Post-Transsumm

It ended May 19, 2011 

Our Php 9,000-worth 20-day transition summer was really worth it! No regrets, no apprehensions, just plain worth it. 

If you're reading this as part of the considerations that you have to make before choosing a med school and writing a 3-page essay together with a 20-day transition program disses you on choosing ASMPH, well I've got some reasons why I chose this despite those requirements. 

For the past 20 days, I have met all types of people. People who I know I won't EVER get along with. People who are really intimidating. People who will make you laugh with everything they do. People whom I will spend the next five years with in building our dreams. 

1.  You'll be randomly grouped for the transsumm. But what actually happens is that, the transsumm group that you will have for the summer will be the "trans"(transcript) group that you will have for the next five years! Hello! So you better pray for funny, witty group mates and pray for patience as well, because there will always be a chance that you will have group mates who will really get to your nerves.

Group 10 - Count-to-Ten (my five-year group mates <3)

2.  The first 7 days will be divided for your PH and MBA modules. Don't worry these aren't heavy loads, these are just introductions or glimpses of what you should expect from the curriculum that ASMPH offers.

3. OH! OH! OH! Be ready for some serious journal-writing! Yes, they will have to put you through "Dear Diary, today.....". Oh! A tip! At the end of the transsumm the best journal-writer will be awarded so you better make your journal unique or really emotion-drawing ;P

4. You will also get to experience TMC (The Medical City) rotations. Here you will get to know how the non-clinical and clinical stations work. Our group was divided and 3 of us got to tour at the Nutrition Management Services and the Pulmonary Laboratory.

5. After that you will be fed to the crocodiles in the government arena aka Immersion. There you will be assigned in a particular urban area where you have to acquire information on the different health programs and health problems that the area experiences. Of course, you would have to deal with the different stakeholders in the area and I guarantee that it is really stressful....

Girl in pink: "Wala ang lahat ng hinahanap nyo dito nasa Tagaytay" <--Oye!

Chief Nurse who didn't allow us to interview her at first but with the "charms" (naks) of "Coco Martin" we were able to get her to talk haha :))

After gathering all the data, you have to gather the community members and present the data to them.

You might also have the chance to experience an UBA moment (ultimate bum around) if the officials are really hard to talk to. However this would also be the UBE of your group :)

... but of course it will always be fun!

Tricycle rides :))

Boodle fight prepared by the community leaders :)

6. The ASMPH council also prepared the ORSEM and O-night for the incoming YL5. (not much to say about this haha). By the way, the ORSEM is named TAYA to signify that: "lahat kaming pumili ng ASMPH ay tumataya sa layunin at pangarap na binubuo nito". 

7. The TEAM BUILDING! These days would require some effort but it would be fun. You'd get to hang out with your group mates and old friends! Tsismis galore! In my case, I got to learn Pusoy Dos! The games are fun and tiring but overall the team building was really fun! 

7. Lastly, after all the activities, we "graduated" from the 20-day transsumm. For the graduation, we were tasked to creatively introduce ourselves to our dean Dr. Bengzon. And so we did...we prepared nothing but funny stuff. Stuff which the dean did not understand haha. It was okay though, we were not aware that he wanted something which summarized the whole transsumm and how we were prepared by this program to transition into grad school - med school. 

WARNING: It is also during this day that Fr. Ampil and Dr. Bengzon will give you very long speeches! haha But there will be a lot of things that you would get from these speeches most especially from the one by Dr. Bengzon. 

The two things that I will not forget from the speech by the dean would be: a.) Relationship (or building relationships) is the currency of medicine and; b.) The brain is the prime organ in the body and it functions to serve all the other systems of the body. He who is prime must give priority to those who are served (Bengzon, 2011). 

8. ULTIMATE LAST! You will be able to experience nights which you would miss once the real battle starts. These nights will be truly cherished and missed. Too bad I missed all of them because of some things I had to finish with UP but I definitely would not miss the next one! 

Cheers to ASMPH Batch 2016. May we all find the strength and passion to finish the dream that we are about to complete :) 

Photo credits: Jonnecker Kingsu and Maki Eduardo (sorry I stole some photos heeee ~~~)