Assalamu Alaykum!
I've been trying to sort things out in my new life as a barrio doctor, and among those "to-do lists" is freeing some disk spaces in my phone. I was sifting through my gallery when I realized how much of an adventure the past 12 months had been for me. In this post, using screen caps from my gallery, I will try to share what happened in my life last 2017.
Here goes!
*WARNING: Some photos may contain graphic pictures. Those with blood/wounds were turned black-and-white. Photos of patients here were shaded to respect their privacy. Thanks!
January:
Unfortunately, I do not have my January folder in my phone. I think I already transferred my files to my external drive by then. What I can remember here is that... I am still an intern in Internal Medicine, of course! haha. Maybe in the wards? Was this the time I went on JWAPODship? (JWAPOD: Junior Ward Admitting Physician on Duty). I gotta check my old files.
February:
Yes, I was still in IM. Look at that vanity. And start of my "chart gallery"... wherein my albums are filled with patients' charts for review or future presentations...
March:
1 week rotation in Medical ICU (Intensive Care Unit): One of the most chill rotation, but very perplexing. And our quarters are very cold... and full of mosquitos! haha. Oh yeah, I spent my birthday during this time... And it was then that I received a surprise gift from someone... I still have no clue who he/she is until now. -_-
Then the dreaded IM ER begins. 3 weeks in the hot, humid, noisy, smelly area in one of the most populated Emergency Rooms in the country: PGH ER!
Charts, charts, charts: the usual gallery of a medical student...
We also go on duty at the CI (Cancer Institute). This was also the time when I started my 100 days countdown to Graduation/End of Internship!
April:
We went to one of my favorite places in Cavite: Dar Amana Children's Village :) The kids have grown on me huhu I miss them.
It seems, I had a lot of trauma patients here as well... They don't call me "toxic magnet" for nothing.
Rehab Medicine is another Chill rotation for 2 weeks. We had our good rest after the mind-draining IM and preparing ourselves for Surgery.
Yes, finally got the chance to climb again with my Bundoktor friends! Where was this again? Mt. Dagoldol ?
Also went to this new Satti place in Ermita with my juniors (from AMS: Association of Muslim Students.
And yes, more vain shots haha
May:
Surgery is Assist, assist, assist. Then charting.
With my partner, Danette on our Trauma rotation (caught her catching a nap while waiting for a specimen to be fixed hehe). And the beautiful Dra. Lou from Department of Emergecny medicine (DEM)
Trauma rotation. Lots o' blood and breaking bones. And sleepy interns. hehe
June:
Finishing u pthe few remaining weeks of internship. We had ORL (Otorhinolaringology) as our last rotation. It was also in the middle of June that we had our University Graduation. My first time to wear the UP Sablay.
Practicing wearing my Tausug Piys Siyabit for the UP Grad.
Fooling around taking selfies at ORL OPD when there are no more patients...
More Trauma patients -_-
Yes, you can see a lot of not-so-graceful captures in this gallery. We had that contest of getting the most number of "shameful post-duty sleep" shot. haha.
The last panel is me taking a selfie with the LAST EVER CEB (Course Evaluation B??? something haha) We've been answering these eval forms for like 5 freaking years! Glad to be done with it for good!
July:
More charts? No, these are review materials! BOARD EXAMS is fast approaching!!!
And then one of the happiest moments in 2017: the UP-PGH Graduation. Inah and my two brothers came to Manila to attend :)
August:
Study, eat, sleep. Repeat. That's how my August went by. Board exam is approaching...
Eid Prayer. Then my Mother from another country, Maam Leslie, came by to visit and wished me luck for the exams! Thank you, mom Leslie Shive and Maam Susan Russel!
September:
A few volunteer works before the board exams, review review review... And then...
It finally happened!
Those two yellow Mongol pencils were my only two "swords" during the mind-shattering exam.
The board exams happened, but I did not take much pictures... Kunyare focused sa exam haha. Of course, eating out after each exam is mandatory!
And right after the exam, I went home to Sulu and became a *drumrolls* a baby sitter! hahahaTook turns taking care of our
makukulit na pamangkins... I went home to prepare myself for whatever the results of the exam may become. At least, if di pumasa, ano, mag-aaply ako as DH. haha.
And Alhamdulillah, buti na lang pumasa! whew! The worst days are the few days after exams and waiting for the results!
Then we had a small gathering of family and friends in Sulu to celebrate and be thankful for this blessing. Alhamdulillah! Even my teachers in Primary school came to visit and congratulate me, Alhamdulillah! I wont be able to achieve all these without them of course.
October:
Went back to Manila to process my "professional" papers, became a full-pledged physician... Went on Moonlighting while trying to decide what to do with my life...
Charts, charts, charts. Nothing much changed. And Vanity.
Then after almost deciding to give up my DTTB application, a good friend convinced me to go on and pursue it somehow. And Alhamdulillah... Finally decided to apply for DTTB (Doctors to the Barrio). The interviews went on...and waited for the results.
Continued moonlighting stints in Manila. Had a lot of good and not-so-good experiences. Visited my batch-mates who are undergoing Residency Training... Still can't believe we are doctors now...
IMAN Founding anniversary and with my nephew and niece before they went back to KSA.
November:
Was accepted in DTTB and we went to Tagaytay. Start of DTTB sessions in Tagaytay for 3 weeks, then we were deployed to our areas. First to Cotabato and toured around the place.
Took me days to clean up my room and send *drumrolls* 50 Kg of books and other stuff to Sulu! About to start a new life in Mindanao! Bismillah!
Then, in Cotabato where we were met with warm welcome from DOH and other friends... We toured around the best places they have: Grand Mosque and the famous Pink Mosque! It was indeed #ARMMazing!!! (If only I knew that I would actually pass by the pink mosque almost everyday to where I work! haha)
December:
Then I started rendering service under the IPHO-Maguindanao. Met a lot of inspiring doctors working in the community :D
Attended various program reviews and orientation, updates on different DOH programs... Slowly understanding how the heath system in this part of the world works... (We never learned about these details in medschool!)
Went on Medical Missions as well.
And had a couple of cases I couldn't help but take pictures for.. future references...
Met old acquaintances as well...
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Yeap, that sums up my 2017 through my photo gallery. I may not have documented all the things that happened, I know there's a lot more! But these pictures may suffice for now... Alhamdulillah indeed for such a wonderful year!
Now, I'm excited to see how my 2018 Gallery would look like! (But first, gotta buy a new SD Card! haha)
Salam Kasilasa and have a great day!
-Doc Ahmad
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