How to Apply PMA membership

Hi! Really a lot of missing in action for the past months, I've just started a youtube channel: Artsy Med Youtube and it's taking a lot of my time, and I'm just in the process of adjusting and deciding if I can do both youtube and blogging.

So anyways enough of the excuses, we'll start with what this post is all about.  So you've graduated, either from Med school or from residency.  The next step is to apply for membership in PMA (Philippine Medical Association).  This is for NEW membership by the way.

The first thing that you need to do is:

1. Call the PMA main office: (632) 929-7361; 926-2447; 929-6366 and inquire that you would like to apply for new membership.  The secretary will tell you where to apply and submit your requirements. 

Side comment: Don't be like me hahaha, I went to the PMA building main office at North Avenue and I ended up wasting my time, traffic as well since they won't accept. I have to apply to the satellite office, meaning to the pma office near where you would practice or near where you live.

2. After you've known where to submit your requirements, you ask for the contact number and contact person of the "satellite" pma.

3.  Call that number.... and ask for the requirements and also ask when is the oath-taking time and day and if you could do that also on the same day.

If graduating from residency: Also ask them, that you're not sure if you're a member during graduation ceremony. (I have a colleague, whom he didn't know that he was already a member since graduation, and ended up paying for a fine.)

Side comment: Why? because some ask for 2x2 picture, some passport size pictures, now you would not want your precious money and picture go to waste... because now you're basically "unemployed"!  

As for the oath-taking, para di ka na babalik, hassle kasi.

4. Prepare your requirements:

• 2 copies of either 2x2 or passport size or 1x1 pictures, whatever the satellite office said
• Money: I paid for Php 2,768 membership fee
• Original PRC id
• Take note also for the following dates:
• year graduated in medicine
• residency or fellowship inclusive dates

5. Go to your "satellite" PMA office and fill out the forms and pay for the necessary fees.

If you want to apply for Philhealth as healthcare provider, also tell the satellite office that you want certificate of good standing from PMA.

Side comment: Don't fill out the downloadable form from PMA website, they didn't accept my filled out printed form either.  So just fill out there nalang.

6. Oath-taking in the satellite office on the scheduled date and time.

7. You will receive your PMA id and pins and other papers and stuff.  Keep the receipts because you will be needing this if you are to apply certificate of good standing.

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Vision Board Works

I first read about vision boards last 2016.  At first I thought it to be interesting, but I didn't get to do something like it until the midyear of 2017.  I said I would like to try this out if this works.  I made this vision board last 2017.  I thought since I was depressed during that time due to my illness, I thought I have to make something positive to fight the sadness and negative thoughts, and I set this vision board effective for 1 year.

So what is a vision board?  Well in my simple mind, you find pictures or texts or quotes, whatever you think can represent your dreams and goals.

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Toxic Duty Myths

You can hear these myths the moment you start your clinical clerkship rotation.  Endorsements from nurses, previous clerks, interns, residents.  And this usually is carried on until you graduate from residency.

These are myths, some believe in them, some don't, some really applies to them.  I recently asked for these myths in social media, and these are so far the response I got.

1. Pancit / Noodles

Photo from panlasangpinoy.com

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My AUA Experience

When I was in 1st year, this was one of my goals I've set,to be able to go to attend AUA.  I was inspired by my senior residents before, they were talking of how inspiring it is to attend AUA.  So nainggit ako in short.

The way I thought of how to get to AUA was to have a research paper for presentation.  I submitted 4 research papers and only 1 was accepted for presentation.  This is to let you have an idea of how difficult it is to get in.

So this year's AUA was held in San Francisco, California. I've never been to USA before, so I don't know what to expect either.  I've always felt I'm doing something in my own effort when I go to these presentations.  Even if I'm just relying on my parent's money for the expenses of the whole trip, I felt I was paying them in return in a way of presenting internationally.  So I won't feel guilty that I'm spending their money despite being an adult already.

So we arrived to AUA convention 1 day before the main event to register.  I was given an email beforehand already with QR code, which I printed and they will just scan it and my badge would have been printed.  Good thing though that we arrived 1 day before, because during the main event, there were lots of guards/ushers and my parents couldn't get in to get pictures.

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Battle of Purple Gel Pens

I love gel pens, I use them on my note-taking now in residency, and I love different colored gel pens since they're more fun to see the different colors. More than I realized, I've accumulated a lot of gel pens and I thought why not review these brands as well.

I'll be reviewing the purple gel pens below.  I'm still deciding if I will review other colors, but for now, let's start with the purple ones.

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Jam for Jim

This was a fund-raising event that my friend/batchmate organised to help one of our consultants in general surgery.  I personally was not close to him, since I rotated in GS only for 2 years.  But I always had the impression of him being very kind and easy to talk with.  My encounter with him usually were when I call for an appendectomy case and he's the service consultant.

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International Paper Presentation

This topic has been revolving in my mind for almost 2 months already.  And it kept bugging me (yeah, I'm that neurotic).  I guess I just have to finally blog about it so it will get off my chest and I can concentrate on studying for my in-service exams.

I'm not an expert on this stuff and I'm writing this merely on my experiences.

So how can one resident from a developing country get to present a research paper in the international community?

Well first of all, you got to have a research paper, and have it approved by the ethics committee. I know having it approved is a pain and a challenge you have to hurdle, but it makes your life once your paper gets accepted for presentation more easier.

2nd is that you have to believe in your paper. Yup this emotion is important (at least in my opinion), you and your paper are in this together, and your paper needs your moral support too you know.  Have your paper checked also by others before submitting, especially your adviser/co-author. He/she may give you more insights to make it better and your wrong spellings will be corrected.  Be prepared also emotionally to be shouted upon at anytime of the day (yup, even at 1am) because of your errors and lousy writing.  Just keep in mind that both your adviser and you were aiming at the same thing, to have it accepted.

3rd, of course is that you have to look for the international convention.  Look for the international conventions and look at their requirements and deadlines.  Each convention has a different set of rules and regulations, and you have to follow them.  We don't want your paper getting rejected for mere technicality right?

4th, SUBMIT your paper with your adviser's approval before or on the deadline date.  During this time you will get negative thoughts actually, I'm just a mere resident, this might not even get accepted.  I had this when I was 1st yr, 2nd yr urology.  But eventually I told myself, "I'm just submitting anyways, if it gets accepted I'll be happy, if not, then there's nothing to lose." Yeah nothing to lose, only you will know actually, you'll receive an email if yo get rejected, and you can even not tell it to anyone else right? So what's there to be afraid of?

PS: Also another tip, when asking for your adviser's approval for submission.  Be sure to have it in writing, whether email, or text message and save it! My senior actually advised me regarding this, at first I thought it's impolite to inform your adviser of such important event just by texting or email, so I did inform them personally actually and they agreed, but eventually they forgot that they approved of it so you ended up with a punishment instead.  So I learned my lesson, I document my conversations with these things because you'll never know when they suddenly forget, and you'll have no way to defend yourself.  

5th, once you submitted, pray and wait for it.  The different conventions each have their own style of informing you.  Most of the time they'll write the date when the accepted abstracts will be released.  Either you'll receive the news through email, or you have to log-in to their respective websites.

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Pastel Highlighters: Stabilo Boss vs Zebra Mildliner

I've been thinking of doing a review on some journaling or art supplies or studying supplies for 2 months already.  But I guess I was thinking of how to approach this since I'm not an expert in this matter.  But there's no harm in trying anyways and since this is my blog, I think I can write what I want to write here anyways.

I've chosen to compare these two since I've been always curious with Mildliners and they look so cute!

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UAA 2018

I watched a youtube video, saying that if you're sad, down, blue, depressed etc. You should start by looking at the things you're thankful for.  That gratitude is a way to make you feel better.  So here I am trying that advice...

When I submitted my research to UAA 2018, I have initially no plans of going.  Well because of a lot of reasons, I felt guilty about it, I felt I was punished for it, I felt I'm not making a difference and  lots of reasons. 

But do you believe me when sometimes, Divine intervention really wants you to do something??  And suddenly there were lots of signs thrown to you urging you to do something.

I'll begin with receiving an email.  From UAA itself! Inviting me to the convention.  I felt honored, well because this is the first international convention to send an email to me, a mere resident only.  It may be a bulk email to random people, but I was really touched by the gesture from their part.  

So after receiving the email, I thought to myself, too bad I couldn't go... hay...

Then came the next sign: my paper was accepted for presentation! I was happy and giddy with the news.  But again, my mind told me... "they will not allow you to go, ang dami mo ng labas..."

The 3rd sign was when the PURA president called me, "Avy! Gusto mo mag UAA? Naghahanap sila ng 3 senior residents na papadala dun, sponsored yun hotel and yun precongress workshop."

So I then asked my dad, "Pa, they're offering me to go to Japan, they'll sponsor the workshop daw. Do we have money to go to Japan?"  Then my dad said, "It's a rare opportunity, you should grab it, I'll take care of how we get the money to go.  Though you should ask permission first to your head"  So I did, I asked permission from our RTO and our Chief of Section.  Eventually I was allowed to go.

I actually felt really bad after the conversation.  But hey, it's new year's eve, so I can't welcome the new year with a very sad and negative feeling.

Then the 4th sign came: I was chosen by UAA to represent the Philippines to do a lecture in the precongress. I mean Wow! And this was discovered by one of my consultants and he emphasized to everyone that this indeed is an achievement not only by the resident but the section as well.

So my dad, being the best supportive dad that he is, went with me to UAA.  

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International Lecture Experience - UAA 2018

Millenials were always accused of not seeing the big picture, focusing on the goal and not seeing the process towards that goal.  And this was the explanation given why lots of Millenials quit on their chosen field.

I'm a millenial if based on its defined year I was born.  So here, being a millenial I would like to share the journey towards this experience I had.

Before I start with anything I would like to give my sincerest gratitude to UAA 2018.  For me, UAA will always hold a very special place in my heart.  It's UAA convention when I first experienced attending an international convention last year (UAA 2017).  And now, UAA has yet again given me one of most unforgettable experience again, being able to give a lecture in an international setting.

To give you a brief overview, I was chosen as one of few residents all over Asia to give a 10 minute lecture in the AURC (Asian Urology Residency Course) which was held last April 15-17, 2018 in Kyoto, Japan.

It all started with me submitting a research paper for presentation in UAA, then luckily it was accepted for unmoderated poster presentation.  Afterwhich, I received a call from PURA (Philippine Urology Residents Association) president if I would like to attend the the AURC since I'm going there already to present my research paper anyways.  According to them, the course itself and hotel during the AURC will be sponsored by UAA itself.

After lots of asking permission and getting scolded from my consultants, I was eventually allowed to attend UAA. (Why scolded? Don't ask, I still don't get it either, basta napagalitan ako). So with much help from my parents, I was able to book a plane ticket and find a place to stay in Japan.

3 weeks before the AURC date, one of the residents who was chosen to attend UAA also said to me, "Di ba maglelecture ka?" (Isn't it you will give a lecture?), I said, "HA?! San?! Kelan?! Bakit di ko alam?!" (What?! Where?! When?! Why don't I know about it?".  Then he said, "Meron sa AURC Program, nakita ko name mo." (It's written in the AURC program, I saw your name).  And I checked online, and he was right, I was chosen as a lecturer! And so I panicked, then I realized, hey, this is great honor and experience also.

2 weeks before the AURC, I received an email stating that I indeed was a lecturer and I'm to give a 10 minute lecture with the topic:

So I was excited and scared at the same time.  I then messaged my consultant, Dr Letran to ask help, and advice in giving lectures.  Luckily the topic was urooncology and among our consultants, he has the most experience in giving lectures internationally and locally.  I asked for tips as well on how to give effective lectures.  I was lucky that he was more than willing to help me, checking my slides, asking me to give mock presentations in front of all our urology consultants.

Also since I received this task and assignment during the Holy Week, I did my research and studied for this during the Holy Week (yes, sacrifices had to be made).  I downloaded the 2 original research trials and some meta analysis etc etc. 

Then when I arrived in Japan, since I'm staying in AIRBNB, I studied how to get to the AURC site.  Studied how to commute by subway, train etc. 1 day before the scheduled lecture, I then checked in in the sponsored hotel.  

On the day of the lecture, I was amazed to see so many residents from all over Asia!

Few hours before the said lecture, I had loose watery stools (aka: diarrhea), I couldn't listen to the previous lectures before me as well.  I was so nervous, when I submitted my powerpoint to the computer, I was instructed that of how to operate the buttons to proceed to the next slide.  I asked, "Is there a presenter's view?" (because my script is on the presenter view).  She said, "No, no presenter's view."  Then I panicked! Thinking, "Oh no... I need the presenter's view."  So I just got hold of a printed copy of my report (luckily I printed it) and I wrote my script there in the paper.

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Rebuilding Yourself in your own Dorm

2016 broke me down and I had decided to dedicate 2017 to focus on rebuilding myself.  I figured I couldn't advance in my career if I'm so broken inside.  I'm an introvert type of person, so all the steps here are things that you can do alone in your own dormitory.  I'm not the type who will leave everything in the name of "soul-searching".  I'm not that courageous.

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The Blog Project

This is to answer the questions I get asked such as:

• For every blog I post, I sometimes get comments like, "Are you a doctor or what?" 
• Your blogs are full of makeup, so little about medicine
• Why do you blog?

For those who knew me, this blog has been here since I think 2009 and at first blogging has been just a past time, something I tried and enjoyed doing.  I was not serious about this blogging thing. 

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Applying Makeup for Depression

People wear makeup for a lot of reasons, and in the past there was a time when it was associated with negativity, like being fake and not being true to yourself and not being contented with what God has given you etc.

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Pre, Duty and From Makeup

I just suddenly thought of this idea as I was waiting inside the jeepney on my way home.  Funny such ideas just pop out of nowhere all of a sudden.  But I kind of like this crazy idea of mine so I'm writing it now.

For those in the non-medical field, let me explain first to you what are these duty posts are:

• Pre - This is the Pre-Duty post, we usually call it "Pre" in our institution for short.  This post is described as the day prior to your "duty".
• Duty - This post is the most popular post even to non-medical field.  This post is well-known as the "24-hour" shift, which I think is an understatement because since I was a clerk, there's no such thing as a 24-hours post.  You get to stay up to 30 hours inside the hospital, so when I always thought the "24" hour duty is a misnomer.
• From - This post is the day after your "duty" post, people usually in this post are characterised as being "haggard", "tired" etc.

Now that all these terms are briefly explained, let's proceed to main content of this blog post...

Pre

I can describe this makeup as the most elaborate of all, during this post, you're most fresh of all in my opinion.  You get to go home, and you get to wake up from your home as well.  This is also the day when you get to have complete control of your time, you won't be disturbed by hospital calls when you're not inside the hospital (ideally, but not always the case for a resident).

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Resident's Baby Steps in Achieving your Dreams: APCC 2017

Recently I've achieved one of my bucket list in residency, to go into an international convention to present research paper: UAA 2017.  And I'm happy to announce that I've yet achieved another of my bucket list in residency: to present in a podium my research paper and to have that research paper published in an international journal!! My heart is overfilled with joy!

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Resident's Baby Steps in Achieving your Dreams: UAA 2017

When I was still a 1st year GS resident, I've seen my senior Urology residents presenting their research papers abroad.  So I told myself, I want to experience that as well.

This is my story of UAA 2017 which happened last Aug 4-6, 2017 in Hong Kong.

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Getting Lost in Xiamen

We went to Xiamen for 3 days and 2 nights.  But I decided not to include our 1st night since it consisted of our meeting.  So I'll just include in this post our 2 day itinerary.

To give you an idea of our trip:

• We went in the month of May.
• We stayed in the Pan Pacific Hotel

Day 1 - Meetings

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PUA Midyear 2017

One thing I love about PUA is that during midyear the PUA holds its midyear convention to different parts of the Philippines.  I think this is a great way to know the country, and also for the urologists of different provinces and cities to showcase their hometown and place of practice in a very amazing way.

Plus, this helps in tourism of that place 😆.  And from a resident's point of view, we get the chance to experience something outside of the life inside the hospital.

This year's Midyear Convention, I was very excited.  I get to go to CEBU!!!! This is my first time to go to Cebu!

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13 Things to Consider in Medical Missions

Summer is already here, and this is also the time when lots of people conduct medical missions and surgical missions. Lots of groups organizing this medical missions.

This post is for those who were recruited to help out in a medical mission, you're one of the heroic doctors who will be serving for free.  You're not part of the organizing committee of the medical mission. Just a simple doctor who's willing to help out.

So you were either recruited or you wanted to join the medical mission, what do you need to do or prepare??

1. First thing that you have to ask is where the mission will be conducted? Is it a one day mission or a major mission wherein you go the the place and stay there for 3-7 days.  Your preparation will be based on the location of the mission.
2. Is it a surgical mission? medical mission? or both? - the materials you will bring will depend on what type of mission it is.  If it's a medical mission, you may have to bring your stethoscope, pulse oximeter, bp app with you.  If it's a surgical mission - usually you don't bring anything since everything has to be sterile and usually the organizers have prepared those already.
3. Wear comfortable clothes - usually I prefer a scrubsuit, since it's really comfortable.  If you don't have one, wear your comfy clothes, something that will abosrb perspiration like tshirt and jeans.
   

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Learning from a Baby

Today is my birthday, on a Sunday and luckily not on duty.  I originally planned on spending time with my family, probably lunch.  We already picked out a restaurant, and this will be a triple celebration for my younger sister's birthday and my dad's birthday as well.

But all the plans crumbled down when I was told by my senior, that we have to attend the PURA Strategic Planning.  Of course I can no longer control or predict my time since I have no idea how long the planning will be.  So we just cancelled our plans and wait til further notice before organizing the next family time.

So I was sad, I'm to spend my time away from my loved ones on my special day.  

We attended the Strategic Planning in Subic, Saturday night.  The planning went on smoothly.

Morning came of my birthday and I woke up earlier than the others.  And I stepped out of my room and walked around, still feeling lonely without my loved ones.

As I was walking I saw a mother with a baby.  We'll call the baby, Baby Joaquin.  I approached them and said good morning po and played with Baby Joaquin.  Baby Joaquin is a friendly baby, he did not cry when I carried him.

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