Quiapo Medical Center

Schedule a trip to what Dr. Michael Lim Tan calls the “Quiapo Medical Center” and the other big medical / private hospitals in Metro Manila any day prior to August 25, 2015 discussions. [Tuesday, August 25 at 1-3 pm on SDH: Culture and Illness]. Dress simply; try to blend in with the other consumers and/or church goers. Explore as many facets of the medical centers' - “wings”: emergency room, OPD, lobby, admitting section, pharmacy, wards [if any], cafeteria, other areas. As expected of a health professional, be respectful and observant. Keep your eyes open, listen to the sounds, smell your surroundings. Keep safe, be alert. Be aware of wonder.

A question of authenticity 

The first thing that concerned me about the whole Quiapo Medical Center concept was whether the 'personnel' really believed what they were offering. It's one thing to sell these things as part of a cultural system one really believes; to sell these things without believing in them is another and that just seems wrong. It's the difference between a quack doctor and a faith healer. Coming from a family of doctors in Quezon City, I have no prior experience with these things. It's a completely different world from the one I know. And so, authenticity was one of the issues I hoped to investigate.

Fridays

About three months ago, an unsuspecting student was invited for lunch by a couple of classmates to talk about faith and life stories. They met in the warm second floor corridor of their building during the hour-long break, but the conversation went far too interesting that they agreed to meet again in the afternoon after class. He had tons of questions which they wanted to answer, so they agreed to meet every Friday during lunch. However, something always came up on Fridays that they weren't able to meet.

As usual, this Friday, something came up that the student couldn't keep the appointment but instead sought the classmates after lunch. The news was that two of his groupmates attended in his stead, one was previously invited while the other, who was conveniently in the vicinity, joined out of intrigue.

As they did earlier, the classmates talked about Christian apologetics, and logic. The claim is that Christianity, despite being a religion that requires faith, does not at all dispense with reason. In fact, according to the Christian bible, God himself encourages thinking.

“Come now, let us reason together,

says the Lord”

Isaiah 1:18

It is a misconception that, in Christianity, matters of faith cannot and must not be questioned. For instance, Mary, one of God's most favored human beings who was then faced with the most extraordinary situation, just had to ask the fear-inspiring angel who brought her the news of her being a virgin mother, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” and, without repercussions, was provided with an answer.

For a lot of questions on faith, if not all, God has provided answers. But whether these are recognized as answers or found to be adequate is a completely different matter. It remains, though, that the God who created the human brain with its intricate structure and functions that bring about human thought makes use of this same facility to enable us to comprehend parts of Himself. We are allowed and encouraged to think.

And this thrust is the foundation of the subsequent Friday discussions.

From the Low End of the Bell Curve: Reflections on Medical Education

Two years ago, the release of the results of the my very first exam as a medical student began my disillusionment— not with myself, but with the medical curriculum, as it violates almost every article I've read on the effective learning: that learning should be spaced out, that learning should not be driven soley by exams, that taking frequent breaks are essential in absorption of a material, that the meaningfulness and relevance of a material aids in memory. . . Medical school, as we know it, is fast-paced, exam-centric, stressful, and detail-oriented to the point of meaninglessness.

An Uncanny Roster

UPCM Class 2019 has the silliest name duplications I have ever seen. It's like real life. People have the same names: those with exactly the same spelling and same pronunciation, those with different spellings but similar pronunciation, those that sound almost the same, those with the male and female versions.

We have four Migs(es) or Miguel(s), three Kim(s), two Benj(es), two Nathan(s), two Sam(s),  two Thea(s), two Hans(es), and two Kevin(s). Pronounced the same are a Maxx and two Max(es), two Adrian(s) and an Aedrian, an Ina and an Ynah, a Lenard and a Leonard and a Maika and a Micah. Then, there are two Mico(s), a Nico, and a Mica,  a Jade and a Jane, a Colleen and a Koreen, a Marion and a Marianne, a Geno, a Gina and a Janno, a Keeshia and a Keisha, and two Carlo(s) and a Carla. That's 29.7% of the class and the nicknames alone!

There are also those who share the same surnames albeit unrelated, I think. We have two Cruz(es), two Eugenio(s), two Go(s), two Javier(s), two Pascual(s), three Santos(es), two Valera(s), and obviously not the least, five Tan(s). That's 9% of the class!

What we do best.
Photo by Arden Quiambao

A Short Reflection on Neurology and Epistemology

Sometimes, med is fun. Last year, Neuro taught us history-taking and neuro exam by making us interact with actual patients in the ward under the supervision of a preceptor. We were, then, individually assigned to write a clinical report. I liked it.

Moments like these remind me why I took this path. I like talking to patients, getting their information and putting together the pieces while figuring out which information I still have to ask. Sometimes, I'd have to discern if they're lying. When I learn enough, I'd have to figure out what illness they have, like solving a puzzle. That's basically what it means to take a patient's history, the most important tool for diagnosis.

If I don’t know what the patient has after I have taken the history, I am in serious trouble.

-Alan Yudelt, MD

A Defense of Samplex

An open secret in the college, it has been passed from batch to batch, under different names for stealth. Its manner of acquisition consists of cooperation within the batch involving discreetness, memory, and exam questions. Its purpose is to help students study for exams. Since our professors, who were once students like us, know about its existence anyway, the concealment strikes me strange. Accompanied by this secrecy is some individuals' condemnation of the system in question as morally impermissible, myself once included.

Some Valentines Thing I Just Can't Keep to Myself

From the class that brought to UPCM the award winning Tao Rin Pala (TRP) XL opening number.