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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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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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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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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