CHOOSING PLM as MEDICAL SCHOOL

Hello!

I'm currently in my 4th year/clerkship/junior internship year in Pamantasan ng Lungsod College of Medicine. Aside from documenting my Med life, I hope that my entries would be of help to those who are having difficulty in choosing which medical school to go to. as I have experienced before entering med school. 

 Before laying out the pros and cons of PLM Med, I'll start off with my backstory which led me to choose PLM. 

I am a graduate of UST Biology Batch 2016. I didn't apply at UST med despite sure credentials (1. Roman Catholic 2.UST graduate- Biology, yes they do prefer UST Biology grads 3. Graduated with a Latin honor). The reason was mainly because of financial difficulty wherein there are tuition fee, Dorm rent, and monthly allowance which will surely be a huge burden to my family. Though I started premed at UST because I also wanted to continue medicine there, I guess the captain of the ship had other route on His map. And so I applied at UERM which is more expensive than UST but the difference is that I get to save dorm rent since my brother lives relatively near UERM. Then I applied at PLM, mainly because of the relatively small tuition fee. 

My considerations in picking medical school were: 1. Tuition fee 2. Quality 3. Facilities and Equipments. 

PLM

1. Tuition fee - depends on category, but ranges from 30K to 90K per semester, excluding the monsters who only pays miscellaneous fees of around 5K. For humans, I repeat, our range according to category is from 30K-90K.

2. Quality - Even though PLM-CM is very young compared to other medical schools, they are always within the top 5 med schools during PLE. PLM-CM graduates are also sought-after. 

PLM-CM curriculum is also Outcome-based so study for yourself. Do not rely on lectures. STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! Our mentors may or may not give their ppt. They do not give handouts. You really have to study. Also, don't expect high grades especially during first year, AKA reaping year. If you used to take a bath in unos, you'll get used to being plunged in dos and treses but don't worry, don't be sad. I know you will be shocked and hypotensive at first but such grades in PLM-CM is normal. Imagine a scholarship maintaining grade of 2.5. Too low to be a maintaining grade right? Haha during my time, only half of the scholars were able to maintain scholarship from first year to second year. It was that difficult to maintain. 

Fast-paced. Really. Fast. So fast. Haha! Do not believe? Two physiology lectures have covered one undergrad semester which is 10 hours vs 6 months. And there are still other subjects, and there are lots of reporting. Yet because of this, you'll be forced to adapt and in no time, you'll see how much you have improved, until you start clerkship. Haha, clerkship. We'll get there. 

PLM-CM graduates are highly sought-after. Do I still need to emphasize on quality?

Also, if it is your desire to really help the poor, then go to PLM. If not and you still would go to PLM, surely PLM will poke that empathy of yours during clerkship. You'll eventually acquire it. 

3. Facilities and Equipments - You'll learn how to be resourceful haha! Compared to private med schools, do not expect high-end facilities and advanced equipments. We don't have that digital cadaver, whatever you call that. We have Snell's Anatomy and McMinn's Anatomy books to look at as we probe half the body of a cadaver and the other half to look and compare and maybe cut a little (secretly haha!) if another group has already labelled it. Yes 2 groups share 1 cadaver but our mentors are really good. They're excellent, just always be ready because they ask questions as PLM-CM is not fond of spoon feeding. 

PLM-CM have its own auditorium, what we cal AVR or audio visual room. We conduct lectures and programs there but not all sits are intact so check your sit first before sitting. And if you're allergic to dust, uhm, just bring cetirizine haha! Really, don't expect a lot from the facilities. Do ocular first. 

UERM

I do not really know much of this school but I have friends/barkadas from college who are now also clerks/junior interns at UERM and they seem fine. 

1. Tuition fee - More expensive compared to UST

2. Quality - also high quality. From what I know, they are also Outcomes-based

3. Facilities/Equipments - You'll get what you paid for. 

My mother and brother actually wanted me to choose UERM instead of PLM because of the high-end equipments. My brother said that resourcefulness is part of human nature which one could learn eventually therefore it is better to learn with everything already available.

My personal take is that if you plan to practice abroad, or in expensive private hospitals and if you have the funds, I think UERM is a good medical school to go to. 

Why did I choose PLM-CM despite my mother and brother urging me to go to UERM? Well I also wanted to go back to time and choose UERM haha! 

This is what happened. 

I also could not choose which med-school to go to as I was accepted in both schools. I actually paid reservation fee in UERM which was 30K at that time because PLM has not released their results yet and there was this case in which one of our graduates, despite graduating cum laude, was not accepted in PLM. Of course I was in constant doubt. My mom told me to secure the slot and so we did. It was non-refundable and so yeah. yeah. T_T my mom's money T_T I'm so sorry mom. Sorry :((

Alright, back to the subject, I did ocular at both schools. I felt suffocated at UERM. I am from UST and the campus is very big with lots of plants and trees. It's like even if a lot of things have been stressing you out, walking around the campus could calm you down. UERM however, was just a building, white walls and floors. there are only few plants and trees, unlike PLM which has its own field. There are also plants and trees so that was one of the factors. 

Yet I was afraid. PLM has a lot of UP students and I have inferiority complex before and I am not generalizing but most, if not all, UP students have this sense of superiority among "non-UP" students. I will expound on this in another entry. I was afraid of going head to head with them. I didn't trust myself. I was full of doubt. I was having thoughts of failing. Also, PLM is notorious of reaping students (failing students), especially during first year. I was already thinking what if I could not make it? 

Baccalaureate mass came. UST baccalaureate is very special and really beautiful. It was the best of my highlight moments in college. Well I was sitting, in line with my friends. Parade of flags was ongoing and I had this small chowking flyer in my hand. As I was thinking and doubting myself, very troubled, I was folding the piece of paper into a small paper boat. I was praying, always. At that time, I was asking God on which school should I choose. I was asking about where would he take me. I was looking at the small paper boat in my hands when our class president approached me. We sometimes get on each other's nerves but we're on good terms. that time she was smiling and she told me "nakaabot ka". I did not understand at first. I though she was referring to the award in literature because I also passed some of my literary works which were first placers in contests. I asked her "ano? saan? panong abot?" Then she said, "laude, nakaabot ka". As I clearly heard her, I stood up then we hugged each other. I was so happy. 

I looked at the small paper boat. He answered. God told me that no matter how high the waves are, no matter how scary the ocean is, no matter how small my boat is, even if it is made of paper, He is with me therefore I should not doubt, because that paper boat will be unsinkable. 

Then 90's songs played, fireworks lit up the sky. I was smiling. My heart was in peace. I was decided. I was smiling, filled with joy.

Faith led me to choose PLM over UERM.

Do I regret my choice? From time to time, I do. That is because PLM-CM training will really kick you out of your comfort zone. But I will keep on going and have faith in my God. My regret is my will but God's plan is what is best for me, not my plan. 

 NEXT ENTRY - FIRST YEAR MED LIFE