Thursday, December 8, 2011

St. Luke's College of Medicine

Yey! Pagkatapos ng isang taon from my last blog post, i shall revive thee blog! Hehe, ang drama kasi nung previous post, gusto ko na ngang idelete eh, pero di ko makita (at the moment) yung delete button, oh well.... magpopost nalang ako sa pinakamamahal kong eskwelahan, kasi tinotopak ako at tinatamad magreview


St. Luke's College of Medicine William H. Quasha Memorial, dito ako ngayon nag-aaral ng medisina, saan ka pa? isa sa pinaka-"promising" na eskwelahan to ng medisina sa buong Pilipinas!

Bakit ba sobrang proud ko maging estudyante dito? Kasi ang gandaganda talaga dito! Majormajor sulit ang tuition fee kong binayaran, (cough*pinaka*cough*mahal*cough*sa*buong*cough*pilipinas*cough*daw, hindi kasi ako sigurado sa tuition ng Ateneo), kung mataas naman ang pagkakataon kong maging scholar next year, oh di ba? San ka pa? Dito na!

Maaga akong nag-enroll dito, pang 29 akong nag-enroll, out of 95 (ata, kasi may lumayas at hindi tumuloy eh, excited? parang scholar? mauubusan ng slots?) kasi nga excited akong mag-med nung mga panahong iyon at sobrang gusto ko sa St. Luke's

Background info:

syempre, bago ako nag-NMAT at nag-apply, tinikman ko muna yung other schools di ba?

una kong criteria,

REQUIREMENTS!

sa NMAT, Grades at units na gusto nila, malamang sa lamang, para alam ko kung pasok ako or hindi, atsaka kitang-kita naman ata na sa requirements palang, alam mo na kung anu-anong eskwelahan ang masasabi mong pili at nasa "cream of the crop" (oh diba?), FYI, SLCM requirements: 90+ NMAT (kung 89 ka, mag-exam ka nalang ulet) grades: not sure ulet sa GWA pero alam ko wala eh, basta bagsak eh not more than 10 units (link: http://stlukesmedcollege.edu.ph/admissions) note: wala yung NMAT thing, pero promise, criteria yan, average NMAT score ng batch ko eh 96 or 95 kung hindi ako nagkakamali, (oo, puro 99 kame! wahahahaha, joke) units, masyadong marame para sabihin, refer sa link na lang. medyo madami di ba? kaya alam kong stricto at talagang mataas ang kalidad talaga sa SLCM, kumpara sa ibang eskwelahan na mejo lax ang requirement, talagang dito mejo matindi di ba?

second,

Board Results:

100% passing rate for first time takers! lagi for the past 3 years! parang, woah! dinaig pa UP! syempre malaking bagay yung boards di ba? bakit ka pa magmemedisina kung hindi ka naman bibigyan ng lisensya ng gobyerno para magamit mo mga natutunan mo at manggamot ng tao di ba? nag-aral ka pa! ang ganda talaga kasi tingnan nung 100% passing rate, ay wow, parang sure kang papasa sa boards basta galing St. Luke's ka! (kwento ko yung kaunting history kung anyare bakit first time takers)

It all started with Dean Carandang's radical changes that totally revolutionized (totally rocking) the school in the year 2005. From a school that admits more than 200 students, he reduced the quota to 120, enforced the requirements above stated and offered them wonderful scholarships. (nakwento ko ba yung scholarship? 100% 75% at 50% lang naman, may free books ka pa? san ka pa? chismis nga iPad2 na daw next year ibibigay eh). Backed by the Medical Center (kung di mo alam SLMC, wag ka na lang kaya magmed? medyo nangungunang Ospital lang naman po sa Pilipinas yan, mejo sa Southeast Asia then, parang mejo kalevel nya yung international hospitals eh) the school offers very generous scholarships to more than half the students of the school (~65% ata ng school eh scholars eh, imagine, minority kameng nagbabayad ng tuition) that amounts to about 28.5Million pesos from the center every year. (@__@ nanlaki mata ko eh). What more, the bulk of the budget given by the center to the school (konti lang naman po, mga 200 Million lang naman binibigay ng Medical Center sa School @___@) goes to our Professors from the Center. Imagine, they are doctors of the Medical Center (No.1 Hospital=No.1 Physicians? tingin mo?) who chose to teach us, rather than spend their time earning millions (weh di nga?) that's why SLCM offers the most generous compensation to its full-time faculty to educate us to the best of their abilities and train us to be (if not the best) great physicians that we can be. (hindi 100% ang overall passing rate ng Luke's kasi may mga dregs (sorry, yun term namin eh) from the pre-Carandang era eh, kaya ayun, bumabagsak sila @___@)

Now you might have heard nasty rumours floating about SLCM, they are totally misguided! It was to be expected that the revolution of the school did not meet positive feedback from other people, faculty? alums? board members? (ewan, basta merong ayaw) especially the full-time faculty rule (kase nga naman, mas magandang full-time, para pwedeng mag-consult mga studyante di ba?). Sadly, a lot of the faculty at the time left (parang sa profs namin ngayon isa lang natira, siya lang kavibes ni dean?). But still, the Dean did replace them with possibly better faculty teaching us now, (Heads ng Departments sa SLMC? head ng Radiol, Pedia, Internal Med? etc. @___@ woah!)

Malaking factor kasi na malaki sweldo ng dear professors, una, mabait sila, hindi sila bitter (aminin!) kase there are those who would feel a bit of bitterness kase eh, yes they like teaching, pero sometimes some form of doubt would enter their minds and question their decision, ayun, tinopak, nilabas sa estudyante. pero syempre, imo lang yun, di naman ako sure eh, nang-huhula lang ako sa feeling nila, basta alam ko, happy ang profs namin, kaya happy sila, happy din kame.

Here in SLCM, that is not the case, the teachers are very approachable, sila pa nga mamimilit senyong iconsult sila eh =) they support us to the best of their abilities, but not to the point na spoon-feeding ha? syempre hindi, it is to teach students to be innovative and independent, and true to the spirit of being scholars (nag-Ragnarok ka ba? Scholars seek absolute, and total KNOWLEDGE {elements sa RO} on a lot of subject matters). what more, sobrang bait nila.

Competence as teachers? ahhhhhhm, balik ko yung 100% passing rate comment? tingin mo?


Study Habits:

Sa SLCM ha, as compared (daw) to other schools.

One

Lectures sa Luke's ay Systemic, hindi Regional. Di mo matanto? ganto yan, systemic sa Luke'd meaning, by organ system ang lectures (REspiratory, Cardiac, Musculoskeletal, Urogenital,Encorine, Gastrointesinal, Urogenital, Nervous) ang Physiology, Anatomy at Biochemistry. Balita kase namin, sa other schools regional ang inaaral, tipong abdomen, head, neck, lower limb, upper limb, thorax ang hatian ng subjects, i can't personally judge kung panu yung lectures nila ha, kase hindi naman ako studyante dun, pero parang medyo mas mahirap ng kaunti. medyo nagfafall din naman into one system by area di ba? kaso minsan hindi din eh...

Exams, sa Luke's naka-sched ang exams (halos lahat naman actually) pero other schools parang undergrad, bahala yung teacher magsched, basta natapos yung scope ng lecture, meaning, flexible. pero sa Luke's naka sched na ang Block exams (periodicals) kaya alam mo na kung kelan ka dapat nag-aaral, (next year pa kase next block exams eh, kaya chill lang ako).

Quizzes? anu yun? hahaha, les feys it, quizzes kills a lot of students sa med. quiz halos araw-araw? ansabeh? @____@ sa isang Quashian, quizzes are considered myths!

DATI!

ngayon kasi may quiz na din ang Luke's, every friday, sa FOM. (Fundations of Medicine)
pero for one good reason. Isang unique thing sa St. Luke's ang Foundations of Medicine. kung sa ibang school eh some sort of ethics or medical history or internal medicine intro ang tinuturo (not sure ha) ibahin mo sa Quasha! FOM integrates Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. Sa subject na ito mo maaappreciate ang 3 Basic Sciences natin kasi dito mo iaapply natututunan mo every week sa mga sakit na pwedeng meron ang pasyente mo. Cases vary from popular conditions like Hypertension, Asthma, Diabtes Mellitus, to rarer cases like Myastenia gravis, Hyaline Membrane disease, Graves Disease etc. Here, magbibigay sila ng case, diagnosis at signs and symptoms tapos may study guide. tapos bawat department, may question na rereviwhin mo. review lang kase tinuro na nila yung concepts within the week. concepts ha, hindi yung disease itself! ( okaya part of it lang) kung yung Normal Anatomy at Histology ng affected organ, sa metabolism ng products/secretions ng organs sa Biochem, or receptors na meron ang cells sa organ or tissue at syempre, kung paano ba overall ang mga processes na nangyayare sa katawan natin, via Physiology. Tapos, merong guest speaker from the center, mga specialists to discuss the clinical aspect of the case, hindi lang puro basic (clinical=treatment, diagnosis, imaging, etc).

special mention si preventive and community medicine, although hindi sya parteh ng FOM (which is a gasgas joke na maririnig or gagamitin nyo lagi) importante siya kase may overview ka din sa isang buhay doktor dito, kase required mag prev med lahat ng studyante ng medisina at lalu na kung magpaparactice ka to poor communities or to rural settings na tipong wala namang MRI or CT scan na malapit :( pero higit sa lahat, kagandahan ng prev med para sakin, binibigyan nya ako ng iba-ibang perspektibo sa pagiging doktor, tsaka hirap i-explain eh, public health grad ka? baka ikaw mas maexplain mo kesa sakin.

grading system kasi is 6/7 from the 6 block grades (Musculoskeletal, Cardiac, Respiratory, Gastrointestinal & Endocrine, Urogenital and Neurology) and 1/7 from a final comprehensive exam.

syempre block grades ay depende sa block exams mo (lec and lab sa anatomy at biochem) at EAs (experimental analyses) and block exam for physiol, quiz + block exam sa FOM, exam+exercises sa Prev Med. (groupwork mostly yung sa prev med, reporting kasi)



Campus:

well, its not a campus per se, more like, a single building...
na mejo *ahem* amfanget nan panlabas na hitchura,
WEKNOW!!! kasi we're really asking the change for the outside appearance of the building for a while now eh. Actually the Dean is asking the Center for funds to actually paint the building eh, kasi it will need approximately 500K daw for painting and changes.
Pero, they promised naman na it will be acted upon na, kase syempre first impressions last di ba? Maiimpress kaba kung ganun kapanget yung itsura nung building?

BUT!

wag kang judgemental sa looks, (tulad namin) kasi maganda naman sa loob! nakita mo na classrooms? penthouse at library? my gosh, ang sosyal! hehe. (pictures to follow)
note:
mejo halos sa lahat ng sulok ng Luke's eh naka-aircon, bawal pawisan dito eh! haha. XD
kaya kung mag-sasubmit ka ng application form or pupunta ka for the first time dun, wag kang maturn-off ha? kasi what's inside matter more. (naks) Tsaka yung 500,000pesos sayang din yun! 3 scholars na din sana yun noh! kaya hangga't maaari, ayaw nilang kontian ang scholars :) (ang considerate nila noh?)

Meron din kaming canteen sa Building, ewan ko lang kung marerenovate (ata) kasi goodluck satin next year kung more than 100+ ang batch 2017 :) pero syempre, don't fret, hindi ka naman forever stuck sa canteen, pwedeng kumaen sa canteens sa Hospital (na sosyals) sa Kiosks near the hospital, sa bazaar sa corner ng Erod at medical arts building (kung taga St. Joseph's ka, alam mo to) pati sa hospital grounds.
syempre, kung cool berks kayo, malapit din naman ang erod, 5 minutes (tops) walkathon lang dami nyo ng pwede puntahan.
kung uber rich kids naman kayo, taxi/joy ride na sa morato! Dun, mas madaming choices (kaya naman minsan, lalo na tuwing friday, mga 2-3 hours minsan lunch break dahil sa FOM eh)

pero walang tatalo sa Jaz Naz (school canteen)
near na,
naka-aircon na,
may free water,
mura yung food,
mainit yung food,
kung may baon ka, pwede mong ipa-microwave! (kung wala yung may-ari, masungit minsan si Ate Ursula [not sure sa name nya, pet name namin yun for her])
siguradong dito ka kakain tuwing exams! para mabilis lang at makapag-cram ka pa

(mejo parang halos narerewrite ko na yung freshmen primer, pero syempre personal experience ko naman ang angle)

School-life:

Siguro pahapyaw lang, kasi gusto ko mag-devote ng single entries for school-life, particularly yung school events (wag namang mejo personal, paki nung ibang applicants daw).

Sobrang importante ng acads, (duh, school nga),
pero importante ding mag-recharge at mag-chillax after a gruelling battle between them subjects. Aside from personal lakads you may (dapat WILL plan or SHOULD plan) plan after the exams, the council, our wonderful and devoted council, planned events after exams that will surely refresh your tired and injured minds.
1st Block - Get together, game event (mejo corny) pero what's fun is the performances of your schoolmates and possibly classmates, care of our choir (Choros) and uhm, band? (Melos) and dancers (Aiora) mini-Concert/ASAP/party Pilipinas ito, and you can scream your lungs out cheering for your classmates and them higher years.

2nd Block - Sportsfest, sobrang saya nito, iba-ibang sports events (BBall guys and girls, Vball, Badminton,TTennis and Bowling) meron ding mini-games like Tap Tap Revenge Championships (di nga?) Chess (yup2, kung hindi ako nagkakamali yung Batchmate ko, special shoutout Joseph! ang chessmaster ngayon sa Luke's, malamang, naglalaro kaya to ng chess everyday! lalo na less than stimulating lectures{after lunch kasi} or guests...haha..or......) Chinese garter (bitter ako dito, nanalo batchmates ko, tapos binawe nung awarding, may technical issue daw kase, hmph, kaya naging ultimate champions yung 2nd years, fine x2, deserve naman nilang manalo, kunware, sila kasi nagplan halos nung sportsfest eh, bitter din pala yung Vball players namin, yung alumnis ba naman naglaro? eh varsity players sila dati? @___@ malamang natalo first years, tapos nung sa 2nd year na, hindi na naglaro yung varsity players, @____@ wth? bitter din pala yung basketbelles namin, (girls bball na walang dribble) yung mga admin ba naman eh sumali sa 2nd years, eh ang galing ni Ma'am Gadhe? makikilala nyo sya sa Registrar, sya yung pretty lady dun na pwede mong tanungan ng kung anu-anu, sasagut sayo yun with a smile, and a liner of "Yes po?" hehe), Jackstones (sasali ako dito next year! hahaha) Dodgeball (saya nito! gusto ko sumali dito! kaso siguradong out ako agad kapag naglaro ako dito), Patintero (corny nito, panget kase yung rules, nakatayo lang sila, walang ngyayare) and lastly, Cheering! (nanalo kame dito! grabe, galing ng cheerdancers namin eh! defending cheer champions kame next year! oh yeah!) overall, grabeng uber saya nito! sobrang taas ng school spirit after ng event na to. oh, i forgot the most important event of the Sportsfest, Mr and Ms. Quasha, the all so important pageant that will determine the school's representatives for the Mr and Ms Med pageant
between med schools. San ka pa? pwede kayang pang Miss Universe si Steff! (Reigning Ms. Quasha 2011) gusto nyong link ng FB account niya? feeling ko dadami applicants pagnakita nila siya!


3rd Block - walang event after exams :( may final exams kase yung 2nd years at 3rd years eh, first years naman eh sem break na after block exams :) oh yeah, suggestion? plan na your out of town event! san ka pa? (suggestions: Baguio, Tagaytay, Enchanted Kingdom, Beach Resorts, Museum tours, Movie tours, or simply hanging out together watching episodes of Grey's, Gossip Girl, House, Fringe, Bones, CSI, NCIS, Vampire Diaries, etc or movies, mall-hopping

4th Block-2nd get together! masaya, may performances ulet! tapos nag-game, Pinoy Henyo, kaso bitin! to be continued daw sas 5th Block

5th Block - (currently 5th block at the moment i'm writing this eh)

6th Block - ewan ko lang kung meron pa, Finals na after block exams eh


other significant events:

Talks, Intern's Case Presentation, Clinical research presentation (tama ba to? basta yung research nung past 3rd years, currently clerks) tapos Prev Med research nung last year 1st years at 2nd years (current 2nd and 3rd years)

Class Picture! may pupunta daw atang theater group na magpepresent, not sure. Movie Night kase dapat! kaso hindi natuloy!


I guess I'll leave with that for now, more to follow!
I seriously hope may makabasang aspiring St. Luke's College of Medicine applicant,
kase i want others to know how much I appreciate and love our school, kase it deserves to be recognized talaga (andun kase ako eh! haha, joke lang po) although I'm sure in the future (in the near future na sana) Luke's will accomplish that feat. (napepredict ko eh! pramis!)


your makulit na blogger:
Jed Jamorabon
St. Luke's College of Medicine - 2016
BS Biology. UP-Baguio, 2011
PSHS Batch 2006