All My Bags are Packed. . .

. . .I'm ready to go!!!

I'm finally going on a vacation! I've been wanting/planning to go for the past 6 months - I already had the tickets going there 1 month ago, and the tickets coming back 2 weeks ago! Hahaha! I still don't have any reserved accomodations but it shouldn't be hard to find some there.

We've been having overcast/rainy weather for more than a week but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the sun will shine through once I get there! Yehey!

Thanks to those that made this possible!!!

Dying for Corn?

In 1992, a national emergency was declared in Zimbabwe because of a severe drought. Since then, the country has been suffering from famine. However, it appears that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe believes that it's not the lack of food that is the problem - it's the lack of corn!

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, said in an interview with The Associated Press that his people are "very, very happy" though aid agencies report 4 million of 11.6 million face famine.

The problem is reliance on corn, he said during Friday's interview, "but it doesn't mean we haven't other things to eat: We have heaps of potatoes but people are not potato eaters ... they have rice but they're not as attracted (to that)."

So let me get this straight - The people of Zimbabwe would rather die of starvation than eat anything other than corn?!?

1 per 10T-26T

... that's what an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer stated is the ratio of doctors to patients in the Philippines. "Brain Drain Now National 'Hemorrhage'" The exodus of doctors and nurses to other countries such as the United States is not new news. With the offers higher pay and better working hours who can blame them?

Given the chance, I would head abroad immediately and not turn back. Yes, medicine is a profession of service but self-preservation is an instinct. It sounds selfish but somehow I can't see myself passing up the opportunity to work abroad.

My mom always said that doctors won't always be rich but they will never go hungry. But I'm practical. I don't have the opportunity to work overseas just yet. But I'd be lying if I'd say i didn't want to.

"...the government should work to adequately compensate doctors and nurses. In the South African country of Namibia, the alliance said a junior physician earned $1,161 monthly while a Filipino counterpart here had a salary of between $300 and $400. {Philippine Daily Inquirer Sept 21, 2005}"

Money isn't everything! But it certainly gives a hell of a big argument!

Bottled Water on Trial

Apparently too much of a good thing is always Bad. I can't remember exactly when (few years ago) bottled water started becoming a hit in Metro Manila. I wasn't really convinced then about the benefits of drinking bottled (or mineral) water and up to now I don't drink it regularly.

Now it appears that at least one city - Toronto - has identified the increased use of bottled water as one of the suspects in the rising cases of tooth decay:

"It's not the water that's causing the decay," said Jack Cottrell, D.D.S., president of the Canadian Dental Association (CDA). "It's the lack of fluoride."

The problem is that people are turning away from tap water - which for over two-thirds of Americans contains all of the fluoride that they need to prevent tooth decay - and most bottled waters don't have enough fluoride.

"If bottled water is your main source of drinking water, you could be missing the decay-preventive benefits of fluoride," the American Dental Association (ADA) says.

In other news: people with brain damage may make good financial decisions!

... on Oprah

There are a few people, whether someone I know personally or a celebrity, I admire. I have to admit that one of them is Oprah Winfrey. I think the first time I saw Oprah was in the movie "The Color Purple." I can't recall any of the details, but I know that she gave an emotional performance in that movie.

During the past few years I have seen her on her show - The Oprah Winfrey Show - interviewing well-known personalities. However, what really catches my interest is when she interviews ordinary persons who had to deal with extraordinary circumstances. Her interviews aren't conducted for publicity or for their 'sensational' appeal but they appear to be for some sincere reason.

Today, I just caught the episode where Oprah held a surprise baby shower for the 640 pregnant moms of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It's one of those episodes where she (and her sponsors) gave out thousands of dollars worth of gifts. Johnson & Johnson even gave out $1,000 to each expectant mother for them to buy plane tickets to bring a friend or a relative over for the birth of their child - that alone was worth $640,000! Of course, many companies won't pass a chance for their products to be on the show because of the exposure that comes with it. At least, in my opinion, this kind of advertising actually touches other people's lives in the process.

However, what really makes Oprah's show special is that I think it really touches lives. You can't fake the emotions of these mothers when they saw the gifts and when they heard the songs sang by Oprah's guests.

Oprah's story is really a 'rags to riches' story. She experienced being abused and molested; She was poor - that didn't stop her. In 2003, Forbes disclosed that Oprah Winfrey was the first African-American woman billionaire. In 2005, Forbes listed her among the 10 most powerful women in the world.

I honestly think she deserves her fame and fortune. The world needs more people like her.

Face/Off: a Reality?

Remember this movie in 1997? The face of John Travolta was 'transferred to' that of Nicolas Cage. Ever think such a thing was possible? Well it appears that Dr. Maria Siemionow thinks so:

In the next few weeks, five men and seven women will secretly visit the Cleveland Clinic to interview for the chance to have a radical operation that's never been tried anywhere in the world.

They will smile, raise their eyebrows, close their eyes, open their mouths. Dr. Maria Siemionow will study their cheekbones, lips and noses. She will ask what they hope to gain and what they most fear.

Then she will ask, "Are you afraid that you will look like another person?"

Because whoever she chooses will endure the ultimate identity crisis.

Siemionow wants to attempt a face transplant.

The whole newsreport can be found in this link.

So whose face do you want?

God's Promise to His Faithful

Go to this POST

Science Catches Up

Finally!!!

More than 1,000 years ago, Bible writers quoted God as saying:

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (Genesis 1:29,30)

Today scientists may have found support for the above text:

Scientists at University College London (UCL) said on Thursday that the substance called inositol pentakisphosphate, which is also found in lentils and peas, could also help researchers develop new therapies against the disease.

"Our study suggests the importance of a diet enriched in foods such as beans, nuts and cereals which could help prevent cancer," said Dr Marco Falasca, of UCL's Sackler Institute, who reported the finding in the journal Cancer Research.

Waiting for the Sun

Overcast skies over Eastwood

This is the 2nd day it has been raining here in Metro Manila. I seems that the weather has gotten to me. I just got back from an interview (finally!) for a job I was applying for (no, it's not as a physician). The problem is that the salary is just the same as what I would receive if I started my residency training.

I know you're wondering why I'm actually applying for other jobs now that I've even passed the recent board exams. It's so hard to explain but at the same time, so easy - It's about TIME.

Going into residency training would mean being in the hospital on average of 96hrs a week. Rare day offs, no weekends free, no holidays, not enough sleep, no specific working hours, no time for myself. It sounds selfish but I won't have time for myself. Whatever personal relationships I have will be put to the test. Friendships will be put on hold - of course they'll understand - but that won't make me feel better. And to top it all off - I'll get paid exactly the same amount for an 8-5 job @ 5 days a week!

It's easy to say that in a few years (3-5 years) I'll be a consultant and make my own working hours. But will it be worth it? No, I wasn't forced into this profession but I wasn't 100% for it either. But I'm here now and at my age I don't have time to waste - there it is again - TIME.

I hope the sun finally shines through tomorrow. I know I need it.

Featured Blog: A Time To Blog

A friend whom i got to know through blogging was featured in a local news website *applause* you can view his blog here.*applause*

PS: Pwede na ba mahiram ang naruto? ahahahaha

License Renewal

Today, I'm blogging from Araneta Center, Cubao. I'm here because I'm renewing my driver's license. Previously, in order to renew a driver's license, you had to go to the government's Land Transportation Offices (LTO). These were often found in inconvenient locations, without airconditioning which meant sweaty hours of waiting. Fortunately, the LTO has started putting up sattelite offices just for renewing of licenses.

The one i'm in right now is located in a mall (Farmer's Market) here in Araneta Center. Another one i know off is in the Ayala MRT Station near Glorietta Mall. Both are airconditioned and it'll take you just 1-2 hours to get your renewed license as long as you don't come in just before lunch break (12 - 1 pm) or if there are really many customers. Although, if you do come in and get caught in their lunch break, you can just stroll in the malls and come back after 1 hour.

Another plus is that the office here in Araneta Center is open till 7pm. This is a very thoughtful improvement since many people are in the office until 5pm. Now, instead of being absent from your job, you can come in after office hours.

It's nice to find something good to say about the government once in a while.

Sidelined

Services offered:

1. Skin whitening
2. pimple removal
3. wrinkle removal
4. Skin whitening
5. clearing of blemishes
6. mole removal
7. fuller lips
8. teeth whitening
9. brighter eyes
10. change of wardrobe color

... immediate results!
... in just half a day!
... no surgeries!
... no medications!
... just bring your best smile and pose! hahahaha

Lest We Forget...

Lest we forget those who lost their lives
and the brave souls who tried to rescue them.
So many lives lost in just a moment of time.
LEST WE FORGET.

Medicine and Technology AND Katrina

In med school there were dozens of times when our professors emphasized that a diagnosis is composed of 80-85% history and physical examination and 15-20% laboratory findings. We were given cases where the laboratory results apparently were normal but physical findings suggested otherwise - it was hard to act on the physical findings when it wasn't supported by the lab results. But that was how we were trained.

I came across this essay in the New York Times: Practicing Medicine in the Dark, on the Edge. It was about the working environment of Healthcare workers in the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.

"You end up trusting more in your judgment," she said, "relying less on the backup tests you do sometimes for medicolegal reasons. Over time, you know, we all have a fair amount of experience to tell us what's going on."

But the truth is that the way we deliver care has come to depend extensively on technology, not just the imaging miracles of radiology and the subtleties of serology, but on the whole electronic network of communication and commerce that keeps our world turning.

This is something Filipino doctors have - a lot of experience in trusting their judgement. Almost half of our population can be considered poor and unable to gain access to what other countries counsider as 'basic' health care facilities. Our health insurance system - well, it sucks! But we have to make do with what we have.

Even in the kind of relatively low-tech, relatively old-fashioned medicine I practice - primary care pediatrics - there's an inexorable tendency to move away from relying on your own medical skills and get the extra test.

And there is no question that the technology, while it makes it possible to look inside a patient, to quantify ever more obscure shadowy presences in a patient's bloodstream, also tends to change the way you do - or do not - look at your patient.

You trust your own eyes and ears a little less. You look for confirmation from machines before you act. You ask clinical questions partly because you know they can be answered and you want to "document" the answers.

I took up BS Medical Technology before going to medicine. During my 4th year - internship - I realized that most of the work of MedTechs involved machines. And I realized, you don't need a college degree to do this work. Highschool graduates could be taught how to run these machines. I don't intend to undermine the medical technologists out there but take a look at kids these days - they can easily adapt to technology... then take a look at how difficult it is to teach an adult how to send text messages.

Eventually, hopefully... please God, let it be soon, our country will catch up in terms of technology in healthcare. I hope that we do not follow the footsteps of our Western counterparts. We have something they don't have - a clinical eye! Add that to modern technology and we have something we can be proud of - world-class Filipino doctors! (not just technologists)

"When all else fails, look at the patient."

Colored Emotions

"Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions."

~ Pablo Picasso

I have read many articles mentioning that colors affect our emotions. Some websites have post of the general emotions elicited by various colors.

I saw this chair during a job orientation. There was nothing special about it - But when I saw it I felt just one thing - LONELINESS.

Internet Heaven!

Rush hour Traffic

I'M BACK!!!

A funny thing happened today - I had another interview this time at Buendia and since my dad has his office there, I decided to go with him to save money. When we were nearing Buendia, I thought about asking him if he knew the place I was going to - It turned out to be in the same building and floor as his office!

We arrived and hour ahead of my appointment so he suggested I stay at his office for the meantime. They had LAN and he said I could access the Net since there weren't many people around yet. Their connections speed - 100Mbps!!! I was in internet heaven!

Dead Phone Lines!!!

BOTH our phonelines have been dead since Sunday! I've missed blogging and I hope you've missed me too! (",) It might take a week before we get the use of our phones back. I've resorted to going to an internet cafe just to post this.

I already have a backlish of posts hahaha! Miss you guys!

Chapter Closed...

...here's to a new one!

I feel as if i'm starting out anew. These past 3 months (since my internship ended and i started reviewing) have been great. It was a kinda minor spiritual revival for me. I have received so much blessings. I'm grateful to God, my parents, and to you (you know who you are). They have been my inspiration and main source of support.

But blogging here has been a blessing too. It has served as an outlet of my stress, tension, and frustrations as well as my happier moments. Thanks to Hazel (sana hindi ako mapahiya sa book), Haydee (God bless sa teaching career), & Ver (wag mo limutan si Naruto!!!) for introducing me to Blogger and for reading my posts. Thanks to Dr. Emer for making me see that i won't have to give up my love of the internet and computers as I continue in the medical field. And thank you DayByDay4-2Day for sharing your story/ies - they have had an impact.

May God bless you all and also everyone else who has passed by this blog! May we all have more great stories to tell!

hehehe parang nanalo ako sa beauty contest!

Author, M.D.

To God Be the glory great things He has done!

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son...

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice.
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!