Father More Than A Doctor

Last March 28 and 29, I was a father more than a doctor. I made my daily rounds during these 2 days early in the morning for me and my wife to accompany our son in taking his grade school entrance exam.

Our son is homeschooled under the Catholic Filipino Academy during his Nursery, Kindergarten and Preparatory. He is always with us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. My wife teaches him daily and I substitute whenever my wife is busy.

Actually we are having problems because he doesn’t want to be left behind even only for a second. This is the first time he entered a regular classroom. We were surprised he was brave enough to take the 2-day exam all be himself, with other kids his age, in an unfamiliar classroom, and a teacher he met for the first time.

Tears were about to flow in my eyes seeing my son walk straight to his exam room without looking back. I will remember these days... and one day he will be leaving us to have his own family.

P.S. He took the test not to transfer to a regular school. It is only to access if he is learning in homeschool. For our family, homeschooling is still the best... where the teacher-student ratio is 2:1... where school hours is 24/7.

On-to-Cebu

On February 20, 2011, I need to be in Cebu for the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference and Philippine Academy of Family Physicians Annual Convention. I will also be conferred the title of Diplomate in Family Medicine. After passing only the written examination in December 2009, I was blessed to pass the OSCE (oral examination) last November 2010. And the good news arrived before Christmas.

Before the conference, my family will also visit a friend in Bohol who has been inviting us for the nth time. Nothing changed except for the initials DFM after my MD. I’m still treating and managing cases just like I use to with TLC - tender, love and care.

Aging Patients

I have been in private medical practice for 15 years. I finished my specialty training in Internal Medicine in 1995. The patients I met during my early practice in their 60s then are now nearing their 80s, the age that many patients succumb to death. Last month, an 81 year old patient died, partly because of old age.

Being my patients for 10, 15 years, they are like family to me. I don't only know their names but I recognize their voices as well. They have shared their happiness and sorrows, their successes and frustrations. These make it harder to let them go.

Back to Blogging

After 5 months of absence, I’m back to blogging again. Let me share my experiences as a physician. Know what I do, what I think and how I feel. Being a doctor is not just a work or job. It is a vocation... it is a way of life.

One Out Of Two

The long wait was over. Though I did not receive a call from PAFP, a friend informed me that the results of the exams were out. They informed only those who will be conferred Diplomate today, February 17. I was not among them… I passed only the written part. Better than my friend who did not pass any of the two. Out of the more than 450 who took the written part and 300 for the oral part, 121 made it. For my friend, it was over. For me, I will try again next time.

Cell phone: Not Just for Voice and Text Communications

I thought that cellular phone (cell phone) are just for voice and text communications until I met Andres (not his real name). Andres was brought to the hospital for abdominal pain. He is a special patient because he is deft-mute. I can only understand him through his relatives who interpret his sign language.

One time when I made my rounds, only his wife was with him. The first she did was hand me her cell phone. She is also deft-mute. Written in text message was how Andres feels. So, I wrote my questions and explanations in my phone. Now I look at cell phone in another way, not justfor voice and text messages, but also a writing pad that we carry everyday.

Back To Normal

My exams were finished 2 weeks ago. Everything is back to normal. I am seeing my admitted and clinic patients again, updated the websites and blogs I maintain, assisted my wife in home schooling our son and helped around the house.

There are still those who will take the oral exams on February 7. Results will be out probably on the second week of February before the Philippines Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) annual convention on February 18-20, 2010. 

I hope that I will pass. By then I can say that everything is back to normal.