Joey M.D.

(Insert favorite talk show host here): For today’s episode of ___(insert your favorite showbiz talk show here), we’re going to veer away from our usual artista interviewees and interview doctors instead.

Our guests for today are: Dr. MegaMom, Dr. JA, Dr. Carl, Dr. Ness, Dr. Mel, Dr. Prudence, Dr. Joey, Dr. Remo (Bone MD), Dr. Abner, and Dr. Martin Bautista.

Ok, let’s get the ball rolling….

Who influenced you to take up Medicine?

Megamom: My Dad. I grew up hanging around my dad at the O.R. and at his clinic. I am the eldest and very early on had already shown great inclination (and an academic record to match) towards a career in medicine. The role my father played is pretty obvious.

Bone MD: My dad wanted a doctor in the family and this was his plan for our eldest sister early on. But he did not live long enough to even see my sister step into college.

My family and especially my mom was an inspiration. She never spent a dime on my tuition fee, that is because I felt, she has had enough of her share of hardships. So I made it a point my mom would be proud of me, and she be proud of her self.

Prudence MD: Although I had 3 uncles, an aunt and 3 cousins that became a doctor before I became one, I don’t think it’s a family tradition thing. I believe my father had a pseudo-MI when I announced that I was taking up BS Biology for college. My family was very supportive though, and helped me through medical school.

Dr. Carl: It is in large part because I passed a quick-entry program. My family was understandably ecstatic, and vowed to give me full support. As for myself, I did not have exact career plans at that point in my life, so I took the plunge knowing that my parents would support me.

JA: I wasn’t forced to go to medical school, but boy, did I get all the encouragement to go through the whole process!

Dr. Abner: My becoming a doctor is actually a personal choice. Nobody in my family influenced me to become one as nobody among them is a doctor or worked in a health related profession. They were very supportive in my chosen career as a physician.

Doc Joey: It was my parents who suggested — “If you want to be a nurse and take care of sick people, why don’t you aim higher and be a doctor instead and treat those sick people?” “You’ll called doktora!” “You’d be one cool female! Imagine, a female doctor!” They also warned me: “But you will have to study for at least 10 years after high school!”

What are the difficulties you faced while becoming a doctor?

Megamom: Being an “anak ng Diyos” has more cons than pros. It is but human nature to compare the fruit to the tree. MegaPop, also an MD, comes as well from a family of MDs.

JA: I feel like nobody in my family understands what I went through or am going through, and about to go through. It’s a little odd that they would all consult me in some matters but would not listen to me in others.

Dr. Carl: I have not started my own family yet, because it is so expensive to live comfortably during these times of economic hardship. Seeing a lot of poor patients who live a hand to mouth existence will make anyone think twice about setting out of the nest. Those two letters do not mean much in society anymore, thanks in part to the low regard for health care as a priority.

Mel: Some doctors I know, particularly obstetricians, are so busy that when I stare at their wrists, I can be forgiven for guessing that their idea of quality time is a Rado wristwatch or a Brequet, kindof. You get the idea.

Sometimes, I wonder how doctors have families and nice cars on some crappy residency training salary (PhP 8000/mo.). Voila, most of them are still on parental support; their original families own hospitals, businesses.

Prudence MD: I resented that some of my friends can already buy their own houses and cars when I still have to ask money from my parents to buy my medical books and pay for my apartment rent. And it didn’t help that somewhere along the way, my parents lost their jobs and had to start own business to have an income which, unfortunately, barely supported us. It seemed to me that I’ll be my parents’ parasite and nothing more.

Bone MD: “You gotta have a scholarship in high school or you’ll not going to any school at all” this grim reality my mom told me with tears welling in her eyes. “We can’t afford to send you to school”.

How were you able to go through the difficulties of medical training/practice?

Dr. Martin Bautista: My wife and I got matched at the same hospital. We got married as soon as we got our employment contract. Those years were very happy, even if work was toxic.

Bone MD: Opportunity then knocked when UPCAT applications came into my mailbox. “A scholarship and a thick stomach is all I need“ I jokingly told my mom and sisters.

Dr. Abner: If there’s one thing I can boast of, it’s the strong family bond that we, the Hornedos have. We’ve been through thick and thin, through ups and downs, through hell and high water, through the toughest of times and I am proud to say, we are still here together, all 5 of us siblings and our parents.

MegaMom: I hardly get asked anymore if I am related to anyone of them. The great thing when i travel around the country and the globe, is that people know me for being me, and not someone’s daughter, wife or granddaughter-in-law. After all that, yes, I am grateful for my dad’s influence, not just in steering me towards a career in medicine, but in my values: integrity, accountability, hard work. I am proud to be my father’s daughter.

Prudence MD: I’ve to thank my parents for not letting me feel during those times that I needed to do something to alleviate the situation, aside from having to finish my studies. I never heard those stinging statements such as “how we wished you took another course” or “how we wished you just took up nursing” or ” you should have worked right after college”. They never complained that I’m being expensive because I’ve to live in a separate house, that they have to exert effort by going to my apartment just to see me and that they have to bring my books and clothes to and from Bulacan. Also, kind relatives, especially the doctors in the U.S., have been very helpful in giving financial and moral support.

Why the changes in your practice? Why did you decide to shift careers?

Doc Joey: Thank God, my son’s been off phenobarbital for almost 2 years and he seems to be growing to be a healthy boy. But because of his prior condition, we had to make a lot of major decisions. My maternity leave stretched to 3 months. My clinic schedule was cut from 6 days a week to 4 days a week. We also moved back to my mother’s house because it’s much nearer the hospitals (where we can bring our son in case we need to) and much nearer our clinics (so we can rush home whenever needed).

Dr. Abner: Probably the biggest decision I ever made was leaving my meager private practice and my being a doctor in the Philippines to be with my family, especially be with my mum here in Australia and I have NO REGRETS with that decision whatsoever. Honestly, my parents are my priorities at the moment. They are my family and I am happy and contented being with them

Dr. Carl: Today I work 40 hours a week taking phone calls in a new building, surrounded with the latest equipment and a nifty ID entry system. I commute every week on the ferry just to go home and create all these blog posts. Do my parents mind? I remember what my dad always said - “Just set your career on the direction you want to take.” My mom, after I had explained that I would be getting roughly the same salary for half the work, is hoping that this would just be a passing fancy, and I would return to don my white coat again. But they both respect me enough as a human being to give me free rein on my career choices, just as long as I can defend them with logic.

What is your greatest fear?

Doc Ness: Dr. Mike said, and I quote: “My greatest fear is that I have not loved my family enough. ”

Any advice for would-be doctors?

Dr. Martin Bautista: Family teaches you what matters. The brevity of our lives makes it vital that we begin as soon as we can to find meaning through serving the never-ending line of people in dire need.

Dr. Mike (through Dr. Ness): Much is expected of you and maybe because you hold life itself in your hands, patients will believe you. Believe you more than their parents, spouses, politicians or even more than their pastors or priests. Family members will ask you to convince their patients to quit smoking or drinking and sometimes your mere presence would mean a lot to your patient and their family.

Practice what you teach. Especially with kids, leadership by example is still the best.

If and when you have found that someone who you can imagine being the first person you see when you wake up in the morning for the rest of your life, then make that commitment with him /her. Get married, start a family. Like everything else, it doesn’t get cheaper if you delay it. And if it is true love, it will stand the test of time.

What do you want patients to know about doctors?

Doc Mel: They make quality time possible for other families. For themselves? That is the question.

Joey M.D.: My family and my career has always been intertwined in a fine web. When I was single, I concentrated more on becoming a doctor and my family has been supportive of it. Now that I’m married, my family is my priority and my career only second as I have to attend to my family’s needs. I am aware that these two will continue to evolve and change through the years, as the circumstances we are in change.

Talk show host: Thank you very much to our guests for today! You’ve certainly enlightened us on the subject of the doctor’s family. It seems that family is always a major factor in your lives, like most people.

I hope you had enjoyed today’s special interview. For another look into what doctors think, take a peak into Dr. JA’s blog. She’s hosting TBR 11.

————————————–

This is the long overdue roundup for TBR10 “The Doctor’s Family”. I am very sorry for the delay. I am glad to have done this though. I hope you enjoy reading the various entries as much as I did.

Again, thank you for Dr. Remo (Bone MD) for dreaming up The Blog Rounds. I’m happy to be a part of it. If you’re a Pinoy MD and want to join the blogrounds, hop on over to Bone MD’s blog to see the guidelines and the schedule.