My reaction to the first four slides was...

During the lecture, the doctor would ask, " Is everyone ok? Can everybody follow?"

And then some bibbo classmates would shout out in sing-song unison-- Yeeeeeeeeessssssssss Siiiiirrrrr. 

For those classmates, I would like to punch you in the face. Not. I just felt frustrated then. :)) It was extremely difficult to follow, and I would have appreciated it if the students who did get it would just quiet down a little and let the old timers like me struggle with a resounding " No Sirrrrrrr."

So now, I'm planning to study Organic Chem from scratch, while at the same time, struggle with learning Biochem and a bunch of ultra-toxic subjects. 

Fun. Fun. Fun. 

At the end of the Biochem lecture, students flooded the lecturer. One guy remarked,

"Sir, nawala po ako sa first few slides palang, wala na po ako naintindihan." 

~ Translation: Sir, you lost me at hello.

And the build up all these subjects led to the panic attack I had this morning.

My reaction to my future. I think it would be easier to walk into Mordor than pass these subjects.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Way to start the week.

1ST WEEK OF MED SCHOOL!!!

and I am still alive.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, hello guys, I have just survived my first week in Med School!!! Its not that bad...yet. Since majority of the classes were orientations on subjects to be covered for the year, doctors introducing themselves, exam policies, grades, and, for some subjects, the first topic of the year.

A view of the room, and my classmates.

Inspiring. Dunno how I'll react when I start studying for Biochem and Anatomy (act like a crazy woman, I guess)

The school's guidance office oriented us on the different policies, and ran through the handbook. 

The week went by in a blur, and I cant really remember the order of subjects unless I look at my schedule, but basically, we had Biochemistry, Bioethics, Physiology, Anatomy, and Community Medicine.

All the doctor-lecturers were amazing, funny, and very accommodating. Even if classes were 3-4 hours long,  the doctors really had a way of making you pay attention and understand and not mind the long class hours. It also helps that the new classrooms are comfy, well ventilated (which is extremely important because of the heat outside of the building), and conducive for learning.  So from 8-12pm, one class, and from 1-5pm was another class. Usually, most of the professors don't use up the whole four hours, and dismiss us early.

Our doctor- lecturer up on stage running through the basics of Organic Chemistry.

A view from the back.

Classes are awesome, just kind of worried aboout Biochem, Aatomy and Physiology because I have nooooo background whatsoever. But, I just have to double time. 

As all the doctors advised, " You only need to do three things to survive Med School...one....study...two....study...three...study."

< insert evil laugh>

Dorm Life Must Haves

I apologize in advance for the rumble jumble tumble way of a blog this is. I realized that I kept posting things in random and it might be hard for you readers to actually find certain blogs and keep a certain sense of continuity if all my posts just jump from one subject to another.

But, what the hell, that's how my brain operates. In short, sabog.HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Aaaaaaanywaaaaaaaaaaays, since finding a dorm and the first day of classes are coming up, I suddenly found myself scrambling for more stuff to lug into the car and shove into my dorm.

The first trip to the dorm where I moved in all my stuff, it took two people and me to bring up all that stuff within a span of 2 hours. Mind you, I was located on the 2nd floor, and its not fun carrying 5 boxes of clothes, kitchen utensils, and whatnot up the stairs.

That was the night before the LOAD or orientation for freshies, so I spent the night there. And I found things to be...lacking. There was a lot of stuff that I forgot to bring, and a lot of stuff I forgot to buy. I don't know if I have become something short of hoarder because of the sheer volume of stuff I brought in, but there was still a lot of stuff I lacked.

So for first time dormers like me who have no sense of what should be inside a dorm, and the necessities that would make my med life more comfortable, here's a list of things that you should bring when you're moving in:

FOR THE KITCHEN (or if lacking one, foodie must haves)
(yes, as you may have gathered, I'm a food person, and my sole focus of comfort is food, hence, putting kitchen necessities first)

1. water. I had everything in my ref, and I forgot to buy water. facepalm.
2. biscuits, cookies, anything that's ready to eat.
3. candy.
4. coffee/tea/juice- if you're particular with that sort of thing when you're studying
5. pots/pans- to fry an egg, cook some instant noodles or something, make a homey meal
6. water heater/ kettle- for those late night coffee trips
7. toaster/microwave- anything to heat up the cold, lifeless meal that you intend to eat

FOR THE CABINET/CLOSET

1. hangers- you dont want to spend hours ironing out wrinkles in clothes that could have otherwise been wrinkle free if you just used a hanger
2. baskets/hampers- especially the mesh types, these come in handy for separating your dirty clothes with the new ones
3. shoe rack- if you're a bit prissy on the supposed order of shoes, you need one. For me, I just threw them all in a pile at the bottom of the cabinet.
4. Storage boxes or karts- in case you have a little space, or no cabinet at all, storage boxes are ideal. buy 3-4 of them and you are ready to go, makes moving in a lot easier too. 

FOR YOUR BED

1. Your own pillow- you wouldn't want to cozy up to dorm given pillow that has already been slobbered on by a gazillion different people
2. Mattress- just in case your dorm doesnt provide one, or their mat is as hard as rock. IF you are using one that is already provided by the dorm and its not new, give the mattress a spray over with insect killer like Baygon to rid it of any bed bugs/bed mites lurking around. Air it out for a few minutes or an hour, and you are good to go.
3. Blankets.

FOR YOUR DESK

1. Organizers- you can hang these up or prop them against your desk to keep your overflowing stock of highlighters
2. Bookends- to prop those heavy textbooks up

Here's a few cool DIY organizers that you might like to try:

ADDITIONAL STUFF

• Laundry detergent and bleach- for your white uniforms, you wouldn't want the local laundry shop screwing with your expensive immaculate uniform
• Scissors, sewing kit, manicure set, tape, super glue
• Your own lamp
• Fan

De La Salle Health Sciences Institute Pictures

Ok, I know I'm kind of delayed in posting info about La Salle, but better late than never!
Got this from the PinoyMd website, care of @jcskie. :)
Flickr Photos of DLSHSI

This is the back entrance of the hospital. This leads to the canteen, the Wang Building, the Animo Center, the new library and New Med Building.

 The Wang Building, where most of the allied health courses are, as well as the admissions office, registrar's, school clinic, and other rooms are located. behind this is Dormbuilt.

 This is the park/open area behind the hospital and leads to the chapel and Wang Building.

Hallway of the Old Med Building, where most of the 2nd- 4th year med students take their classes. For the new batch, they will have most of their classes in the New Med Building. Woot! Woot!

 Inside view of the Wang Building.

Outside of the school, Congressional Road.

Wang Building again.

The cute Bahay Kubo near the canteen located on the way to Wang. They like to call this eatery as the Cadaver Canteen since its located near the Anatomy lab. :)) But their food tastes great and 100% free of human flesh. nomnomnom.

Tadaaaaaa! The new rooms located in the new Med Building!

For more information on DLSHSI, you can visit their site at http://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/index.php.

http://www.dlshsi.edu.ph/index.php