Pinoy.MD Launches Its Own Chatroom!
by Jose Maria E. Ferrer, M.D.
May 22, 2007

The Pinoy.MD Community message boards (http://pinoy.md/ipb) are more active than ever. Inspired by the camaraderie fostered in the forums, Pinoy.MD | The Website for Filipino Doctors launches its very own chatroom.

by Dr. Jojo Ferrer

Welcome to Pinoy.MD -- The Website for Filipino Doctors. And to those who are asking, yes, this site is still active.

I recently received some emails asking me why we haven't been updating the articles on the website. Well, we have 2 short answers for that:

Looking at Death, straight in the eye!
by Anubis*

As I write this open letter to all of you, there are more and more people around us who are or going to be diagnosed with cancer. There will be a time in our short existence, not as doctors, but as ordinary human beings who will have to face the dark menace of cancer in either ourselves or our beloved ones. So it may come to you as a surprise that this menace has now come to not only your field of vision but literally in your very own personal space. Consider the statistics of cancer, which have almost never been heard of in the 1950’s, has geometrically increased in a matter of 50 years, to become the leading cause of mortality worldwide.

Beyond Ordinary Human Mortals
by Ronald P. Law, M.D.

“Doctors are men beyond ordinary human mortals,” said a mentor in Patient-Doctor 101, six years ago, to our group of wide-eyed freshmen medical students, eliciting a wild mix of reaction, from boisterous remarks, meek smiles, to clueless faces.

Then, the statement could be worth a good adrenaline rush to shove the hearts of idealistic, yet inert (like some gas that seemingly has no capacity to blow off) aspiring doctors about to tread the tortuous and tedious path to Medicine; or it could pass off as another sweeping rhetoric uttered by someone, a doctor at that, attempting to wax philosophical about the prospect of being one. Quite expectedly, though after serious reminiscing, I believe back then, I had subscribed to the first thought I suggested, or so I would like to think.

MIND Speech
by June Ann
Delivered in May 28, 2005 MIND meeting

To our ever supportive senior doctors, Dr. Florina Kaluag, Drs. Willie and Liza Ong, our honored guest, Mr. Louis Perron, to the founders of MIND and Pinoy.MD, Dr. Philip Cruz, Dr. Mike Muin and Dr. Jojo Ferrer, to all the medical residents – our future supportive senior doctors, my fellow PGIs, clerks and medical students, good evening!

After listening to the lectures and inspiring messages just a while ago, I would like to start my reflection by saying THANK YOU Doctors! I’m sure you’re familiar with the first line of a beautiful song which I would like to sing for MIND…You gave me HOPE, the strength the will to keep on…HOPE is actually one thing that I have been longing for. I am an aspiring doctor, an intern who came all the way from Iloilo City just for this meeting. I’m actually a fan of Dr. Ong because I have been using the Medicine and Cardiology Bluebook during my clerkship and I’ve also read his articles in the Health and Lifestyle magazine. The first time I read M.I.N.D. announcement in friendster I immediately responded because just like some or many of us here, I am also experiencing a dilemma. I have lots of frustrations and questions about the present healthcare situation in our country.

The 'M.D.-R.N. phenomenon'
By Jun R. Ruiz, M.D.

MEDICINE is now becoming a pre-nursing course, giving rise to a new hybrid of professionals—the "M.D.-R.N." However, this is old news, in the headlines for years.

What's new for Filipino doctors? Are the present circumstances in our country make it justifiable for some of our colleagues to switch to the nursing profession? The financial factor continues to be the primary reason for the so-called "M.D.-R.N." phenomenon. Data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue reveal that the average Filipino physician earns only an annual income of P230,347.75 (P19,195.65 monthly). This means that doctors are also going through hard times in these days of crisis. The government's own economic office estimates that a monthly income of P19,890 is needed to meet the daily basic needs for a family of six in Metro Manila.

Crisis and Hope for the Medical Profession
(Invitation to the May 28 Meeting)
By Willie T. Ong, MD

"Never in history have thousands of Filipino doctors given up their profession to become nurses in a foreign land," laments Dr. Tony Acosta, the 81 year old and eldest official of the Department of Health.

Never in the history of the medical profession has there been a crisis of this proportion. "It's a medical apocalypse," says Dr. Bu Castro, president of the Philippine Medical Association. "It's not brain drain anymore, it's brain hemorrhage," says UP Vice Chancellor for Research, Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan.

The facts are undeniable. PMA estimates that 12,000 doctors have and are taking up nursing. Many hospitals are on the brink of closure from lack of resident doctors. "Half of our class are deferring medical practice and going into other more lucrative businesses," says Dr. Gan Montenegro, the president of FEU Class 2003.

Looking For Supportive Senior Doctors
by Willie T. Ong, MD

Let me tell you a story I will never forget. This experience is both the easiest and most difficult to tell. But the writer is bound to the truth though it pains him.

It happened when I was a trainee then at a certain hospital. My name was included in a list of six doctors for a prestigious award. The Awards Committee asked us for our curriculum vitae and scheduled an interview. That Tuesday morning, in December of 1999, all six of us nominees fidgeted in an adjoining room waiting for our turn to be summoned by the committee of three.

Circular No. 05, s-2005
Medical Manpower Complement for Accreditation of Hospital and Other Accreditation Concerns of Physicians

For uniform implementation of accreditation process/requirements of professionals and hospitals, the following definitions and guidelines are hereby provided:

A. Hospital / Institutional Accreditation:

The classification of medical manpower complement of hospitals shall be as follows:
I. Based on the Number of Hours of Hospital Service (A duty sheet may be required as a supporting document.)

A. Full Time Physicians
A full time physician (FT) is defined as a licensed physician who renders service to a hospital for forty (40) hours a week or 160 hours a month or more.

Malpractice Issue: A Tough Fight Ahead
By Willie T. Ong, MD

Get ready for war.

On the red corner, insurance groups and legislators have made a head start in pushing for several malpractice bills in the Senate. A reliable source has confirmed the hiring of a top lobby group to have these bills approved as soon as possible.

On the blue corner, the Philippine Medical Association, led by its president Dr. Bu Castro, has initiated the “Total Recall” project, which asks for the withdrawal of all these bills. The PMA has met with its component associations in charting the battle plan.