I'm almost midway to my 1st year of residency training, and it seems like I just started yesterday... I have already begun to adjust to the work schedule (which can range from doing nothing the whole day to being so busy that you get out only at 6pm when your previous or not have a single wink of sleep the entire night you're on duty...) and, maybe a little bit to the teasings of the male staff, which I have begun to adjust too (I still put my foot down on their "green conversation" and so-way-back-in-high-school types of comments and teasings...) But in the midst of it all, I am happy, serene, and I love my work. I'm still looking into the possibilities of giving a little extra to the people I work around with... whether it's a smile, a greeting, a word of advise, or maybe just listening and praying for what the other person needs. I'm grateful that I have found fulfillment in what I do, even this early in further studies in my chosen profession... I hope that everyone else does so as well.

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To all the MOTHERS out there: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

[Taken from the Frindster site of CIM with the original captions: Recognize the white figure inside the library? ]

Our newly retired Dean, Dr. Josefina L Poblete has been a defining icon of sorts for all of us graduates of the Cebu Institute of Medicine ever since she has been at the helm of our medical education. She's one of those persons who leave an impression on you. I think it can be summed up by this one thing comment I remember in a conversation with her daughter, Dr. Poblete-Chan, who was then my Problem-Based Learning (PBL) group preceptor when she asked me, "Are you (referring to me and my groupmates) uncomfortable with me just because I'm the daughter of your dean?" I have never felt uncomfortable around Dr. Poblete-Chan, but her mother makes you uncomfortable when she's around just because you know that she is dead serious that she wants you to become THE "Physician With a Heart"

I remember a panel interview with her and the deans of the other local medical schools as part of the application for the regionalization program of the UP College of Medicine (I never pushed through with applying there due to non-compliance with a requirement though). She was the only panelist I remember who rarely ventured a smile throughout the interview.

Everyone was always careful when she was around. Maybe it's because she has the tendency of spotting something awry with one's uniform (i.e. too short skirts for females, wearing earrings for males). She would tell it exactly to your face when you did something wrong/inappropriate/not to her liking. She also makes you want to be somewhere else when she was around. Interns (senior clerks in local parlance), PGI's (post-graduate interns), and residents literally disappear from the OPD's hallway when they spot her coming through the door from a mile away.

One time, at our stay-in community rotation, she caught one of my co-interns walking around sans uniform in the primary care center. She saw him running into the male quarters to hide, so she went right up there to talk to him, ask him why he was running and to give him a piece about being properly dressed when assigned to the center and not to loiter there when not on duty.

Another time, at the same community rotation, she noticed that I buttoned my smock. She really came up to me and told me to unbutton the smock as it is more becoming to look at us in uniform that way. I was quite taken aback. I am until now still uncomfortable with buttoning my now long-sleeved resident's white coat.

For an entire two weeks, in my internal medicine rotation, our sub-group was on our toes when she was house consultant and would annouce house rounds almost daily, and even a surprise ward rounds on a Sunday morning which caught even the house resident by surprise.

Charity cases were presented to her on a one-on-one basis directly by the interns for her approval. You never know whether she would focus on the socio-economic background of the patient in question or the intricacies of the treatment modalities the patient would be subjected to. I had the misfortune to once present to her the only charity case which to my knowledge was unapproved (mostly through the lack of foresight of the admitting resident, and the lot just falling onto me to present the case). I felt like dying on the spot when she said the words, "..., and that's why I'm not going to approve this case!"

One thing that I do appreciate is her effort to help us learn to practice medicine in an ethical manner through lectures, though I guess it has sometimes fallen into deaf ears. I also appreciate her emphasis on modesty and dressing in a manner in which people would regard you with more respect, which a lot of my peers have tended to disregard.

There are people you won't forget your entire life. Dean Poblete is exactly on one of these people in my life.

Physical Education has never been my favorite subject. Ever since early in grade school, this klutzy nerd has had a hard time coping up with the intricacies of a modern dance routine or playing any ball game. Later on, sometime after having had swimming lessons, I developed a distaste for dipping my self into any large body of water (i.e. swimming pool, sea, river, waterfalls) because of a certain incident which I would rather not mention... I then became adverse to any form of regular physical activity with the exception of a nature hike or long walk. Unfortunately, I seldom have the opportunity or the time to indulge in this activity nowadays.

In short, I don't exercise regularly. As a medical doctor, it's something I'm a little reluctant to actually admit. I have never set foot in a gym, and neither do I plan to in the future. I am already living such a tight schedule in my first year of residency and attending to other family and social obligations that this has been at the end of my set of priorities. Frankly, it's the only thing in the healthy lifestyle list that I am unable to do (aside from the usual lesser number of hours of sleep all doctors are subjected to in the course of their training and profession).

I still wonder when I will ever incorporate a regular routine of physical activity into my schedule...

I was probably in second grade when one of our projects was a needlecraft sampler with the Phlippine flag stitched on it and the words "I love God and my country". Somehow, this childhood memory resurfaced in my mind when the topic for this week's TBR came up.

I can't deny the reality that our homeland has its share of problems, yet I can't imagine living and working anywhere else. Sure, in the future, I may have the chance to train further in my field somewhere else, but ever since, I knew deep in my heart that I would still go back and practice here, nevermind that probably half my med school classmates are setting their sights elsewhere around the world with a mind on permanently living there for good.

There is no where in the world where you find people who find humor in the most serious of situations and who would venture a smile at a camera or a friendly wave even if they are waiting to be rescued on a rooftop from rushing floodwaters brought by a raging typhoon. There's a different kind of optimism and faith there.

We have so many places of interest, both typical and atypical from beaches to waterfalls to trekking sites to caves. The natural wonders these islands have to order are amazing. There's a wide variety of food choices as well wherever you go.

I have spent most of my life in this country, and I'm sure that if I go away again, I will long be back with all my heart.

Dorothy is right: "There's no place like home." Even if it is this grey, dreary one called the Philippines.