Doctors Taking up Nursing - Why?

A high school batchmate working for GMA-7 asked for contact details of doctors whoare taking up nursing. I gave her one.

I am one of those doctors who took up nursing. So I have friends who are still in PI who finished such and are now processing their papers. They have contact with those doctors who are still taking up the course.

It will not be easy to convince these doctors to make their decisions public, especially with the bad reputation that we gain from unfriendly articles and the judgment we get from other Filipinos. I just hope that whatever my batchmate will come up with, it will be digging into the root of the problem and not be something that is judgmental.

In my own personal opinion, it is one of rebellion on my part towards the Philippine government in that they are not really doing anything to help those in the medical field, lalo na yung mga baguhang doktor. Bukod don, napakaraming public hospitals ang tumatanggap ng applicants for residency not basing on credentials but on contacts (eh di ngayon, di sila magkandaugaga kakaengganyo ng applicants, kahit sino na lang dahil nauubos na ang mga doktor dyan. Buti nga sa kanila!). Naranasan ko yan sa Fabella ( I applied for OB-Gyn residency): natanggap yung isang bopol classmate ko, ako hindi (FYI, modesty aside, I earned my medical degree through a scholarship.)! Sa East Ave sana nun, dahil dun ako nag-internship at maganda records ko sa performance, and my residents were waiting for me to join them too, pero by the time I was ready for residency, there was the implementation of QUERT (QUalifying Exam for Residency Training) effective in public (DOH) hospitals, and which included matching (I think it was a waste of time kasi meron na ngang PRC licensure exam eh. Insulto ba. Though I passed the exam, I was matched to a Batangas regional hospital! Ayoko nga!) Nawalan na ako ng gana mag-apply for residency training simula non.

Whenever I read about the problems facing the Philippines now because of the brain-drain, esp those in the medical field, I could only think that revenge is sweet. The Philippine community is a true social pyramid where only a few select people are always on top, and they never sincerely cared for those below. Masisisi ba nila ako na nagre-rebelde? I only wanted to at least raise my children DECENTLY. It was not possible when me and my sons were there in PI, unless magputa ako o kumabit sa matandang mayamang madaling mamatay (there were times when I thought sana hindi na lang ako doktor para me excuse akong gawin yun, pero realistically, di kaya ng sikmura ko). Here, hindi kami mayaman ng asawa ko, but we (including my sons) live a good quality of life. Wala akong pagsisisi sa pag-iwan ko sa Pilipinas. Nanghihinayang lang ako na compared to this country, we had plenty of natural resources (and needless to say, human resources), na nasalaula na rin ng mga ganid sa Pilipinas. I have read documentaries (by foreigners) of our rich wildlife, and my heart weeps for my country. Bakit di natin nakikita kung gano tayo kaswerte (sana) dyan; bakit di natin pinagyayaman ang kung ano meron tayo? Bakit tayo nagpapaanod sa globalization, pwede naman sana tayong maging self-reliant? Bakit lagi na lang ang leaders natin, puro gahaman? Bakit? Bakit? Bakit?

Okay, enough ranting. Tapos na ang chapter ng Philippine life ko sa ngayon. Simple lang ang wish ko: to raise my children decently and for them to be responsible people. I don't even care for the luxuries of life nor for the prestige of my title as a doctor (duh! My profession is not me.) Someday I might go back to the Philippines and try to directly influence the people there into being self-reliant. But I am not sure of that. Time changes a lot.