THE JP Update - September 2007.

Hello! For once sinipag din ako gumawa ng update sa super blog na ito. Stuff happened during the past few days since my last post. A lot of stuff.


August 27, 28, 29

I went to the 1st ever BREATHE Conference which was held in the PETA theater in QC last August 27-29. I paid 1500 for it and it sucked. It was supposed to be a CME (continuing medical education) seminar but instead it was a disorganized mess. The lectures which I wanted to attend were in conflict with the Basic Life Support workshop which I had to attend (due to NKTI requiring it of their applicants) and the lectures I did manage to attend were for respiratory therapists and nurses. What was I doing in a lecture on the different types of mechanical ventilators for example? There was even this Australian speaker who gave a talk about Buteyko Breathing, a psuedo-scientific load of crap and I could see that all us doctors there were itching to interrupt and say that what the speaker was saying was pure horsesh*t. However, the Filipino trait of not wanting to contradict and embarrass guests prevailed and I (and apparently everyone else) kept my piehole shut.

And then there was the food.

The food, while okay, was in very small portions that we had to (even the very slim doctor who was with us) buy additional food later. That to me was the worst thing about the whole damn conference.

The whole seminar was a waste of money and the only good thing I got out of it was the BLS training and certificate. I left early on the last day and went home to sleep and cry on my pillow for the money I had flushed down the toilet.

September 1
I was called for an orientation for pre-residency in Quirino Memorial Medical Center last Saturday. I went there early and was shocked to learn that the damn thing was a month long and was in September. However, they did say it was okay for us to do it in October and about half of us jumped on that. The residents then gave us a tour of the whole hospital.

As we walked through the place, I began to have a feeling that while I had run away from my beloved PGH, I was going to a place that was almost a twin of PGH. A big hospital bursting with charity patients. I didn't know if I should rejoice or feel dread. This time, I would not even have the luxury of my peers of having clerks and interns to order around!!

As of today, I'm only about 50% sure that I'm going to go through with it and show up there on October 1. You see, I finally received my exam permit for my step 1 MLE and I know I have to ace it in order to have a good score. I was advised to not go and just spend October studying. I don't know. I'll give you updates later.


September 4
I spent the day cleaning the car and driving to 2 hospitals today. I went to National Kidney and Transplant Institute and to Veteran's Memorial to submit applications for residency. More on that in later blog updates. Tamad na ako eh.