Luncheon Meeting with 2 Filipino Doctors

I am so elated! I have been corresponding through emails with the Filipino doctor couple, DR. and Dra. Amurao, and they agreed to meet me tomorrow for lunch!

While Dr. Guillermo Amurao works as a hospitalist/pulmonologist at the Redington Fairview General Hospital, Dra. Christine Amurao works as a senior medical researcher at the Occupational Health Research near the RFGH. She also used to be a stay-at-home mom, and when their kids got old enough for daycare services, she volunteered as assistant to well-known dermatologists here (she is a certified dermatologist in PI, with PGH training). Then both of them got a master's degree in Public Health. She was then given the position in the Occupational Research Hospital, as they were too happy to have a clinical doctor doing research.

I still don't know where I am heading, but this is a good start. I don't even mind being at an entry-level position, be it in a clinical, teaching, or research setting. The important thing is to start working, put my talents into use, earn some money, and personally GROW!

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UPDATE (o eto na, MsT):

I went first to Dra. Cristine's office at the Occupational Health Research (it is a company started by a Dr. at the Redington GFH to develop a software which would be usefule in occupational health applications). Then we went together to the RFGH to meet Dr. Amurao at the canteen.

Small world. Dr. Guillermo Amurao is the son of a couple, Dra. and Captain Amurao, owners of the Airlink Aviation school in Malibay, and are good friends my with uncle-employer in the clinic where I used to work. I even joined twice the medical missions that they regularly sponsor in Lubang! They introduced me to the other Filipino doctors who also had their lunch there: Dr. Cielo Maca, another hospitalist like DR. Amurao; and Neurologist Dr. Amelito Malapira, who was surprisingly quite young for his specialty. All of them are probably around 3 yrs my senior, or probably just the same age as me.

They were simple, down-to-earth. I told them what I wanted to know (where I could possibly fit it given my background and experience), what I wanted to do (can start with an entry-level position; would be willing to be trained even with low pay just to get me started, but would rather end up working from home). I asked them whether a medical practice was worth the investment in exam fees and the troubles of residency training, given the high malpractice insurance costs, not to mention the malpractice lawsuits. Dr. Amurao actually had an experience on that, but it was dismissed because the complaint was misdiagnosis, yet records showed he was the first to make the correct diagnosis! Dra. Amurao said that the pay is good even at the residency level, $30/hr, which, of course, will go up the higher I go up the ladder, but she herself did not pursue that for the children's sake, despite the coaxing by colleagues. I told her I have the same considerations, and that that was the reason why I still would want to pursue medical transcription in the future, when I have enough money to enrol in the online course. Well, we were both mothers, and we understood one another. She said her husband works daily from 7am to 6pm and still on-call outside of those hours, that if she decides to be on the same boat, she could not imagine what would become of her kids.

They were very kind and accomodating. They accompanied me to the HDR to hear first-had whether there was any way I can fit in any of the vacant positions. Understandably and expectedly, since health-care professions are highly-regulated, I still have yet to acquire some sort of certifications for them to accept me.

There, I heard what I needed to hear straight from the people in the trade. If I will consider the nursing path, I will have to start at the CNA level, but I will try to see if I can make use of my credentials in nursing to bypass that stage, probably start at a higher level. But I will have to wait first for my friend in PI to send me those credentials. I will do some research first on scholarships/supports for such.

I have also submitted an application for scholarship in Med Trans. I am quite nervous as to what effect my being an immigrant will be, and my being a medical practitioner (they might think I can easily find a job to have the money to enrol in their course).

meanwhile, I intend to study the driving handbook and hopefully get a permit. Gotta learn how to drive around...Hopefully by next spring I will have my driver's license...

Hay...konting tiis na lang...