How Did a Medical Intern Become A Warrior

"We started as interns, we finished as warriors!"

One year ago, during our orientation for our postgraduate internship program in Quirino Memorial Medical Center, a nurse said, "Welcome to QMMC! Welcome to war zone!"

I had no idea what she meant by that. All I knew was that training and working in a government hospital is way more challenging and difficult than in a private hospital. But I did not care that much. I wanted to have my postgrad internship in a government hospital. I had my share of toxic duties during my clerkship year and I thought those previous experiences have prepared me for what lies ahead. BUT! I was wrong! Very, very, very wrong! The stressful duties I had during my clerkship were nothing compared to what I have experienced in Quirino.

Well, my first two months (July-Aug 2017) was a breeze because it was Community Medicine. We had no duties, but we had rotations in the community, OPD triage, Animal Bite Center and TB-DOTS Center. (And by the way, I just wanted to share that on my second month in Quirino, I found myself standing inside the MCC’s office to give her an update about an incident in the OPD. On my way to the office, one high-ranking administrator briefed me on how to give a report to the MCC. It was a bit of a hassle on my part and I asked the Universe, "why does it have to be me?") We really enjoyed our Comm Med (aka vacation) rotation, thanks to our very kind and cool residents!

Then, we had our Ob-Gyn rotation in our third to fourth months (Sept-Oct 2017). That was only the time that I fully understood what the nurse meant by "Welcome to war zone!" And war zone it was!!! Did you know that on my first day in the OB ward, I almost wanted to quit. I was at a loss! I had no idea that we had to do everything including the things that we were not supposed to do as far as I was concerned.

Do you wanna know a secret? I cried when I got home after that duty. I cried for so many reasons that I could not even remember which among those reasons triggered me to cry. But after that crying episode, I told myself that I needed to be stronger for myself and for our patients and that no matter what happens, I would not give up. I signed up for this government internship, so I must sign out of this with dignity. From then on, my mantra every time I feel exhausted or faced with too many tasks was “FIGHT!!!” However, I always do the sign of the cross every duty before I enter the OB ward. Seriously! (Ask one of my co-interns who witnessed it while she was on her way out of the ward.) Thanks to the nurses, residents, interns and clerks because little by little, I learned the ropes and some hacks to do my tasks efficiently. Then, OB-ER and LRDR was another story... another kind of war zone! But at the end of our Ob-Gyn rotation, one resident told me that they (she and her batchmates) appreciate how I worked with and for them in the ward. That compliment was music to my ears because I thought I wasn’t good enough. (Charot!) Thank you, Ob-Gyn!

Our fifth to sixth months (Nov-Dec 2017) was in Pediatrics, another big department with so many patients! While in Pedia, my mind reminded me more often to “FIGHT!!!” The ward, RILI and ER were full of crying babies and children. It was like a real war zone because of the non-stop noise. There was no single millisecond of silence there. CSDR and NICU were as toxic as they looked especially the fragile-looking newborns. I remember, one NICU resident sprayed alcohol in the air to deter the on-going toxicity during our duty (it was not effective though, haha). It was also in Pedia that I almost lost my temper because one mother accused me of something that I knew nothing of. We encountered a lot of issues, concerns and unnecessary complaints from parents and guardians. But we cannot blame them if they were paranoid about something for their children.

Here’s a tip for dealing with difficult parents/guardians. The key is good communication. How? By taking the time to explain the condition of the patient and what we plan to do to treat their children by using analogies and  simple terms that they understand. And if they understood you, chances are they would bother you less which can save you more time so you can do the other tasks you needed to do. Despite the exhausting duties in Pedia, I enjoyed this rotation because of the cuteness of some babies and children and also the peculiar things they say and do. Plus the Christmas parties! Thanks, Pedia!

The start of 2018 (Jan-Feb) was not as tiring as our last months in 2017 because.... electives! We rotated for one week each in Ophtha, ORL-HNS, Anes, Patho, Radio, Derma, Fam Med and Neuro. It was like we were on break for a few weeks except for Neuro rotation which was another war zone! Only one intern, with no clerks, for the entire Neuro ward. It was in Neuro that I became a Doraemon (remember the story I shared before?) I was glad that Neuro was my last elective because it warmed me up for our next major rotation. Nevertheless, I enjoyed all our electives that I wished some rotations were longer than a week. The residents and consultants were all great! Thank you!

Then came our ninth to tenth months of internship (March-April 2018). This time, in Internal Medicine, my most dreaded rotation. You may not believe me, but before we started and until our first few days in the department, just thinking about IM makes me cringe. Our IM duties both in ER and MICU were wild! But thanks to our residents who can still keep their cool no matter what the situation. Some can even make time for jokes and laugh in-between endorsement, rounds, consultation and admission. The stressful duties were bearable because of the residents that is why I have so much respect for them and the consultants. (And speaking of stress(?), at one point while I was on duty in the ER, my blood pressure shot up to 160/100 mmHg! Talk about a doctor suddenly becoming a patient herself. Hahaha.) It is a fact that IM is a toxic department that is why I do not like it. Surprisingly, I had fun working and learning in IM that I (re)considered it as one of my choices for residency. Thank you so much, IM!

And for our last two months of internship (May-June 2018), we’re in Surgery where we met the most supportive residents! We’re still toxic in Surgical ICU and ER but we’ll not go into details. Let me just share one incident, the very first time  that I snapped. I was in ER when I had a misunderstanding with the patient's companion. Everybody around me was surprised that I reacted that way. Seconds after it happened, I felt guilty and sorry that I resolved to not let it happen again. Anyway, enough of that. I am just thankful to Surgery for their support to our group, Block 3. Thanks again!

These things which I shared are just the tip of the iceberg. So many things have happened , both good and bad. So, you see, there is a reason why we, the medical interns, call ourselves QMMC warriors. We are not warriors for nothing. We became warriors because our situation called for it.

We fight for our patients' health.
We fight for their lives... and also ours.
We fight for our sanity.
We fight for our dreams.

In a few days, we'll be done with our postgrad internship. I signed in for this be-a-warrior internship program and I'm proud to say that I'll be signing out with dignity just what I promised myself a year ago.

Everything happens for a reason even if we do not understand it. We just have to trust the Universe.

Fiiiiight!

Dream. Believe. Achieve.

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