The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

Entering medical school can be very expensive. This is one of the factors that has helped dwindle the enrollees for the medical schools nationwide. Wanting to address the possible scarcity in medical students and eventually medical doctors, the Department of Health, together with Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, are offering full scholarships to students who are interested to become doctors. Doc Christine, former DTTB and now working in the HHRDB of the DOH, just emailed me about the pinoy MD program of the Department of Health. Perhaps, someone out there might be interested. Here is the entire email about the Pinoy MD Program. PLEASE SPREAD THE NEWS! You may know someone who is interested. The Philippine Charity Swepstakes Office and the Department of Health is offering 100 scholarships for medical school each year. Pinoy MD 5-year Scholarship Package includes: Tuition fees, lab and misc fees and semestral book allowances, semestral uniform allowances, daily board and lodging ...

Officially, on the 3rd of December, The Freudian Slip will be changing subtitle: from the general practice to doctor to the barrio. On the 3rd of December I will be going to Candoni and will serve the mountainous municipality of Candoni as their new Municipal Health Officer. In the last month, I have been bombarded with a lot of health programs of the Government: from E.P.I. to STH to AI to NTP to DOTS to SS to PHIC to GP to KOT to IMCI to BEMOC/CEMOC to a whole more of initials and acronyms. Being a doctor to the barrio therefore is not simply just a vacation. Like a resident inside a hospital, a rural doctor also has many responsibilities and opportunities to train. We will be having our regular CME (not another initial, gaddamit!) every 6 months. Our first CME will be held in Manila. Usually, CMEs are held in other provinces outside Manila but they schedule it alternately. In CMEs (or continuing medical education) we are to report on our accomplishments as MHOs (municipal health off...

I had my "real age" calculated. Biologically speaking, I am already 27 years old. However, after answering some questions about my health, lifestyle and other personal and family history, a website told me that my "Real age" is actually 24.5 years old as of today. And I can still be younger. In fact, the same website offered a personalized "RealAge" plan to make myself younger than my biological age. Talk about the fountain of youth. Anyway, I am posting the plan here, which actually is not just exclusive to me. The plan in itself can be used by other people to become "younger" than their real age. ACTION PLAN: Taking multivitamins or single vitamin and mineral supplements helps ensure that you get the RealAge Optimal dose of these important antioxidants each and every day. Make sure that your daily dietary intake of potassium is at least 3,000 milligrams. Potassium-rich foods include orange juice, potatoes, avocados, figs, bananas, lentils, soyb...

Here are snapshots from Manila during our Predeployment seminar in the Department of Health Doctors To The Barrio Program:

Unless something comes up, December 3 will be my day of deployment to Candoni, Negros Occidental. I am currently blogging from Iloilo City, attending another 2-week briefing in the Center for Health Development Office in Region 6, which is in Mandurriao, Iloilo. This briefing will consist of more specific details regarding projects and programs of the Department of Health, particularly the thrusts and direction of Western Visayas in this aspect. They are boring, but very very very important. For example, I just got information that Candoni Main Health Facility has yet to be certified in the DOTS program and cannot therefore be accredited by PHILHEALTH. It is a challenge therefore in my part to leave my municipal health office after two years as a DTTB as a certified DOTS center and PHIC accredited. I already secured a list of requirements and necessities to accomplish. In fact, long before this briefing in the regional level, it was already a personal agenda to make the Candoni Health ...

Slide show was edited by yours truly and was presented during the culminating night of the DTTB Batch 23, Aloha Hotel, Manila, Philippines. For more details about the DTTB batch 23, click here .

I am in Iloilo City, bound for Bacolod tomorrow. The past few hours have been total rush. I cannot even type straight for this blog. So please forgive me if at the latter part of the blog, I may sound like a stenographed telegram if there ever is one. Yesterday - attended the first national summit on health human resources at the manila peninsula, had picture-taking with Senator Pia and Sec. Duque. The place was astounding and the topics were very relevant and interesting. Some policies proposed during the forum were: mandatory 2 months actual rural exposure for PGIs, mandatory 6 months rural training and service as a requirement for the national med boards and mandatory 2 years rural service for those who graduated from state colleges and universities. This morning - processing papers, running here and there. It was crazy! We were almost supposed to bring 4 boxes of medicines all summing up to about more than 40 kilos, estimated to be around 400,000 pesos worth of drugs. Anyway, I ha...