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Blogging to remember!

  Last January 18, 2017. I took my MCAT at San Beda College as pre-requisite for admission to their College of Medicine. It comprised of simple arithmetics, grammar and punctuations, and a little bit of essay about the social issues currently. It was relatively easy, and if I were to compare it – I would compare it to the NCAE I took when I was in 3rd year high school, and the USTET I took August 2012 (not that I remember those really clearly, but because the experience wasn’t traumatizing like NMAT)

My essay was about the economic growth of the Philippines, I’m not sure if I remembered it clearly but the question kind of went off like this, ‘despite the potential of the Philippines to grow economically from 1965-1985, why didn’t it thrive unlike it’s neighboring countries in South East Asia?’. I know that I didn’t answer as ideally as I should have, but since I saw a #MarcosNoHero placard around San Beda that time, it got stuck inside my head and I just wrote about Marcos, about his dictatorship and plunder cases.

Today, (April 3, 2017) – TWO MONTHS AFTER THE SAID MCAT AND THE SAID WEIRD ESSAY – I was scheduled –FINALLY!- for an interview. I received an e-mail and a text message about what I should wear, where and who will be with me. It was kind of frustrating since I was promised confidentiality on my part (when I took the MCAT) that only my applicant number will appear on the notifications/announcements. Instead, it beared my full name down to the last initial!

Since I am unsearchable through facebook (courtesy of my preference for my nickname rather than my full name) I took the opportunity to peek through the facebook profiles of my future colleagues and/or classmates! HIHIHI ~

The text had 24 names, divided equally into the morning interview session and the afternoon interview session. I was blessed to be in the first batch to be interviewed, since I took the MCAT earlier than most of the applicants. I was in the afternoon session, meaning I had time in the morning to look through my closet for the corporate-iest corporate clothing I had (the email and text message said to wear corporate clothes).

My grandmother wanted to tour Manila while she was visiting for my graduation so my mother and grandmother took advantage of the moment to tour and also give me moral support. I wore a pale pink long-sleeved (idk what that was) I brought from a thrift shop and a neon peach pencil skirt I bought several months ago from sale somewhere – the conclusion after an hour long debate on what I should wear – my mother insisted I wear her clothes! HER CLOTHES! Of course

We arrived at the campus at around 11:30am and my mother insisted we take pictures, I was soooooo embarrassed ‘cause my mother was insisting on it like, just ‘take a picture on this weird looking poster right here’. I tried to compensate and had our picture (I and my grandmother) on that garden with a fountain.

We went to the church and prayed a bit. Then the clock chimed twelve, and they played a prayer on the speakers everywhere. I remember it being the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ and me thinking, hey – I wanna hear this prayer everyday for the rest of my medical student life!

At around 12pm, I could not contain my anxiety (a bit, and also the fact that they –mom and lola- talked a lot and they made me nervous) so I told them I better go ahead. My grandmother was reminding me about my bag and where I should put it while in church to avoid it being stolen or something - while that was deeply appreciated - It added anxiety to my already anxious-self.

So I went to the Medicine Building, looking like a carrot with my neon peach pencil skirt.  A door had instructions posted in it, it went like this: APPLICANTS FOR INTERVIEW PLEASE GO TO ROOM 22B and a little map on it. Room 22B was in the second floor so I saw some Bedan med students on the way there.

I went to ROOM 22B. It wasn’t surprising how I was the only one there. The room seemed like a holding area for students for interview. I paced around a bit, trying to see myself there. The lighting was a bit dim, but that could be easily changed – apart from that, the room looks nice, conducive for learning! Although the wooden catholic cross was hidden by the projector screen.

At around 12:45pm, I had company! His initials were K.A.D. and I met him in pinoy.md and through facebook! He’s nice and friendly, and his mom accompanied him! I suddenly felt bad I made my grandma and mom go away. Soon, we were around seven in the holding area. Another acquaintance I met through a facebook group with initials E.E. arrived, and we just talked about med school in general.

A man, sir Rey(?), went to the room at around 12:55pm. He asked of our surnames, I said my measly 2-letter surname to him and he gave me a number with a pink background. The color of the background dictated who our interviewer will be.

At around 1:05pm, I went to the bathroom for the last time, having the gut feeling the interview is bound soon. When I returned to the room at 1:10pm, sir Rey(?) told me to go downstairs and go to the door which had a pink background on it.

I was led to a small office with a computer chair – I remember the computer chair because I feared falling on it or slipping the wheel and making a fall somehow! Haha! How the mind works when one is nervous.

My interviewer was a male, he introduced himself and I I remember just ‘Enrique’, I don’t remember his surname at all (or maybe Enrique is his surname?). He didn’t offer his hand, so I didn’t offer mind cause that would be awkward (I wish I had though, it bugged me). He asked for my name, so I replied. Then he called me Doktora (my name) after that.

He had a lot of papers in his hand, it had the questions on it. First, he read the general instructions. ‘You will be given a set of hypothetical situations in which you should answer briefly and honestly. You will be given a maximum of five minutes per question. This interview will comprise of a maximum of 30 minutes. I will be taking notes while you are speaking, but please continue speaking’ something like that.

Hypothetical situations (not in any order, just how I remembered it) and my answers: (not the actual verbatim, of course! Just the way I remember it! I excluded the stuttering of course! But yes! I answered in English):

(1)

Q: Your father had a drinking spree and could not go to work the day after because of a bad hangover. He asked you to write him a medical certiciate so his boss will excuse him, or else, his boss will suspend him. As a newly licensed physician, what will you do?

A: I will advise my father to go to a clinic due to body weakness of malaise, however I will not write the medical certificate for him because it would not be professional.

(2)

Q: Your mother bought you an all-expense trip to Europe unfortunately, it coincides with your already rescheduled final exam.

A: I am very determined in becoming a medical doctor. I will simply tell my mother to give the trip to my sister because I am passionate and determined in reaching my goal.

(3)

Q: As a medical intern, you are presenting a case to consultants, residents and fellow interns. A consultant told you as you were presenting that your case presentations lacked some stuff.

A: As a student I know that I will not be able to make a case presentation perfectly. I will take note of what he commented and will put it on my next case analysis. Yet, I will continue presenting my case emphasizing on its strengths rather than on its weaknesses or what it’s lacking.

(4)

Q: You are looking through some proposals for a new drug. The project will sponsor 5million to the best proposal. Among the proposals was a paper made by your sister and it was among the TOP 3.

A: I will suspend all biases and look through all of the proposals as objectively so that the person who will be chosen will deserve it.

(5)

Q: After an exhausting day with no snacks, you finally had time to go to Mcdo and you bought apple pie, fries and a burger. A street child goes to you and asks for food.

A: (This was fortunate because I did not like McDo! I love Jollibee!) It has always been a habit of mine to give street children food rather than money. Of course I will give the child my apple pie and I will ask him if he has friends so they can all share the small feast I can offer.

(6)

Q: In a group project, a leader assigned you some work to do. You noticed that the tasks were not equally divided. A groupmate of yours offers to help you.

A: I believe in the assessment of the leader because I know that people have different sets of strengths and weakness. Yet, if I was assigned a task I find hard to do, I will accept the help given to me.

(7)

Q: You are a group leader. Two of your members have difficulty working together because of personal differences.

A: I will advise my members to set aside their personal differences and work objectively and professionally.

(8)

Q: No matter how much you try, you will can’t understand the topic of your upcoming exam. You tried and tried but you could not understand it.

A: I will use my resources such as the library, the internet. I will ask my classmates if they could help me. If I still could not understand it, I will ask the professor for the things I find most difficult. And should I still fail to understand it, I will do my very best in the exam.

After that, I was surprised that the interview concluded. It took around 10 minutes? I’m not sure. The interviewer, doctor Enrique(?) wished me luck and he told me, he’ll see mee soon. I don’t know what that meant. I guess, I have a strong standing!

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Applicant interview!

UERMMMC-College of Medicine, applicant interview: my experience

A lot of blogs told me to wear something corporate. Dress to impress but make sure you look formal and serious. I asked my friend, kuya Bam, who already took the interview what to wear and he told me to wear a dress.

I love dresses. But, I couldn’t find the one dress to fit the occasion so I decided to go there wearing a white blouse and a blue and white striped A-line skirt.

I wore 2 inch grabiha (grabe ha!) heels as recommended by my mom who went with me to UERM. I told her to wait in a restaurant or something because I’d hate to seem like a baby girl even though I am.

The girl in the admissions office told me and a couple of people to go to the hospital - that meant I’d have to go up an overpass and walk in 2 inch grabiha heels that weren’t mine. 

TIP#1: DRESS COMFORTABLY

My goodness. You’ll never know if you get assigned to a doctor in the building or in the hospital (in my case, hospital). You will have to go through the overpass and, if you’re not wearing your own shoes, it would be kind of uncomfortable.

TIP#2: MAKE FRIENDS

I had the opportunity to talk to a person who was also waiting to be interviewed. He’s from UP-MANILA my goodness. And talking to him felt nice, especially because you know you’ll be colleagues in several years.

TIP#3: Be yourself

When the doctor in the clinic called for me, I stepped in her office and she introduced myself. I introduced myself as well. These were the questions that I remember and the brief and summarized answers I gave:

Tell me about your family? I’m the eldest. My youngest sister is three years old. Tell me about your parents? My mother is a nurse and my father is a colonel. Have they inspired you to take up Medicine? Yes. My mother wanted to for herself, but she was the eldest and had to work. She didn’t want to deprive me of the opportunity. Who is your role model? My lolo Doc and my tatay. Are they graduates of UERM? No. They studied a really long time ago. Do you do volunteer work? Yes! My tatay is a physician. When I was nine, I helped dispense the medicines in the province because I can speak the province’s dialect. I love teaching. What is your edge as a Nursing graduate? My compassion and my bedside manners. In the news, there’s a feature about a doctor who lacked bedside manners and as a nurse, I am trained to establish rapport. Do you see yourself in any specialty? Yes. Internal Medicine. I’m not yet sure but I also am interested in Public Health. I love Community Health Nursing. I love telling the community people to make use of their resources. I love teaching. Where do you see yourself working? I am willing to be deployed to provinces (to which the doctor said, ah, oo because baka you’ll marry and yung mas malapit sa husband mo na province ka mag-work - to which I cringed inwardly, I hope she did not notice) Do you have a boyfriend? No ...

The interview went on. There were more questions, I just couldn’t remember them. All I could remember was answering them with honestly. So, it was a pleasant experience, and will be a pleasant memory.

After the interview, she asked me whether I applied to other schools. I said I also applied to San Beda. She asked me which is my priority. I told her, “whichever calls first po.” She asked, “what if they call at the same time?” I said, “I’ll go with the school with a higher board rating.” 

After that, we shook hands. She wished me luck with my NLE. I left the room,called for the next interviewee and wished him good luck.

TIP#4: Take pictures!

In my case, I’m not confident if I will be accepted to UERM. So, I took pictures. You only live once so cease the moment!

Excuse my face. Hihi.

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How I ruined my chances of getting into UERMMMC-College of Medicine and lived to tell the tale without remorse

Earlier this day, I was scheduled for an interview at one of prestigious Medical Schools in the country (confetti blow!!!)

Okay, so here’s what happened.

I went there just after my San Beda College of Medicine entrance exam. It was SCALDING HOT, I was wearing dress-to-impress 2 inch grabiha (grabe ha!) heels. Not only that, my mind was tired and confused from SBCM.

(SBCM entrance exam entry soon to follow)

Since my mother and I (Yes, I went with my mother. I’m spoiledaf baby girl I know) got there early, we decided to sit near the cashier and wait for 1pm. When it was 1pm, I went down to room 105 and saw people my age writing in their interview sheets. I was peeking through the interview sheets of my competition future colleagues and these were what I saw:

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES - MANILA

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO THOMAS 

After that, I stopped peeking. (MY DREAM SCHOOLS! WHAA)

I waited in line to get inside, then listed my name in their logbook, grabbed a questionnaire, a seat to sit on and looked at the questionnaire that will decide my worth whether I am worth of UERM or not.

It went like this: A friend of yours who is also a physician called you to cover for a 24 hour shift because a family member died unexpectedly. There is no other to cover for the shift than you. But you planned to go to your lola’s 90th birthday party. You were tasked by a lot of stuff for the party and your presence is expected by your lola. What are you gonna do? 

If you know me, you’d know how much I love my family. To answer this question, I pictured my lola as a 90 year old.

HA! I thought, “No way I’m gonna trade my lola’s birthday. My lola is 90 years old and looking fab” So, I answered the question as bluntly as I could.

“I will give my friend my sincerest condolences. But I will advise him to go to duty as scheduled because it is his obligation to do so”

5 minutes into the questionnaire, I decided that I am a horrible person for not being conditional. So, with all honestly, I went back to page 1 and tried to lengthen my answer, “Unless the physician in question cannot function because of his remorse, then I will apologize to my family and cover for his 24 hour duty for the safety of my patients”

Okay. Do not judge me. I am just a nineteen year old baby girl who loves my lola.

There were situations in the questionnaire like that, too. Which added to the already ruined chances of getting into UERM. (Unless, they appreciate my honestly that is)

For example: Your mom is sick. You live near a hospital and this hospital needs more doctors to take care of patients but there is a typhoon. The typhoon made the roads flooded and since you live near the hospital, you can go help and do things. 

I listed the choice that sounded like “My mom is sick. I’m gonna stay home and care for my mom. Mom comes first” most appropriate

My mom went with me to UERM because she knows I’d be lost if she didn’t accompany me.

There were some questions like this: Are you aware of the pressures of being a physician that some of them marry at a later age? GUESS WHAT I ANSWERED!!! Yes, I am aware and it does not bother me at all.

I don’t know what to answer. The talk of marriage is really too much for a nineteen year old. MARRIAGE? What? I could have answered. I am aware and I want to make my dream happen first before settling down but NO. It’s just that I cannot imagine marriage. I can’t picture walking down the aisle. I can’t picture my dad handing me off to another guy. I can’t picture leaving my baby sister and starting another family on my own.

-

To add injury to the marriage question, a couple sat beside me while I was answering the questionnaire. They were making yucky eyes at each other, holding hands, and their voices were soft - but not whispering - that I could hear their yucky pick-up lines. It seemed as if the girl is the applicant.

Boy: So ano, tanggap ka na ba?

Girl: Ha? Wala pa nga eh.

Boy: okay lang yan, tanggap ka na ng magulang ko.

I tried my best not to shout at them to get a room. Instead, I stood up and seated elsewhere.

-

I’m a huge family girl. And I don’t know how to lie about empathy and other things. If you are wondering about my dedication and determination in being a physician, I am wholly 100% sure that this is my calling.

I am aware of the perils and pressure of Med Life. But being a nineteen year old girl who was breastfed, spoonfed and given the best sippy cup made me too family-oriented(?). I am gladly and gradually weaning... Unfortunately, I might have lost my chances in getting to UERM because my dedication seems superficial the moment the questionnaire was being filled up. And the thing is, I answered with all honesty; and even if I don’t get in because of my ewan-ko-ba-sayo-bes answers, it’s fine. I can’t help but be myself.

I feel no remorse at all.

(pero 3k din yon ha)

[annaelis-blog1]

Med School Applications

I'm going to be a Med Student in a couple of months! 

Basically, the most agonizing part of my life right now is

WHERE

 should I study for Medicine?

I'm a fourth year Nursing student - hopeful to graduate this April - and, if you're a Nursing Student, you'd understand exactly

why

I couldn't apply to more Medical schools.

I only applied to: 1. San Beda College of Medicine 2. University of the East - Ramon Magsaysay (my mother's choice!) 3. Centro Escolar University College of Medicine (it wasn't exactly one of my options but my father was just soooo excited for my Medicine so I let him drag me through CEU Manila's halls - also it was near Beda)

January 18, 2017

> I'm scheduled for an entrance exam at San Beda by 8am to 12nn and an interview at UERM by 1pm. I'm nervous - excited (NERVOUSCITED!!!) because I don't know what to expect yet. I mean, I've been reading through pinoy.md since last year but I can't help but still feel unprepared... (So far, CEU-COM has not informed me or my father about our ongoing applications so I'll just write about SBCM and UERM now.)

 SAN BEDA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 

my first choice

Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Dei

Ora Et Labora 

Why? My relatives ask me, "why San Beda and not UERM?"

My NMAT is definitely qualified enough for UERM. My GWA is within UERM admission standards. Basically, I can enter the race in UERM (I can hear my relatives speaking!!! "Why don't you focus on UERM?")

Well, to each it's own, I say. It's just that when I passed my application documents, I found the atmosphere in SBCM more homey. It's nearer my place and has been consistently improving since 2002. In my college, we were babied, spoiled and spoon-fed. My college is so closely knit you can consider your professors as your friends. Lectures and discussions were given, lecture notes will be uploaded via facebook groups and, the loving and calm atmosphere. Every professor I encountered gave off this 'motherly' vibe. I love my alma mater and I appreciate how they honed me into the future RN that I will be but, I want something new. I wanna be independent because hey! I'm going to be a Medical Doctor!

pinoy.md forums about SBCM informed me that in SBCM, they practice a "modular approach" where there will be several modules in a subject - say, Anatomy has twelve modules - and they have a quiz after the discussion of each module. As quoted from a student in SBCM who answered my queries "you get to focus more" and, after being spoon-fed, babied and spoiled for the past four years, I guess this approach will be most beneficial to me. It's like weaning me from my mother's breast and into a cup! (bad metaphor, I can't think of anything else, sorry!) Apart from that, I always wanted to study in a Catholic Institution. My NMAT percentile rank did not make it to UST's ideal applicant score of 85. Apart from that, UST is "very traditional" like my college. And, as I have previously mentioned, I want to try something new.

Also, their tuition fee is not bad. Compared to UERM's 145k+ per sem, Beda's 105k+ per sem seems fine! The 40k difference is a huge amount of money if you multiply it by the number of sems (amounting to more 320k more or less in 4 years. If I'm lucky enough to enter San Beda, and if San Beda decides to let me in, I promise not to waste the chance of being a Bedan Physician.

~

UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST RAMON MAGSAYSAY

my mother's choice 

 Pro Deo et Patria

Prestige More prestige compared to SBCM because it is already established! They have their own hospital. I know several of their graduates who are already practicing Medicine. PLE ratings are high. The campus looks small from the outside. Better connections and networks! I studied from the forums of pinoy.md, I asked medical interns when I was on duty what are the pros and cons of UERM. They told me that UERM is PBL (problem based learning)- a strategy that I probably will not adjust well with. They told me about the Long Exams, and as I quote (non-verbatim) "fail that, you fail"

The thing is, I'm not studious. I procrastinate a lot. I leave my case studies unfinished and make haste before sunrise to submit it. I know, I have been spoon-fed too much. My professors, they tell me I shouldn't do it but I can't help but contemplate - my classmates don't even submit their papers on time and they still get okay-ish grades! I submit my papers on time and still get good grades. So what is there to change? My college is so forgiving. Unlimited second chances to everyone! I love how they nourished me and my classmates! I used to not be like this type, but if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! so I joined the procrastinator club. And I want to change that so bad! But I know the change won't come easy. Basically, that sums up my hesitation with UERM. It's petty, I know (Also, I have less chances of getting in UERM with the stiff competition) . I'm afraid of the long exams. I'm afraid of my bigger chances of failing because of the long exams. I wanna finish Medicine and be a Medical Doctor and I wanna do it independently, while weaning off from my very babied pre-med life. So, there you have it. I'll be having an entrance exam and interview tomorrow! Wish me luck!