LUIII officially ended with enrollment yesterday. And I really should be posting on LUIII so here it goes.

LUIII started with me hating medicine. Coming from a 4 week stint as a research assistant for a health policy project made me want to just stop taking up medicine and just take the plunge into the public health arena. Of course, my dependence on my parents and my desire to become a doctor won over so here I am a 2nd year med student.

To avoid the feeling of utter uselessness to Philippine society, I had to join organizations. I am active in three: MSSR, RSO and the MSC Social issues VolCorps. These organizations provide a venue to complement my medical education. UPCM wants us to be community-oriented doctors and I feel these three help me grow to be that kind of doctor. Summer immersions and real community work beyond medical missions? RSO. Updated on national issues? MSC SocIsh. Peace and human rights? Global issues? Networking? MSSR. I've got my bases pretty covered.

I was pretty sure I was sending off anti-social vibes during my first few days in med school. I couldn't even bring myself to say the class cheer. That all changed. I'm pretty sure I'm well integrated socially. Us having to follow a seat plan and that art of medicine module did move things along.

Academically, I exceeded my expectations. The subjects were challenging but surprisingly, I did well in the subject I feared most, OS 202 or Neurology and Endocrinology. I'm still bewildered by the score I got at the first lecture exam. Having friends who tutored me on the anatomy of the brain really helped. And the weird thing is that I got the same grades for the other OS subjects (except for the Thorax module were grades were curved) despite the feeling that I really did well in that abdomen and pelvis modules. The dreadful part is getting relatively low grades in our research subject despite having an arguably good paper, presentation and positive results on top. I have yet to evaluate this subject but they'll be hearing a lot from me and their stupid evaluation method.

Having a BSPH degree really helped. As the year progressed, I realized that I can "let go" of the histology portions of the modules since I already know them enough. The time saved was spent on reviewing areas where I was weak, such as gross anatomy. Medicine has been good because it allowed me to practice skills I learned in undergrad. At least when I get out, I have increased mastery over skills such as making health promotion materials, managing groups and writing research papers.

Overall, LUIII is a good year. I hope LUIV brings more fun and cheer.