Tuesday says;-]

Last night was a night of mixed emotions. My first prediction, that it would be a lame late afternoon where watching Meet joe black will save me from boredom, was a failure. A mistake I may say. So will the prophets intentions be of great help to the majority? Will the issue finally end for Campion 04? Well that we must see in the coming days.

Couple of hours ago I was reading threads in Pex. Threads regarding NMAT and which is the BEST MED SCHOOL, so far the thread was helpful. People in the forum where talking fairly and not taking sides and fighting for whose the best. Stereotyping they say. Some where doing a favor to be a devils advocate for some incoming med student. But It was like some eye opener for me to be reading those kinds of words and advices.

According to bleudsky_md who started playing devils advocate here goes:

long time DEPENDENCE. compare yourself to your HS batchmates who are starting to live independently, making a name for themselves while you're still a student. you'll always ask for money to buy books, photocopy hand-outs, pay dorm expenses, uniforms, purchase stethoscope & other basic med equipments, etc. and even after passing the boards, you'll still be dependent coz the allowance you'll be receiving is not enough (worse pa if u have a family then. it'll be harder to make ends meet). your parents should be prepared for a LIFETIME SUPPORT.

2. gruelling STRESS. less sleep, less leisure, less time for yourself. you bury yourself in thick books, countless handouts and sample exams. starting clerkship, you're at the hospital most of the time. you don't have any weekends nor holidays. on the ffing day, ung nurse mukhang refreshed, energized na samantalang ikaw, mukhang ewan, magulo hitsura, walang tulog, and you're wearing the same clothes since yesterday.

3. lots of SACRIFICES. you'll start missing important events in your family's &/or friend's life. why? kasi duty ka. why? kasi may exam ka. why? you'd rather sleep kc "from duty ka" at wala kang halos tulog, or natoxic ka. why? pahinga muna kasi may reporting ka pa kinabukasan. my bed became my other best friend during my clerkship and internship years.

4. STUDY, STUDY, STUDY. Medicine is a dynamic field. you have to study, update yourself always. what you know now maybe different 2-3 yrs from now. or else, patients wont come to you. and of course, you have to do researches.

5. after passing the boards, you'll still feel empty. the long road to making a name for yourself starts. then after residency and fellowship, you'll start looking for patients. it's not the other way around. the same thing goes if you wanna establish hospital practice. you apply, undergo scrutiny, pay before they acknowledge you. unless na lang kung parents mo doctors din.

6. you age in medicine. pregnancy becomes an issue for some female doctors since they don't wanna be classified under "high risk pregnancy". you also begin to think "kelan kaya ako mag-aasawa?" since you're so damn busy.

honestly, it's better to be the elder (& the first doc) in the family coz lahat ng thrills, attention & excitement nasa yo. pag 2nd, alam na nila yan.

Now see what I mean? Whose not going to be scared with those things enumerated! Like okay, I am quite aware that I wont be earning anything like by the age of 30 like everyone else does. Some of my highschool classmates might be millionaires by then like who wont earn that big if you were an investment banker or you got into a course that will lead you to the path to easy money earning!

And thus an angel came to ask.. xthine_md:

Let me ask you this first..why do *you* want to pursue a career in medicine?

I think that is the more important question to ask before deciding which school you want to go to.

wind passed and fattybearyus said:

And another thing. Are ready for 13 or more years without money??

Here's the thing.

4 years med proper. 4th yr -CLerkShit.>>Slavery
1 year internship
3-7 years residency depending on specialization
3 or more years for fellowship.

That's minimum of 11 years! And that's all pagpupuyat since every 3 days you will have a 24 hour shift at the hospital. Ofcourse you have to finish fellowship before you actually become famous enough. Goodluck.

ll forever be studying! I know…

bleudsky_md said:

regardless kung saan ka magpractice & kung ano'ng field, you should always ask yourself "What will really make me happy?"

it will be useless if what you're doing becomes merely a "job" - something that you don't enjoy doing.

And now I will try to venture the positive side

The positive things about being a med student and/or a physician.

and bleudsky_md said:

you're a doctor of medicine. people will respect you for that. your family and friends will be proud of you.

positive things pag med student? i think it's the usual perks - you don't pay taxes, you get to meet more people, you ask from your parents allowances, finances to buy for those thick hardbound expensive imported medical textbooks. come 2nd yr (actually it depends on the school you go to), you'll start to encounter actual patients in hospitals, you start to practice your "people skills". come clerkship, your true character will be tested & you'll know who your real friends are.

positive things pag physician na? you'll always receive the smile and appreciation from your patients after you've helped them. may mga magbibigay pa sa 'yo ng pagkain (nakakahiya man). you get free meals (& may free show pa) pag may product presentation ang med reps. luckily, i got to see isay alvarez & lea salonga live at manila hotel nung ni-launch ang Amvasc.

So theres some perks to go with that!

By the way, earlier today my friend whose a Management Trainee for Crowne and Holiday inn hotels was given Patron tickets for the JAMES BLUNT concert! Well, this is one of the reasons why I hate going out of town and something good will come unexpectedly! Once again.. I was BEYONCED.. a word used by me and my friend sujean.. a term that denotes the presence of an acceptable excuse that wont allow me to attend a concert..

bummer!