The biggest dilemma I had to decide over post-graduation (and probably one of the most important in my life) was whether to apply for residency or to pursue a career in public health. The choice is an either-or at my level, and unfortunately, the trade-off of my decision to take up Neurology in PGH is that I can’t be a Doctor-to-the-Barrio-Leader-for-Health anymore (well, unless I apply for it after my 4 years in Neuro). I am convinced that as a clinician, there will still be ways for me to contribute to the PH effort, especially in the future (like post-residency), when I have more freedom with my schedule and my choices of activities (and this is probably what swung the decision towards side residency… all is not lost on that WHO job!). In my interview for my Neuro residency application, a lot of time was actually spent explaining to the Admissions Committee why I wrote DOH Secretary/WHO officer in the How-I-See-Myself-20-Years-From-Now part of the qualifying essay (and why, despite the odd goal, they should still accept me into their department).
The following is part of a project proposal I’m making for an NGO’s feeding program (don’t be too harsh, it’s the first draft). Hopefully, it gets funded, so that I can at least say that I had something to contribute before I enter the sucky world of hospital politics.
People say there are only two inescapable things in life: death and taxes. And while I have been intimate with the dead or nearly dying countless times throughout med school, it was only after graduation, and upon commencement of my official adult life (because one is never an adult unless one can earn in this dog eat dog capitalist world)… that I started accumulating tax receipts. I am inspired to write this post by a whole day spent at the City Hall, paying the government to do its job (hey, I thought it was election that gave that mandate?), using the ATM every now and then (which indirectly pumps government assets as well, since I use a state-owned bank), and trying to avoid the omnipresent fixers. As I look back at old receipts, it became obvious that I have spent thousands of pesos for documents since I graduated from med school, and that most of these payments were made to government offices or operations. It goes without saying that I am hoping that the money (my money!) will be used for worthwhile government projects and not to some politician’s gambling fund. Here’s a list based on saved receipts and memory:
Thanks to Wake T-Rex for the heads up re this news item/chance to play House. To all interested: read first the news item below (history-taking via news report!!!) then enter your differentials as a comment!
From Monsters and Critics:
Poland’s ex-president probed over mystery “tipsy” disease (Oct 12, 2007)
Warsaw – Poland’s ex-president Aleksander Kwasniewski was examined by Polish state hygiene officials this week after he claimed drugs treating a tropical disease were responsible for his tipsy behaviour on the campaign trail ahead of Poland’s October 21 parliamentary election.
Kwasniewski, 52, is currently the poster boy for Poland’s third spot left-wing party ahead of the country’s October 21 snap parliamentary elections.
But despite a history of appearing tipsy in public, the two-term ex-president has flatly denied alcohol was the cause of his slurred speech and droopy eyes at a recent campaign rally.
Kwasniewski pinned his joviality on drugs prescribed to treat a mysterious tropical disease caught this July during a to the Philippines.
This newest Coke commercial is my favorite so far. It starts off dirty and downright nasty a la GTA, then leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside… in just 60 seconds. I can’t stop watching:
There’s buzz going around of a boycott — or at least a proposal for a boycott — of the newest season of the TV show Desperate Housewives, where character Teri Hatcher makes this remark: “Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? ‘Coz I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines.”
