My Desire to be a Doctor: A Personal Story
The door opened and I heard my name crisply called. Nervously, trying to control my emotions, I entered with courage and confidence. The interviewer began to assess me as soon as I enter the cold room, looking for some cues and deciding whether I fit in or not at all. I smiled, gently and intensely. "Please have a seat", he said in a low, deep voice. My heart sank in palpitations, to which I cried for God's help in this unearthly hour. I mustered the courage and eventually relaxed. I thought of good memories and happy times to distract me from this creepy feeling. In that very instant, God responded and heed my requests keeping me calmer.
"Tell me something about your family", was his first question. The emotion quickly flooded my heart, a heavy uncomfortable feeling. To which I honestly responded, " I grew up in a broken family under poverty. I am the eldest of four children, in which the pressure to provide and pursue my dreams, is a major challenge. My father was so irresponsible, he let us suffered in dire conditions. At age 7, he left us for greener pastures abroad. After 6 years in Saudi Arabia, in which he left us in total abandoment with no provisions and sustenance, he returned. To make up for the lost time, instead of showing love and care, he let us down-- both emotionally, financially and in all social dimensions. I remember those ties I have to sell vegetables in the public market at a very young age to go to school, those moments when you have to walk kilometers under the scorching heat of the sun to reach school, moments of disappointments when you can't have a good lunch and break in the canteen because you have no money, times of despair when all you hear and witness are frustrations from your parents, from this unstable family-- a shouting, uncaring, apathetic father. There were all tragic incidences unworthy of recalling-- labelled as trauma or abuse in a sense. The pain was relived afresh, the wounds incompletely healed, the psychological and emotional scar remained.
In 2010, my father died of an illness without seeking any medical care. His state of condition deteriorated slowly yet progressively, until he became so thin, so pale, so old, unable to breath, unable to eat, etc. He died in suffering-- without any medical attention. To be frank and honest, I felt very little sympathy for his untimely death. His loss to some extent did not bother me for he kept his heart so far away from us, his children. Who is this man? A stranger to me. Yet, I felt a little pang of sadness-- for there will be no tomorrows to make up the worst of times in the past. No time to say sorry, to mend a painfully broken heart.
After telling this story for like hours, I concluded with "I want to be a doctor to give justice to the poor, to serve even the indigent, to be the voice for them. I want to attend to the needs of the marginalized, of the community I was part of, those who live in desperate conditions, to be their light in total darkness."
The interview continued with more interrogations and follow-up questions. One more thing he ask is how come I finished college in a private university. I told him of the scholarships I was awarded and was grateful for. Academic scholarship for being ranked 4 in the Dean's List, CHED Full Merit Scholarship I enjoyed for the duration of my BS Pharmacy degree, and the patience, hard-work and commitment I poured in to finish as cum laude in our batch (2013). I wish he could feel how I felt during these dark days, how I wish I can lend him my shoes so he can better understand or even transport him back during the days I was studying.
The interviewer also asked me how I can finance my medical education. With high hopes and expectations I answered, "I am applying for any scholarship available in this University. I have heard of the Doctor to the Barrio Program of the Department of Health, in which I am deeply interested in. I also heard of UNILAB Foundation scholarship in which I think I am eligible to apply for. If by any means, with all measures exhausted and I did not get a scholarship, I will pray fervently to God to sustain and provide for me during my medical schooling. It is really my desire, given my academic inclination and achievement, to finish Doctor of Medicine, even if it requires miracle for it to work.
In the last portion of the interview, the strict yet gentle doctor commended me for having a high NMAT score of 96 percentile, the highest so far among those he interviewed this year, and wished me luck in my journey.
This is my experience of the entrance interview for the Medicine Program at Cagayan State University.
"Tell me something about your family", was his first question. The emotion quickly flooded my heart, a heavy uncomfortable feeling. To which I honestly responded, " I grew up in a broken family under poverty. I am the eldest of four children, in which the pressure to provide and pursue my dreams, is a major challenge. My father was so irresponsible, he let us suffered in dire conditions. At age 7, he left us for greener pastures abroad. After 6 years in Saudi Arabia, in which he left us in total abandoment with no provisions and sustenance, he returned. To make up for the lost time, instead of showing love and care, he let us down-- both emotionally, financially and in all social dimensions. I remember those ties I have to sell vegetables in the public market at a very young age to go to school, those moments when you have to walk kilometers under the scorching heat of the sun to reach school, moments of disappointments when you can't have a good lunch and break in the canteen because you have no money, times of despair when all you hear and witness are frustrations from your parents, from this unstable family-- a shouting, uncaring, apathetic father. There were all tragic incidences unworthy of recalling-- labelled as trauma or abuse in a sense. The pain was relived afresh, the wounds incompletely healed, the psychological and emotional scar remained.
In 2010, my father died of an illness without seeking any medical care. His state of condition deteriorated slowly yet progressively, until he became so thin, so pale, so old, unable to breath, unable to eat, etc. He died in suffering-- without any medical attention. To be frank and honest, I felt very little sympathy for his untimely death. His loss to some extent did not bother me for he kept his heart so far away from us, his children. Who is this man? A stranger to me. Yet, I felt a little pang of sadness-- for there will be no tomorrows to make up the worst of times in the past. No time to say sorry, to mend a painfully broken heart.
After telling this story for like hours, I concluded with "I want to be a doctor to give justice to the poor, to serve even the indigent, to be the voice for them. I want to attend to the needs of the marginalized, of the community I was part of, those who live in desperate conditions, to be their light in total darkness."
The interview continued with more interrogations and follow-up questions. One more thing he ask is how come I finished college in a private university. I told him of the scholarships I was awarded and was grateful for. Academic scholarship for being ranked 4 in the Dean's List, CHED Full Merit Scholarship I enjoyed for the duration of my BS Pharmacy degree, and the patience, hard-work and commitment I poured in to finish as cum laude in our batch (2013). I wish he could feel how I felt during these dark days, how I wish I can lend him my shoes so he can better understand or even transport him back during the days I was studying.
The interviewer also asked me how I can finance my medical education. With high hopes and expectations I answered, "I am applying for any scholarship available in this University. I have heard of the Doctor to the Barrio Program of the Department of Health, in which I am deeply interested in. I also heard of UNILAB Foundation scholarship in which I think I am eligible to apply for. If by any means, with all measures exhausted and I did not get a scholarship, I will pray fervently to God to sustain and provide for me during my medical schooling. It is really my desire, given my academic inclination and achievement, to finish Doctor of Medicine, even if it requires miracle for it to work.
In the last portion of the interview, the strict yet gentle doctor commended me for having a high NMAT score of 96 percentile, the highest so far among those he interviewed this year, and wished me luck in my journey.
This is my experience of the entrance interview for the Medicine Program at Cagayan State University.
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