Lab Exercise 2

My gosh I only got 7/10 in the last lab exercise for ma'am CO and now I have to do another one omg
I worked so hard na nga in the last lab exercise, I LITERALLY READ LIKE 3 BOOKS WTF MA'AM CO

ITS NOT MY FAULT I CANT DRAW!!! I MEAN EVERYTHING IS THERE NAMAN :((((( PLEASE MAAM CO

KAYA PALA ANG HIRAP NG BIO 30 GANITO KASI SI MAAM OMG

Oogenesis

Just now, I finished reading about oogenesis in Patten's Foundations of Embryology. I can't help but feel amazed at how remarkably efficient and systematic the creation of the egg is. It's as if the egg knows exactly what it needs for a successful zygote to grow and develop. It begins preparing for all the wonderful events which follow as early as before fertilization. That is, when sperm fertilizes the egg, it's 100% ready! The preparation for new life is done way, way, way in advance.

It prepares a ton of mitochondria for energy, synthesizes a lot of ribosomal RNAs in preparation for intense protein synthesis, it prepares an adequate supply of lipochondria and glycogen granules in its yolk as a source of lipids and carbohydrates respectively, and it ensures adequate protection based on the reproductive habits of the animal in question (for example, frogs undergo external fertilization where they spawn their eggs outside their body -- the structural adaptations of the amphibian oocyte is apparent).

As compared to sperm, whose one job is to deliver the other half of the genome (and whose genesis also reflects this function) the egg assumes responsibility for pretty much everything else and I think that's beautiful. The mechanisms of preparation of the egg are so profound.

It's just so amazing how so much thought has been put into the development of an organism. Life is truly a miracle, and there truly must be some Creator who dictates these highly organized, well-regulated steps in development.

On Giving Feedback

As directed by my psych prof, my entry for today is supposed to be a reflection on giving feedback.

Giving feedback is something that I think is very important in establishing cooperation and openness, especially in a profession such as Medicine. This was made clear to us in our Introduction to Patient Care lectures in previous semesters. Criticism should be brought to light as soon as possible before it festers and creates chaos down the road. To create an effective working environment, one must not only be comfortable with giving feedback (both criticisms and praise) but also receiving feedback. Back in IPC we had various exercises on this -- we would give feedback to each other and discuss how it made us feel, etc.

Criticism should be dealt with in a mature manner. We don't really know fully what kind of a person we portray to other people, and the only way this aspect of ourselves can be revealed is through honest criticism (this was shown through an exercise on making Jocari windows back then). When we receive criticism, we need to acknowledge the things that the other person brought up and if they are legitimate points, we should act upon them to improve.

Personally I have no reason dealing with criticism. My problem is actually giving it. There are a lot of things I wish I could say to my classmates but I am afraid that they would be offended by my observations. But this fear is something that I need to overcome as I advance in year levels because me not saying anything might actually have serious repercussions in the life of a patient!

In IPC they would give us a formula to use when giving feedback.

I feel _____ because you ______. In the future, I think you should ________________.

This process of giving feedback is effective because we assert ourselves in a way that doesn't infringe on the other person's personal space/beliefs. Being assertive when giving feedback is extremely important. Assertiveness gives you the drive to actually say what needs to be said and take action when it is needed.

IPC also expanded the topic of giving feedback to having effective leadership -- too much criticism is bad (it becomes some sort of a dictatorship) and too much freedom is bad as well (the so-called laissez-faire leadership). A healthy balance of the two ensures the smooth cooperation of a group.

I just hope that in the future my reservations about giving feedback will dissolve. I don't want to enter Med without the assertiveness I need to speak my mind. I really do have a lot of things to say sometimes.

Note: forgot to post last Sunday. Nevermind, my prof is apparently not as strict about the journalling pala.

I NEED TO BE STELLAR IN THIS LAB EXERCISE HAHA

Our first Co lab worksheet is due tomorrow, and I'm super super scared. Sobrang toxic pala ng lab sessions ni Ma'am Co-- she wants us kasi to draw things talaga and label things!! I suck pa naman at art... ughh and really she hasn't been exactly clear which are the structures we can use to differentiate different cells. I hope that what I'm doing is correct. I used several book sources naman to back it up.... but I have a big feeling ma'am CO doesn't really follow the books hahaha

Back to my roots

I was finally able to reunite with my piano teacher. I had stopped taking piano lessons when I entered INTARMED back in 2016, but now that I'm in LU2 second sem, the lightest semester of all the imed years, I decided to enroll once again. My 11:30 dismissal every Friday allows me to get back home in QC as soon as possible and take lessons the following morning. I take music lessons at the UP College of Music in Diliman.

I'm so happy that I can continue taking piano lessons and finish the goals I set for myself before imed. I'm currently expanding my rep so that I can hold a solo concert featuring pieces from various periods of music. Right now, I am finishing my piano concerto which would be the highlight of that said concert. Here's to hoping that Ma'am Co won't disrupt these plans!

In other news, I had to take leaves of absence in my various orgs last semester because of the study load, and I'm still not ready to commit to these orgs again. At least with an extra-curricular such as piano lessons, I'm not going to mess with anyone except myself if I choose to stop. If everything goes according to plan, I might be able to rejoin these orgs in the future. I'm just testing the water right now, so to speak-- seeing what things I can add to my load and which things I can do without.

Second Attempt on the Frog Testis

Thankfully, when I viewed the frog testis slide this afternoon, I was more productive. I was finally able to see the things which I needed to see. Apparently, the microscope was the reason why I couldn't identify anything right yesterday. In fact, today, I had to cycle through three different microscopes before I found one which produces clear images and doesn't have a broken stage.

Super thankful also to my friends Janelle and Pam who went out of their way to share with me some tips on differentiating the cells. Half of our block is under a different prof, and that other prof was more generous in giving directions for identifying cells, so the added info they gave me was very helpful.

Toxic first bio 30 lab session, Wholesome psych session

How the hell do you differentiate between these different spermatogenic cells? I see literally no differences between them looking under the microscope. They all look the same. They all look like pink boxes with blue circles in them. The details I've read about frog spermatogenesis just aren't being visualized. I'm really not sure if it's the microscope or if it's just me. God knows I read like 3+ books in preparation for this lab. Probably it could have been the slide as well. All I could see were freaking spermatozoa and spermatids. Even the prof had a hard time looking for the other types.

I will try again tomorrow with another microscope and a different slide. Hoping for a better tomorrow. And also hoping that when we move on to higher animals (mammals) the structures will be more well-defined. (From what I've read and seen they are).

Thank God for a subject like psych though. It kinda reminds me of the IPC days we had back then where the activities were actually wholesome and generally made the class feel nice and happy. Actually to be honest, it reminds me of having high school retreats where anyone can just open up and share random things to the class. It was nice listening to some of my classmates who decided to share their life stories (our lesson for the day was "knowing" the other, and it is a theory in Psych that to actually "know" someone, one must listen to his/her life story).

Ang Kuwento ni Rosario

Today for my FCH 101 class (Health Care Delivery) we were told the story of Rosario. The story takes place in a barrio named "Tanyong" and the story touches on the quality of life in that barrio. We were also given details of Rosario's family members and their specific roles in Rosario's life.

In the end, Rosario dies of severe diarrhea and fever. The task for the day was to determine what exactly caused Rosario's death.

The most obvious reason for Rosario's death was sickness, but we were challenged to ponder on the question more critically. What caused the sickness? Malnutrition. What caused Rosario to develop malnutrition? And so on and so forth. We used details from the story to come up with logical answers to our investigation.

In the end we identified numerous root causes of Rosario's death. Some of these were poverty, corruption, poor sanitation, poor infrastructure, poor patient education, poor job opportunities for the poor, shortage of health workers, etc.

As a future doctor, it is important that I realize that my role is not limited to being a clinician. Health is defined as the state of total well-being of a person, and it transcends the presence or absence of disease. Included in its scope are things such as freedom from poverty, proper education, sanitation, etc. As such, it falls within my duty as well to also address the rest of the things which caused Rosario's death, and not only the severe diarrhea and fever.

Our facilitator for the day emphasized this, and pointed out that as students of the College of Medicine we are expected to practice community-oriented medicine, with an emphasis on the social determinants of health (social, economic, and political factors such as those which caused Rosario's death).

It's quite daunting to think that our roles are so much more than meeting patients in the clinic. As doctors of the College of Medicine it is also our role to make a difference in the greater scheme of things, for if we were to simply cure our patients and send them back to the conditions which caused the disease, what good would it be for them?

It makes me a bit relieved that I chose to accept INTARMED as my course in college because I entered it expecting a profession which would help me to serve others and make a difference in society. A desire to serve was one of the reasons why I chose INTARMED over my other interests, namely music and math, so I am relieved that I chose the perfect profession for the job. Medicine truly is a profession which is inseparable from service to the underserved. Doctors truly are heroes.

A Trip to the Library

Today I just want to write about my experience borrowing books from the library. It might not seem like much, but it was actually my first time ever to borrow books. I dunno, it seemed like a milestone for me! I have a very weak sense of direction so please don't judge me though!!

In UP Manila, to borrow books, you first have to have your ID stamped and countersigned. My ID had already been stamped before, but that was only good for my LU1 days. I had not bothered to have my ID stamped again in the succeeding semesters because I really had no need to go to the library; all I needed were either easily found in my buddy stuff (study materials passed down by upperclassmen, a tradition in the College) or accessible online.

So at the end of my first class for this day (Biochemistry) I began pestering our class president for directions on how to go about having my ID stamped and countersigned. I really had no idea how I had that ID stamped before. I think back then our batch freshman coordinator walked us all through it at the same time, which was why I really don't remember the process anymore.

She told me to go to the OUR to have it signed, with a copy of my enlisted subjects. My immediate follow-up question was to ask where exactly in the OUR. Apparently the building right beside the College of Arts and Sciences is called the OUR, but there was actually a room inside which was the actual OUR... my knowledge of what was usually called the OUR was limited only to the booths where we pay our tuition so I was pretty confused. Actually up to now I'm still confused. Laugh all you want people. I suck at things like this.

So I made my way up to the OUR, bringing with me a copy of my enlisted subjects which I had printed previously, and looked for... the OUR. I showed the administrator there my list of subjects and I had it stamped. Easy.

Next, I had to have my ID countersigned. One just needs to go to his or her respective college library and simply have the librarian in-charge sign the stamp. The problem was, our actual college library was off-limits because its foundation had collapsed on itself. Luckily the class president advised me beforehand that I should go to Salcedo Hall instead to have it signed. Thankfully I knew exactly where Salcedo Hall was, so I made my way there. 

The guard at the entrance stopped me and asked me what I was there for, so I explained to her that I had to have my ID countersigned. I asked her where the library was and she told me to go to the end of the hallway to take an elevator to the second floor, where I would find the library. Before I left, she asked me if I was a student.

"Actually, student po ako sa College of Medicine."

She was like, okay, sige. Only now do I understand why she was a bit confused at my answer. Apparently Salcedo Hall is a building of the College of Medicine as well. At the time I had thought that Salcedo Hall was like, a building from the College of Public Health. Facepalm.

She had told me to go and take the elevator at the end of the hallway, so I walked till the end of the corridor. I looked around, but I couldn't find any elevator... hahaha. Luckily the staircase was easier to find, so I took that instead. It was only to the second floor, anyway.

When I reached the second floor I found myself facing a forked road. I really had no idea where to go, so I just walked around and read the labels of the different rooms. I remember feeling scared because some of those rooms really had don't enter written all over it. The rooms were labelled as the office of so-and-so, etc. The other rooms made me wonder however. Why is there a physiology lab in the College of Public Health? (At that time, I was still 100% under the assumption that I was in a CPH building). My mind of course tried to reconcile this by thinking, "Of course Public Health people need to study physio too... duh." But truly, at that point, I was getting confused again. Sigh.

I was looking for the College of Public Health Library, in a CM building... A few more minutes of mindless wandering passed and then finally I saw a paper post signalling the entrance of the F. Herrera library. Thankfully despite my less than stellar sense of direction I had enough street-smarts to remember that the CM library was actually called the F. Herrera library. That made it easy. I remember being awed though that they were able to relocate the Med library in a CPH building. Ugh, I'm cringing right now actually.

When I entered the door, I saw only a collection of booths. The person in the first booth was like, "huh?" when I had her try to sign my ID. It's a good thing that the person in the other booth overheard my conversation and said that he was the guy I was looking for.

So with my ID signed, I went back to the CAS library. Prior to starting my journey, I was clever (wow. I'm trying my best here, okay?) enough to access the online OPAC and list down the call numbers of the books I needed. So this should be easy, right?

So when I reached the 2nd floor of CAS I quickly entered the library. The guard there stopped me. I then proceeded to flash my newly-stamped, duly-countersigned ID to her and go on my way. Nope. Apparently I had to leave my bag at the front desk pala. Oh yeah. Facepalm again. She then told me that she thought I was trying to have my ID countersigned from her, so apparently I had confused her as well. Good thing she was very nice naman. I explained to her that I don't really go to the library that often and she then was very accommodating to me. I explained that I was there to borrow books. So I asked her if she knew what to do. She told me to just go inside and talk to the librarian in the desk, so I went inside.

There was no one in the desk at the time, so I went back outside, and explained to her that I literally had no freaking idea what to do. So she walked me to an adjacent room inside the library. In my head I was pretty surprised that the CAS library had additional rooms. Previous visits to the library in LU1 had given me the impression that the huge entrance area was the entirety of the library. Entering the new room, she directed me to an old lady who looked kind.

So I told that lady my situation, and gave her a paper with the call numbers of the books I required listed down. She checked the system if the books I was looking for were available, and told me to go look for the books. Not the response I was hoping for. I really had no clue how to find a book given the call number so I was hoping that she'd help me find them hahaha.

Diskarte time. So I saw that all my books had call numbers starting with QL so naturally I went to the section with QL in it. All my fears disappeared when I realized that the books were arranged in a logical manner. It took me some time, but after about 20 minutes of shuffling through the books on the lowest rung of the bookcase I found the books I needed. It wasn't as easy as simply finding the call number because most books were rebound and had no title on the book spine, but in the end, I was able to find what I came for.

The lady told me to look for the newer books on the first row of the library. There was some sort of a mini-QL section there which contained my book. Now, I just needed to find the last book in my collection. I was there to borrow five books: four of them were on embryology, and the last was a book I genuinely wanted to read which was recommended by a lecturer in my History of Medicine class entitled "The Men who Play God" referring of course to physicians.

At this point the lady in the counter stood up and asked me if I had found the books I needed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized she was there to help me find the last book. I explained to her that my last book was from the Filipiniana section, and she directed me to a bookcase. She made me walk up these mobile stairs like you see in the Beauty and the Beast movie and I was there trying to look for my book. I couldn't find it, so she offered to do it herself. She couldn't find it either. Apparently, official records state that the library has the book, but the book has since gone missing. Shame. Now I have no excuse to study embryology.

I then asked the old lady for directions on how to borrow books. Luckily, this part went smoothly. She told me to go to the other desk in the first room of the library (the one which I initially saw no one manning) and tell them that I wanted to borrow books. A few stamps and signatures here and there and off I was with four embryology books.

I felt good after the whole adventure. I felt almost as if I had accomplished something extraordinary. Maybe its because I really know myself to be street-retarded and I'm proud that I was able to figure things out (almost) completely by myself for once. Diskarte. Hooray.

Introduction and First Post

My name is Migs and I am currently an LU2 student enrolled under the INTegrated liberal ARts and MEDicine (INTARMED) program of the UP College of Medicine in UP Manila.

One of the subjects I am taking this semester, Psych 10, requires me to document my experiences and adventures throughout the sem. Seeing this as an opportunity, I've decided to go ahead and start my own blog which I intend to maintain until I graduate from Medicine.

The idea of starting a blog to document my experiences as a student in the INTARMED Program has always been playing on my mind. As I was transitioning from high school to college, many past INTARMED students have maintained and kept blogs which were able to inspire me and guide me until eventually I was accepted into INTARMED as well. This blog is my way of "giving back" to these bloggers and also my way of being able to usher in the new generation of imed students to the college. 

Future posts will describe my journey to becoming an INTARMED student, but for the time being, my posts will be limited to my daily exploits, which my professor requires me to blog about every single day for the rest of the sem. Today marks day one.

Today I met my prof in Biology 30 for the first time. Her name is Ma'am Co. This particular prof is a really notorious one among INTARMED students. She is known for causing students to be delayed in entering medicine proper (LU3) and also known to be extremely difficult. I had previously thought that she was a prof who would be mean and condescending--but I now realize that that is not the case. Now that I've had the privilege of meeting her for the first time, I can confidently say that this prof's notoriety is due to her really high standards and tremendous faith in her students. What makes this prof difficult is not her quirks (Believe me, I had one prof before for History who really pissed me off because of his "quirks" but this prof is different). What makes this prof difficult is that she actually dares to ask for more. She is not content with her students just getting by and not really learning anything worthwhile. She knows that her subject matter (Embryology and Genetics) would constitute a large portion of our future studies in medicine, and she has taken it upon herself to ensure that when we leave her class, we will be prepared for whatever challenges may await us. Other profs might just be content with getting through the course curriculum prescribed by their respective departments, but this prof is an exception. She is willing to go above and beyond the syllabus, and she is willing to be with us every step of the way, as long as we cooperate, of course. "You will get the grade that you deserve," she says. She is asking for a lot-- she expects us to study lessons in advance (and take quizzes with some questions based on future lessons), and be able to transcend simple identification of structures. She wants us to understand, not memorize, the concepts. She wants us to read between the lines of our embryology textbooks. She is asking for soooo much, but for an INTARMED student about to enter medicine next year, it's about time that I level up. I have never felt more motivated in my life. I am so ready to face her challenge head-on. I know that the road will be tough, but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. It's time to burn the midnight oil.