I’m currently deployed for 6 months now after 4 years of gruelling residency training in an undermanned tertiary hospital. Thankfully, I was allowed to proceed with deployment even if I haven’t finished my final research paper. I became chief resident when I was in 3rd year and grappled with the struggles of running an 8 man-team of training residents handling almost 300+ patients a day. I was delayed for a year, I was only able to finish my research protocol when I stepped down as chief.
PRDP is an eye opener. I have more time now for myself, my family and I can do anything I want now because of less demanding duty hours. With only 6 months of PRDP remaining, I am more anxious than ever: I am still to submit my final paper and present it in a fora by year end so that I can graduate, diplomate exams is looming and I have a number of trips booked (revenge travel) in the next coming months.
I am confident that I will graduate this year but I don’t want to go back in that old life again, back to my mother hospital, after PRDP. My mother hospital is so undermanned, what with 3 juniors quit the training program, it will spread you thin. Returning PRDP residents, my seniors, and even newly minted diplomates are now asked to cover, IKYKWIM. No, we don’t have a choice.
Hence, my current plans are: graduate by finally submitting my research, resign in my mother hospital and try to be absorbed temporarily in the hospital that I’m currently deployed at, review and pass the diplomate boards so that it becomes my Plan B because I’ll finally give in and have my wife pluck me out of this God forsaken mess and take me to a Nordic country where she works, have our babies and raised them there and live my life there as a nurse, a barista or even a cleaner.
Nakatulong naman na ata ako sa napakaraming Pilipino, babalik na lang ako pag masaya na rito maging doctor.
