PGI Year Through Billboard 2010's Top 100 Songs

Tomorrow, a year ago, I started doing my Post Graduate Internship at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. It was then one of the most awesome twelve months of my life. I learned a lot of things - related to the world of medicine, lessons on dealing with life and the rest trivial, met a lot of cool and interesting people and gained a lot of values that I still uphold and will hopefully for time immemorial.

To commemorate the end and the anniversary of this milestone that is dear to my hear I have compiled lyrics of last year's biggest hits and correlate it with the events I have experienced.

1.) Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

Let's go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance until we die
You and I
We'll be young forever

This is for those carefree times where it feels like being an adolescent again - watching pointless movies, eating here and there and just fooling around the quarters.

2.) Live Like We're Dying by Kris Allen

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

During the start I said to myself "I will have a good year". But in the end it was great. So this song is a testament to living fully really, which I did the past year.

3.) Ridin' Solo by Jason Derulo

I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine,
I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky.
I'm solo, I'm riding solo

For the past twelve months I have learned to stand up on my own two feet and mostly do the things I want to on my own. I have regained some confidence I have lost and acquired new skills that I still want to improve.

4.) Club Can't Handle Me by Flo Rida

You know I know how
The Club Can’t handle me right now
To make em stop and stare as i zone out
The club can’t even handle me right now
Watchin' you im watchin' you we go all out

This is Jo and I's anthem every time we go out clubbing or just chilling to music. This also applies to me when I work and when I am so focus I feel unstoppable. No matter how busy one twenty four duty might get, all I say is let's go!

5.) Raise your Glass by Pink

So raise your glass if you are wrong,
in all the right ways,
all my underdogs,
we will never be never be anything but loud
and nitty gritty dirty little freaks
won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,
just come on and come on and raise your glass

One of my anthems for the past year. Since I consider us the underdogs considering we were only twelve to begin with an the hospital averages 140 patients per 24 hours in the ER but still we did it! Veni, vidi, vici!

6.) Dynamite by Taio Cruz

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying AYO!
Gotta let go!
I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying AYO!
Baby, let's go!

Another feel goo dance track that I always relate since every where I go, whichever rotation I always try to have fun and most of the time I really do have fun!

7.) Sing by My Chemical Romance

sing it for the boys, sing it for the girls.
every time that you lose it sing it for the world
sing it for the heart, sing it 'till you're nuts
sing it out for the ones that'll hate your guts
sing it for the deaf, sing it for the blind
sing about everyone that you left behind
sing it for the world, sing it for the world

Though the band didn't write this to be appreciated by the medical community, I think it applies. Very applicable indeed for those public servants which I was for a year.

8.)Young Forever by Jay Z

Fear not where, fear not why, fear not much while we're alive
Life is for living not living uptight
til you're somewhere up in the sky
Fear not die I'll be alive for a million years bye bye's are not for legends i'm forever young my name shall survive

I have also learned in PGIship to be less afraid of the fear of mismanagement. I will never ever totally overcome that one but I am not paralyzed by that anymore

9.) Like a G6 by Far East Movement

Now I’m feelin so fly like a G6
Like a G6, Like a G6
Now I’m feelin so fly like a G6

This really reminds me of the fun nights at Cebu Trivia Nights. My teammate Dr. Basti writes this on the white board. So this kind of became the unofficial anthem for Group 12, playing trivia and the wonderful people I have met and interacted. I'll definitely miss it!

And I can't think of another song that will apply that was released last year. To the people who made the past twelve months, fifty weeks and three hundred sixty five days amazing, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You guys know who you are.

The Bucket List Update: Episode 2

Previously:
2011 Bucket List
1.) White Water Rafting in CDO
2.) Take "The Plunge" in Danao, Bohol
3.) Cook a pasta solo
4.) Have a John Hughes movie marathon
5.) Read and finish a classic English novel in a month
6.) Join a Fun Run
7.) Pick up a new hobby
8.) Try Capoeira classes
9.) Mini Golf
10.) Eat any exotic cuisine or dish

MINI GOLF

To begin with, I think Golf is a boring sport to play and to watch on ESPN. But Mini Golf is different. I've always wanted to try it for a long time now because its fun. Or at least it looks like it from watching the movies.
Two years ago when a mini golf opened at an uptown mall I so wanted to play but had no time (since I was doing my internship) and no one to play with (playing alone is a little bit depressing).
This time around armed with two friends who also wanted to try, we had a lot of fun for an hour.

VERDICT: Mini Golf is a great stress reliever. Though you do no want to do it every week but if you are up for anything new that's fun and different, then this is the perfect activity. I'll probably do it again. The kids will love it too! And anyone who is a kid at heart.

The Speech

Last Friday April 29, 2011 was our graduation ceremony for the Post Graduates of VSMMC Batch 2011. I was chosen as the Most Outstanding PGI of 2011 and with this power comes the responsibility to speak in front of the crowd (0f course) like a valedictory speech. These are the five realizations I had from this experience.

1.) It's hard to make a speech that's both touching and funny.
2.) I need to have a refresher course in Speech 101
3.) I am not as shy as I used to be when it comes to public speaking
4.) Pop culture references always work
5.) And nothing beats writing from the heart instead of trying to impress people of how excellent your command is of the English language.

I am posting a copy of this speech here because it is career defining. It's either it might be the first of plenty speeches to come or the last one that I will ever make in my career. It was overwhelming and I will always cherish the moment. And I think I had a pretty good feedback.

Here it is:

Members of the Execom, Department Chairs, Distinguished Guests, Residents, Parents, Relatives, Fellow Post Graduate Interns and everyone else who has graced us with their presence today, a pleasant afternoon to all. Today we cap another milestone in our journey in becoming doctors. After one year which can be summarized briefly into three categories: duty, previous and preduty, the time has come for us to move forward and continue the long and bumpy ride towards making a mark in the world of medicine. Now, before proceeding to the next step, we are given this day to commemorate the completion of our post graduate internship and all our achievements both major and minor, happenings and experiences for the past twelve months that have shaped us and molded us into new and improved medical practitioners.

When I was told that I will have to make a speech today, my anxiety level went up. I have not had the pleasure of having to go on stage and deliver an address on such an important day as today. In short I do not have a lot of experience in public speaking. I admit, I attempted to google my way out of the problem because it is really hard to make a speech that is both worthy and touching. But then I realized that this is a superb honor and finding a rip off copy from the Internet would demean the importance of this event. So I logged off and then I wrote and typed from the heart. So ladies and gentlemen, this speech is as meaningful as it gets because it is written as spontaneously and as thoughtful.

Originally I was matched to a different hospital for my post graduate internship. I did consider Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center as one of my options but initially I had qualms and misgivings on whether I have the vigor and the capability to survive 365 days of heavy workload and toil, so I wrote another institution in my application instead. During my Surgery Out Rotation in this hospital in my medical internship, I realized that I will miss out on the opportunity to be able to handle and manage cases autonomously, witness different interesting cases and improve clinical judgment. That faithful month I changed my mind and I have never regretted it since. And thank you to the Training Office of VSMMC for accepting me.

A typical 24 hour duty in VSMMC is action packed, usually frantic and chaotic around once or twice a week. If I were to describe what it is really like in two words: I would say fast and furious. Time indeed flies fast as you might not notice that you have not yet taken your lunch at 4 in the afternoon and furious, oh well I wouldn’t want to elaborate on this but just let me say that sometimes our tempers get the best of us and will allow others to see the worst of us – especially if we are running on an empty stomach. We encountered different diseases some presenting as what the textbooks have taught us others exhibit quite atypically so. Some ailments we have seen for the first time and are more common than we have thought and some maladies are regular customers of the hospital. Blood, sweat and tears are customary occurences in the emergency room. But no matter how frenzied it can get and how wild we look after on previous status – disheveled hair, oil rigged face, drenched in sweat, gurgling bowel sounds, full bladder and rectum – the bulk of our recollections are found from our time in the ER. We will never forget the thrill of our first intubation and inserting it correctly and realizing that though the trachea and esophagus are in close proximity yet it can be very hard to differentiate because they both look like holes, the exhilaration of doing a new procedure from thoracentesis, paracentesis, CTT insertion that will become eventually countless, the privilege of getting to see an exceptional case are the little things that fuel us to persist.

For this year the graduating post graduate interns are only a dozen. We might be known in the history of this hospital as the smallest number of PGIs ever. The fact that we are only twelve and have survived the demands and drudgery makes us hardcore. I dare say so! We are super heroes in our own right for enduring what we had to go through for the past year. We have different personalities but still we managed to make bonds, created new friendships and have got to know each other during our little breaks from duty or just hanging around in the triage area once in a while when we were fortunate enough not to be busy on a particular duty. I’ve always looked forward to our Friday Reviews, I call it Friday Catch Up Day because it is the only time that we are complete for three hours every week and that time our love for eating is evident. And I will never forget our parties and get togethers from the planned to ones decided on impulse, from our acquaintance party to our Christmas party, our photo shoot and all those days we were excused from duty. I always have a good time every time we hanged out and just talked about random things, medical or non medical. We are a diverse group from our ages, family backgrounds, interests and hobbies but we cohesively gel into one group that works harmoniously. Each person brings something unique to the table and each post graduate intern taught me something from his or her perspective. I hope I have also left something to each one of you from my prerogatives and viewpoint.

The past year was full of learning. From mastering reading ECGs and to extending our patience, stretching it a long as a rubber band about to snap, we cannot deny the fact that after spending 24 hours in the emergency room or eight hours in the outpatient department, we have carried something from each patient we examined and from the people we worked with – our residents and superiors. I have learned from every experience I had from pediatric IV insertions, diagnosing appendicitis, deciding which patients should be in the subcritical area, doing IEs on women about to deliver any time then “shopping” in the pharmacy for Caesarian sections and trying to tranquilize manic and aggresive patients. Each one contributed to growth and development of becoming a physician. And I’m sure it is the same for you as it was for me, my fellow PGIs.

One important thing I have overcome is fear of mismanagement. As an intern and a medical student I am extremely afraid of commiting such. But after my stint here in VSMMC armed with knowledge, skills and trappings given to me by the residents I am self-assured this time around. But I have to contradict that having that fear is also beneficial. Let me share to you this quote I can completely relate to from watching five seasons of the medical show “Scrubs”. “Fear is good. It keeps you from becoming a crappy doctor. Trick is you just can't let it paralyze you”. It is good to be petrified of mishandling patients because it will serve as your reality check that you always have to try your best in every case you come across but you should not let it affect and get in the way of acquiring knowledge for self-enhancement. If you keep a certain level of “fear” in treating patients it makes you empathize with the patient and show compassion and care. In the end, no matter how theatrical a medical drama can be - the well groomed doctors at all times even in the middle of the night, dramatic background music every time a character dies and from the gripping storylines – still nothing can beat what real life has to offer. Reality is a very powerful teacher and having the dispensation of working in VSMMC for a year has showed me that.

J.K. Rowling once said that “You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity”. I think this is great to live by regarding dealing with failure. The strength of a person is not measured on his achievements and accomplishments but on how he musters the determination to stand up and continue. The wisdom that has come into view that made us stronger from these stumbling blocks will make us resilient and flexible for many more setbacks to come. These two ideas basically summarize my experience.

Now is the time here in this speech to thank the amazing people behind our transformations. First of all I would like to thank my parents for their wonderful support both emotionally and financially, love after all these years. Ma and Pa, I can never thank you enough. To my fellow PGIs, I am grateful for the memories we had for the past twelve months and for always making me laugh after a hard day’s night. We will always be hardcore no matter what and we are rockstars. So rock on!

I kindly ask everyone here in the audience to give a round of applause to all our parents for the never ending affection, support and for being with us every step of the way and our relatives who share this moment with us.

In behalf of the graduates, I would like to thank Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, first and foremost for accepting all of us to your post graduate internship program and to the training office and administration for hearing us out always and supporting us every time we needed it. To the medical staff, to the department chairs and residents of every department thank you to the knowledge you have imparted to us and for exhibiting the value of perseverance ,never failing to check up on us, for always having our backs and letting us have our meals first despite the fact that you guys haven’t had breakfast, lunch and dinner. We will always cherish those times we had spent with you and we will never overlook the generosity and symphathy you have demonstrated by example and instilling in us the value of confidence. To the nurses, laboratory technicians, IWs, radiologists and other workers in this institution, thank you for being with us every step of the way as we managed our patients and showing us the values of camaraderie, solidarity and amity. To the dietary service for feeding us and keeping us satiated with low salt low fat and low cholesterol diet. To Dr. Annabelle Fuentes, our PGI adviser for being patient with us almost always. Thank you for the guidance. And to every one else whom I might forget and to every one who has contributed to this accomplishment. A million thanks. You know who you are.

Watching the Spider-man trilogy over and over again, I have appreciated this quote uttered by Uncle Ben to Peter Parker: “With great power comes great responsibility”. Being a doctor trained by VSMMC is a brilliant chance and I am very grateful for this honour. I will make sure that I will always be responsible, conscientious, sensible when practicing medicine and to my fellow graduates hoping we will maintain our work ethics, do not let success and praise get into our heads and to keep our feet firmly planted on the ground at all times. Remember arrogance, so not cool! May the force be with us all!

Albert Christian C. Borbon

Batch 2011

The Top 3 Post Graduate Interns for 2011

The Graduates with Dr. Celine Aquino, our brilliant keynote speaker, one of the top cardiologists in Cebu who also had her training in VSMMC for her PGIship and Residency.


The Tough 12 - My Fellow PGIs