Preparing for the Oral Diplomate Exams

2 days to go before our Oral Diplomate Exams.

In contrast to preparing for the written exams, I'm at a loss on how to review for our Orals. Perhaps browsing through our Proceedings could be valuable but what will I read next? Bates? De Gowin? Dra. Maglonzo's book? Heck, I really don't know.

I feel like going to a war, unarmed.

So help me God.

Hello SG?

2 days after that interview for a hospital in Singapore, I opened my e-mail and received an unexpected reply. I was successful at the interviews, the official letter of offer will be available within two weeks. Alright then.

But I didn't tell this good news to my parents. Only to my other younger sister and my boyfriend. At the back of my mind, something might flop along the way. I decided to tell them if the letter of offer actually arrived at my doorstep & if I really want to be a medical officer in Singapore. That will mean being away from my family, boyfriend for quite some time. For how long am I going to be away? I have no idea at this time. Everything's stated in the letter of offer. If it comes or not, well at least I tried.

Application for TTSH, Singapore

During the looong holiday break last week, I got an e-mail from a former co-resident/colleague regarding a job opening in a hospital in Singapore as a medical officer. Without doing any research on what a medical officer does in Singapore, I gave my resume to the HR head of the hospital by e-mail and kept my fingers crossed.

After 2 days, I received a reply from the HR head inviting me for an interview in a 5-star hotel in Metro Manila on a sunday afternoon. Coincidentally, it was the same day as the fun run my sister & I will be joining. The email also mentioned the requirements that I should bring during the interview. The requirements were a challenge for me - since Singapore follows the British system, I hardly understood the papers/documents they would be looking into. I asked a colleague who's working in another hospital in Singapore, but she also has no idea about the requirements. I thought "Bahala na."

We met at the lobby of the hotel, proceeded into a cafe and were given sheets of paper. It was a written exam! It composed of less than 10 cases and asked regarding diagnoses, management, etc. We were informed that failure to pass the written exam means oral interview will not be conducted. I had to dig deep into my brain & remember everything that I've encountered/read/seen/observed during residency. I'm not an internist but while answering, I acted that I was.

Thankfully, I passed the written exam. I was accompanied into another room, met a top official of the hospital (who is also a physician). After less than 5 minutes of "tell me about yourself", I was shown ECG tracings & x-ray films from his laptop. WTF? I swear I was blabbing crazily. I felt like I was going through the Oral Exams already.

Finally, he asked me if I had enough experience/exposure with Geriatric Medicine. I told him that I don't have enough exposure since we only have 1 month rotation in Geriatric, and most patients I dealt with consulted for refill of their maintenance medications. Yet, I'm always willing to learn.

As usual, his parting words were "Thank you for your time. We will inform you via e-mail regarding the interview." The sentences entered my left ear, and left my right ear.

SGV Fun Run

My youngest sister invited me to join a fun run organised by her employer, SGV. For this year, this is the 2nd "fun run" we joined together. The run happened in the grounds of SM MOA but it was a rainy start. I thought the run was going to be suspended but the organisers decided to push through. Thankfully, the rains stopped before the race started.

The roads were damp, the air was cold, and it was cloudy. Thank goodness, or else I'd be looking hard for a sunscreen. With new, comfy running shoes (ahem!), it was a good day for running. Not to mention, it was a long weekend. So I didn't mind the muscle sores that will happen after.

My sister ran ahead of me, but I didn't care. I alternated my jogging with walking and occasional brisk walking. Nevertheless, I crossed the finish line and she was waiting for me. I asked her if our gap was long. She said it was less than 5 minutes. After a few drinks, we headed back to our car and went home.

I'm not a fitness buff but I'm glad to run again. I just wish I had the luxury of time to run more often.