GT Doctos or Medical Students thread 2

[au_chic]

Must Read:


How Doctors Die

http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/read/nexus/

[FOURever]

^^^it's the most practical way kasi. Don't worry, UST has IACUC naman. They are regulating on how the students will "kill" the rats. Before you get to buy your rats or mice, you have a form to be approved. At mahirap maapprove-an nun. Thesis namin was supposed to start last May pero nadelay ng hanggang katapusan ng July because di ma-approve-an yung mga form namin. Sobrang detalyado dapat and they want na almost painless yung mararamdaman ng daga, walang trauma dapat or anything. Yung form, you have to describe how you're gonna do the experiment, how you will dispose, etc. Every stuff, you have to document. Kahit pagkain, kahit pag palit ng beddings you have to write and have it signed by a vet under IACUC. Through that, nalelessen yung pain na nararamdaman nung laboratory animals. That's the only way eh, mas mahirap naman kung sa tao agad di ba? Especially sa mga studies na we don't know yet magiging results.

Yung UST undergrads na gumagamit ng pusa at turtle, under IACUC din yun. They handed the animals to us ng patay na. They're the one (IACUC or UST) doing the "killing" na.

[cinnamoroll]

Depende sa med school na gusto mo. What med schools ba ang target mo?

Have you taken NMAT na?

Target ko sana is USTe. Mahirap bang makapasok? Hindi pa ko nagNMAT. Mga 2-3yrs pa from now balak kong magmed. Nagpprepare lang ako ng maaga.

[au_chic]

^Take NMAT as early as possible. Or rather, go to medical school as early as possible @_@

4 years - medical school
1 year - internship
3-5 years - specialty/residency
2-3 years - subspecialty/fellowship

The earliest non-intarmed or non-accelerated person can start is at 22 years old.

Plus 10-13 years...that's 32 years old at the least? @_@ (elderly primigravid na kung nulligravid ka to start with. huhu.) Saka pa lang pwede i-establish ang practice, if you don't have a practice to inherit from a doctor parent, that is.

Or you can stop at internship, take the boards, and be a General Practioner na lang. Pero mahirap na nagduduty ng 24 hours sa hospitals until middle age.

Nakapasa ako UST med at 97 NMAT, 2.33 average, and an OFW parent. ITR lang ang tiningnan ng interviewer and mukhang approved ako agad O_o

But I wanted a car so I went to PLM-CM instead 

[lil_mango]

hay, bakit may mga tao na just because you failed an exam eh tingin nila napakabobo mo sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay at ipangalandakan pa sa halos buong class (sa lakas ng boses nya) na isa ako sa e extractan ng blood dahil kailangan ko daw ng plus points when in fact wala naman ako sa listahan, hay.

[cinnamoroll]

^^Gano katagal valid ang NMAT score sis? I'm planning to go abroad after med school. Anong gagawin ko sis? Does this happen after Board or Grad? Nagreview ka ba sis for NMAT? Ano ba pinaka OK na review center? May mga materials ba sa National that will help? In general ba madaling makapasok sa UST?

[au_chic]

@lil_mango - make sure na lang mabawi mo =p do not sink down to that person's level. Not worth it.

@cinnamoroll - 2 years ata? Not really sure. Abroad where? If sa US, you need to take USMLE (around 1 million pesos for the whole thing tapos hindi pa guaranteed ang gusto mong specialty). For other countries, di ko sure =p

Yes I reviewed for NMAT. UP-something. UP profs tapos sa St. Paul Manila ang venue. Reviewers lang binasa ko, then didn't actually attend much sa classes O_o

MSA reviewers (red and white books) during my time really helped. Maraming tips and tricks on how to answer multiple choice type of questions.

For our UPM bio batch, lahat ng nag-apply sa UST, nakapasok sa first list. Only 1 was waitlisted. Pero 2 to 3 lang ang tumuloy. Reservation of your slot alone costs 25k ata?

One thing I noticed about older classmates, nahihirapan sila sumunod sa utos sa seniors namin na 2-5 years younger than them. And some of the seniors, talagang nagpopower trip pa. Humility should be a primary virtue in med  lakas ng power trip.

[cinnamoroll]

^Sis bakit may power tripping? Ano kinalaman ng mga seniors sa med life ng freshmen?

[au_chic]

Medical hospital training is all about seniority. You always answer to someone higher than you.

Hospital training theoretical preparation happens during 1st to 3rd year = the easiest part of medical school.

Sitting in classrooms, studying for exam, listening to lectures, not having duties every 3 days...is heaven compared to the hospital setting, kung saan mo mararamdaman how low your rank is.

Power tripping happens during the 4th year/clerkship and 5th year/internship. Pag hospital setting na.

Clerks and Interns are Residents' utusan. =p

Power tripping also happens during residency. But that part I've only seen during conferences. Consultants sometimes shout/curse at a resident who made a single mistake. Wawa naman. Pero if assh*le yung resident in the first place, karma lang yan. Hehe.

The best year is Internship. The Limbo part. 

Not too much utos as clerks, but also not too much responsiblities as residents. Parang Not a girl, Not yet a woman concept lang. Ang saya 

[cinnamoroll]

^Sis from your previous statement, do you think madali lang makapasa sa UST? I finished my studies sa US. May extra points ba yun? [textspeak!] naman issue ang money.

[au_chic]

^with sufficient funds, NMAT score, and average...yes. 

regarding US studies, if it relevant - better ask UST grads. Mam bleudskymd is one 

[nicaa]

Cinnamoroll, based on my observation, maraming natatanggap na foreign grads ngayon sa UST. Feeling ko nga lahat ng foreign grads na nagaapply e natatanggap. There's one freshman who took up Religion sa Harvard, natanggap naman sya kahit sobra layo ng pre-med. Harvard kasi haha. Sa earlier batch wala masyado foreigners, but yung bf ko who's in 2nd yr pa lang, marami rami na ang foreign, lalo na yata yung mga freshmen ngayon sobra dami daw. I'm not super sure pero pag foreign grad yata you need to pay an amount of money. Di kasi ako masyadong aware sa foreign grads eh, nalaman ko lang yun sa bf ko who took up NMAT sa US. Di sya foreign grad so sinabi nya sa UST na nasa US lang sya for work, but he graduated pre-med sa Phils.

May mga kakilala ako, they had their pre-med sa UST, cum laude but hindi tinanggap ng UST med. Ang daming ganun ang nangyari and d namin alam kung bakit. Then yung mga friends nila na mababa ang average, say 2.6, 2.5.. natanggap sa UST med ng walang hirap.

Tama si au_chic, NMAT is valid for 2 years. Usually, tinitake yun during 3rd yr college, kasi 2 years naman valid, so tama lang na when you apply for Medicine e valid pa sya. Yung gusto mo mag abroad after med school, are you asking about USMLE? Pwede na mag STEP 1 after your 2nd yr in medicine

[cinnamoroll]

Sobrang thanks Sis au_chic and Sis nicaa. Dami ko pa tanong. About NMAT, ano yung mga subjects na dapat reviewhin?

[au_chic]

http://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/about-nmat   

[FOURever]

hoping na makapasok ako sa UST, PLM or UERM i submitted my requirements na sa UST and next week siguro PLM at UERM.

[bleudskymd]

@FOURever - goodluck on your applications. I hope you get to be accepted in the best medical school.

Here are my points regarding topics posted previously. Sorry ngayon lang ako nag-post.

1. NMAT - valid for 2 years. Cut-off depends on which medical school you want to enroll into.

2. It's hard to predict if an applicant will get accepted, or not. All I know is that pre-med graduates from UST get an advantage over those who had their pre-med elsewhere, set their NMAT score higher to 80, plus good grades. Even if they accept 500 applicants, there are still those who plea to be accepted.

My advice is pray that you get accepted, especially if you graduated from another school & another country. And aim for 90+ or higher in your NMAT.

3. If you want to have your residency in the US, you will take the USMLE (US Medical Licensing Exams). It consists of 3 steps - step 1 Basics, step 2 ck/clinical knowledge (both can be taken in the Philippines); step 2 cs/clinical skills, step 3 which are all taken in the USA. In between steps 2 cs & step 3 is the "Matching", wherein you scramble for slots in american hospitals. Taking these steps doesn't guarantee you an automatic slot in any hospital in the US. Competency is high - you'll be competing with other foreign medical graduates (Indians, graduates from the Caribbean, European) & the american graduates themselves. Program directors look into your scores - the higher, the better chances of getting matched in their program. They will also consider the number of years gap when you graduated to the time you applied. Taking these steps takes a lot of effort, time & money. Most of my batchmates spent 1 1/2 to 2 yrs preparing for these. And not all of them were matched for residency in US hospitals.

Applying for residency in other countries (Commonwealth countries like Australia, UK, NZ) is "close to impossible" because we follow the American education. And they have a different format from being a medical officer (aka intern) to a specialist. Before, yes it was easy but they have modified their rules countless times. For a filipino graduate, it's like "going through the eye of the needle".

If you plan to practice here in the Philippines, you must go through 12 months of post-graduate internship (PGI) in any hospital before you can take the local licensure examinations. In PGI, you're a medical doctor but not yet licensed. Internship is a pre-requisite for the local boards. Then, review for the USMLE. If you want to stay here in the Philippines, it's your option if you want to go into residency or be a general practitioner. You cannot practice medicine WITHOUT a license.

If you don't want to practice here, you may not take the internship here in the Philippines; instead fly to the US & prepare for the USMLE.

4. "Power tripping" is a case-to-case basis. There are residents na malakas mang-power trip dahil gusto lang nila, or na-badtrip for something na hindi nagawa or maling nagawa by a junior resident or intern, or kung ayaw niya sa 1 tao. More often, it's their revenge for being power-tripped before. 

And lastly,

I'm in cloud 9.  I learned this morning that I passed the diplomate exams in Philippine Academy of Family Physicians. I can say that I'm a specialist. Woot!

[FOURever]

^congrats, doc!

[au_chic]

^^WOW congrats, doc!!! 

We had a really cute Pedia patient during our ER 24 hour duty.

Photo was taken with the father's consent.

http://auauland.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-avoid-babys-egg-allergy.html

PGH ER was closed for cleaning so we didn't really experience the full blast of the 45-bed capacity of Pedia ER (and only 3 residents, 3 interns, and 2 clerks for all the patients).

Hence, cute patients, like this one, were more appreciated.

On a happier note, I get to spend this year's holidays at home  Thanks to our Community Medicine rotation who let Interns enjoy the holidays <3 It's like being a (non-clerk) student all over again. I miss it. Very much.

Last year, my New Year's Eve was spent on an OB DR duty.

5 months to go of the best year yet. I dread studying for the boards.

To licensed doctors here: When did YOU start reviewing for the Boards? 

[nicaa]

Sad to say, sa UST med ngayon hindi na piniprioritize mga UST grads, unlike dati. Maraming Medtechs, Nursing & PT grads na cum laudes & mataas NMAT ang hindi natanggap for this school year. Sa section (Nursing) daw ng friend ng sister ko, ang daming matatalino pero 2 people lang ang natanggap for UST med school year 2011. Sa class naman ng kapatid ko, sobrang konti lang ang natanggap for UST med, halos puro boys pa with low GWA, low NMAT pero natanggap right away. Super depressed tuloy yung kapatid ko & yung mga classmates nya. Cum laude kasi sila & grad pa mismo ng UST pero bakit di sila natanggap.

Sa earlier batch hindi naman ganyan kasi most of the people in our batch e natanggap sa UST med right away, matalino man or hindi. Di ko talaga alam kung dahil ba bago yung dean or admissions.. Yung bf ko 2nd year pa lang, di naman sya UST pre-med pero natanggap naman sya agad. He got a chance to talk to the recent dean and sabi daw sa kanya ang priority daw nila e yung may licenses or certifications na, RN for example. Sa batch ng bf ko, sobrang dami ng foreigners. Lalo na sa freshmen ngayon, naku, english kung english nung napadaan ako ng med building a few weeks ago, daming ibang lahi. Nag increase daw talaga ngayon ang foreign students sa UST med. I can feel na ang mga foreign ang priority ngayon, so go lang, apply lang ng apply

[cinnamoroll]

Nako if I'm gonna apply in about 2-3yrs foreign students pa din kaya tinatanggap nila?