Tag: UP

Book Review: Surgeons Do Not Cry by Ting Tiongco

~ thepinoydoctor ~ Leave a comment
 
I do not find a lot of books telling stories about their lives as a medical student or a doctor so the moment I found out about this book, it went automatically to my ‘to-read’ books list. Mostly of stories told by medical practitioners are found online in a form of a blog, a vlog but rarely do I find printed books about it. 
Being too eager to grab my copy, I searched for it everywhere, online, at the Solidaridad book shop in Ermita, even in Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) but I got my copy from the University of the Philippines (UP) Press in UP Diliman campus which is the publisher of the said book. The book cost at 200 pesos from the UP Press (which I believe has a branch now in UP Town Center in Katipunan). In the MIBF, the book is less 50 pesos making the cost of the book at 150 pesos. I can say that it is not pricey for a book and the content is really good. Quality paper, cover and print too so it is a very good buy for me. I personally like the last part which are just extra stories for the book. These are the speeches made by Dr. Tiongco when he was asked to be as a guest speaker in graduations. Reading these speeches really inspired me and hit a soft spot in my heart.
The book cover is quite simple which I like. It has a minimalist design and the book is not too thick. It has 167 pages, 37 real life short stories and 4 annexes in total. The book talks about the experiences that actually happened to the author from his medical education at UP College of Medicine, development as a doctor to a surgeon in UP-PGH (Philippine General Hospital).
I enjoyed reading the book because it is just a bit of everything, really short stories. If you continuously read the book, it can be finished in a day or two but in my case, what I did was to read 1-3 stories per day as I want to enjoy and savor the moments experienced by the author. The stories are short (1-2 or 3 pages) which sometimes make me ask for more. My personal favorites are God Forgives…, Tears of Anger Tears of Joy, Kissing Rounds, and Major Joe.
I learned a lot from this book on what could be experienced in the hospital especially under UP-PGH compound which is mostly if not all, the setting of the stories. For someone who aims to go to UP-PGH to train and practice medicine, like me, this book will definitely help you have a glimpse of what happens inside the largest government hospital in the Philippines. The stories will inspire you, make you laugh and give you a background about medicine, politics, the UP-PGH itself and real life stories that an aspiring and even doctors experience on a day-to-day scenario.
Now, I’m actually waiting for another book to be released by next year (2019) entitled Some Days You Can’t Save Them All. it is written by Dr. Ron Baticulon, another UP Medicine alumnus and a Palanca winner for the same titled essay.  I will definitely make a book review about it once it is released and I hope to get my copy signed too. 
I am recommending you to read this book because it is full of heart, experiences and stories which will definitely to remember. I hope this content inspires you and help you towards our goal of becoming a doctor in the Philippines.

NMAT Series: What does your percentile rank means

~ thepinoydoctor ~ Leave a comment
National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) results are out and I hope you reached the score you  aimed for. You might be asking what’s the passing grade, the answer is none. There is no passing grade for NMAT, only acceptable NMAT score. Acceptable NMAT score varies on the medical school in the Philippines but the lowest score one needs to qualify is 40 percentile rank, for example, University of the Philippines – College of Medicine (UPCM) accepts applicants with 90 and above percentile rank. Before enrolling, make sure to check the requirements of the medical school of your choice and ensure that you have their preferred NMAT percentile. 
The NMAT is a combination of an IQ test (part 1) and of special area test (Part 2) which will I’ll discuss in another blog. I’ll also blog on how to ace the NMAT with useful tips that I used when I took it so make sure to follow my blog so you won’t miss it. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to miss it as I’ll spill all the beans and every piece of advise that will be really useful in taking this test.
NMAT score is not easy to understand, I know. In this blog, I’ll simplify the explanation for us to understand it better. Your NMAT score is in a form of percentile rank therefore all the test takers are arranged based on their rank in the exam. So if you get a score of 75, it does not mean that you got 75% of the exam correct, it means that you scored better than the 75% of the total takers.  To understand it better, think of it this way, the score you get means that your raw score is higher than that percentage of the takers. Example if you get a percentile rank of 95, it mean that you scored higher than 95% of the test takers and you are in the top 5% of the NMAT takers. Another example, let us say you get 40 NMAT percentile, it means 60% of the takers got higher scores than you while you bested the other 40% of the takers. The highest NMAT score one can get is a 99+ which will surely give you a huge advantage on the med school of your choice.
A lot of people are asking if how many times one is allowed to take the NMAT, the answer is unlimited. NMAT can be taken as many times as you like until you are satisfied with your score. It is not true that your scores will be averaged on your third try or more. That is a complete myth. I am not sure where this news came from but based on what I know, it is not averaged on your 3rd or so on try of the test. This created confusion and worry to the people and I want to clarify that it is not true.
I hope this blog helped you in understanding your NMAT score and feel free to comment below if you have questions and I will be happy to answer it to the best of my ability. Thank you.
Disclaimer: The author is not in any way related/connected to the CEM NMAT Committee This post is only based on personal experience and understanding of the author.

Supplemental Subjects for Medical School

~ thepinoydoctor ~ 18 Comments
Do you want to be a doctor but afraid that you finished a non-Science degree? Here’s a good news for you, medical school is not limited to those who have a degree related to Science, becoming a doctor is already open to non-Science degree holders. However, some med schools (e.g., PLM, ASMPH and SLCM) require several units to qualify for admissions. 
If you want to take several Science units to apply for the med schools mentioned above, don’t fret because here’s a helpful guide on where you can take these supplementary subjects before you enter the war zone of medical school.
1. University of Santo Tomas (UST) – College of Science / College of Rehabilitation Sciences
If you want to take basic science subjects like Biology, Zoology, Physics, Chemistry (Inorganic, Organic, Biochem), Microbiology and Comparative Anatomy, you can apply to UST – College of Science or if you need to take those subjects which are for 1st year medicine proper like Pharmacology, Physiology and Anatomy, UST – CRS is for you. All you need to do is to apply as a non-degree student – no need to take the USTET. See below requirements to be submitted to the dean’s office of the said colleges.
  • Letter of intent addressed the dean including the subjects and units you need
  • Good moral certificate
  • Photocopy of Transcript of Records (TOR)
Once you submitted these documents, you’ll be asked to fill up an admission memo (yellow). The admission memo will be approved by the dean, the registrar and the secretary general. Processing this can take days or a week depending on the availability of the signatories, so better follow up from time to time for progress.
Studying at UST can be a bit pricey because of the tuition and you’ll be required to wear the college uniform even you’re a non degree student but guaranteed that the quality of lessons and facilities are good.
Note: UST College of Nursing and Faculty of Pharmacy do not accept non-degree students.
2. University of the Philippines – Manila (UPM)
One good thing about enrolling at UPM as a non degree student is getting a quality education for a cheaper price (yes, non degree students are not covered for the free tuition fee for state universities) compared to others, also you do not need to wear uniform so if you are on budget, you might want to consider this option. You do not need to take the UPCAT to enroll as a non degree student. Requirements are as follows:

  • TOR
  • Diploma
  • Chest X-Ray results
  • Letter of intent addressed to the secretary including the subjects and units you need
3. De La Salle University – Manila
You can apply at DLSU College of Science with regards to the supplemental units you need (Biology, Zoology, Physics, Chemistry, Microbiology), just drop by the College of Science to ask for the subjects offered for the coming sem and they’ll be happy to assist you and even make you a class schedule. Despite not requiring to wear a uniform, the tuition fee is a little steep yet at DLSU website, you can find a tuition calculator for you to have an idea on how much you need to pay for the subjects you are planning to enroll. Also, a medical exam will be required before you can enroll here.
4. Philippine College of Health Sciences (PCHS) – Recto, Manila (beside FEU)

If you’re a PLM med aspirant, you probably stumbled the name PCHS over some blogs or forums as a school where you can take your supplemental units. They have 2 types of learning option – classroom or module based. Module based learning is flexible and perfect for those who are working and planning to take units at the same time however, this is a little expensive compared to the classroom learning style. At PCHS, some classes are scheduled during Saturdays which is also in favor of the working medical student aspirants. They are also lenient with admissions as they allow to admit students even the if school already started yet, this is case to case basis and with the discretion of the profession teaching the subject. Just ask the professor nicely to allow you to join the class amidst the semester given that you’ll catch up with the lessons.

If you plan to enroll here, you just have to visit the admissions office and you’ll be endorsed to the dean’s office for a quick and basic interview. The dean will help you reach out to the professors and will confirm if the subjects you are needing to take are offered for the semester. Afterwards, you can go to the accounting window to get your fees assessed and just pay before the deadline. Non degree students do not need to wear uniforms.

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The problems you may encounter in applying as a non degree student are the limited slots offered since you’ll be mixed with the regular students of a particular course and the conflict of schedules of the subjects. So better know the schedules and the subjects offered prior the sem you plan to enroll.
I hope this helps and feel free to comment any questions you have and I’ll try to answer it as soon as I can. Good luck!