exceptions

as april ends, there's another big change that's coming up. (it's not what you think. it's not about my husband's homecoming.) that change is twofold-my favorite batch of interns for this year (hehehe) is graduating and will be leaving the SUMC family and a new batch of will be joining us come may 1. since i became the attendance checker (proud to be one - refer to brian's blog for the complete list of the batch) of this batch and the batch before them, i have learned so much from their youth and their love for fun. i have learned to love most if not all of them. i have learned to accept all of them though - for who they are and for what they're made of. a lot of them are smarter and brilliant than the residents. but of course, we do have the experience to brag about. mind you, that's level 4 evidence only. hahaha.

what i'm trying to say here is that i'll miss this batch. i think i'll be having a separation anxiety since they've become so close to me they've become like my family here. they keep me company during weekends especially that i live alone in this wonderful place called dumaguete. most of them have accepted me for my strengths and weaknesses especially in trying to teach them and make them get the most out of their internship. though it wasn't smooth sailing as i would have wanted it to be, it still was worth the time i spent in trying to instill in them punctuality, responsibility, honesty and integrity. i was glad to have made a few realize the fact that coming on time is part and parcel of becoming a brilliant doctor. jeanette, bianca and even brigitte made it to their last 6 months with just a few lates. that's quite an achievement for the three of them. though ver and ian have not made an improvement on that aspect, i still have a few more months to make the message come across because they'll be left behind man (they started their internship late).

another achievement of this batch is complying with the dress code especially the females. every morning when they come to sign in the logbook, you'll be amazed na wala pa nahurot ang dress sa lee plaza, cang's, water lily, marjorie's and unitop. they all looked so pretty and so becoming of a physician. keep it up! the males of the group have their share of looking good and presentable but a few just can't comply or won't comply especially ver's haircut.

i will also miss the trying efforts of kent and twinkle to learn more and to be at par with the rest of the interns. remember, no matter how many times you're going to fall and fail, stand up and strive further to be able to reach your goals and make your loved ones proud of you. i have learned to love the perseverance twinkle has shown and how kent has become honest in answering me (admit it, you've been bluffing during your first few months kent).

despite all the difficult times i had with them, it's still an experience i'm willing to go through again. i have learned a lot from myself by being with them. i have learned that i'm no longer afraid to ask for help from other people for fear of being criticized. i have asked brian for a PICC-fitting (can't find the right word) introduction of my case presentation ant it was indeed PICC-fitting. hehehe. i also asked gaya to make me a PICC-worthy powerpoint presentation of my case - just the slides. you might think i made them make my presentation. no, i made them myself except for these two.

my duties became easier because of them. most of them does not complain if i request them to do things for the patients of their co-interns. to name a few, there's brian especially if the patient was tonet's (hehehe - peace bri). there's sherwin especially if the patient was joan's. by the way, they're the lovebirds of the group. there's ver who does my requests after his excuses run out. there's laurjie who does not question my requests. there's gaya with her multitude of talents who does not complain even if giaway na sa patient kay sige ask questions. there's also ria, joan, tonet, aning, mel, chofi and emma who does things with a smile. emma has still to practice smiling more though.

for those of you who have passed the family medicine department, thank you for willingly sharing your family, lovelife and life with us through your genograms. it made us understand and accept you more. thank you for that opportunity of getting to know all of you. thank you for being so real.

to the gift of friendship and camaraderie, to all the fun and laughter we had, to the late night "sharing of ideas and insights with coke and bread", to all the fun memories we shared and will share in the future, i thank you for all the lessons i learned and the memories i'm going to keep forever dear in my heart. may you all pass the boards as soon as possible with flying colors and become the physicians with a heart that we all aim for.

(having been brought up in a family where the criticisms are never constructive but otherwise, i am so tihik when it comes to giving compliments and i have been uncomfortable with praises such that when someone says i look good in my blue dress, i can hardly say thank you as a reply because i don't believe he/she is sincere with the compliment. hey, that was about 3 years back. compliments do not come easy for me but for this batch i think i made an exception.)

this post is inspired by brian's latest post about superheroes. thanks bri.