THE MEMO

It is the first day of May, and it is the day when the new batch of interns come in. I am happy seeing them in their all new blazers with the proud look on their faces, that they have overcome a year of clerkship. I was the clerk's monitor or the resident in charge with the clerks, during the last term. And i had seen their trials, their hard ships and their progress on those times. And i believe that most of them do deserve to be in this place right now, a year away and then the only thing that separates us from them, the medical board exams. Well, the reason why i am writing this is about my reaction regarding a Memo that came down from the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges. It was said there that the interns are not to undergo 24 hours duty straight anymore as this will impair their decision making and as to make them more efficient with their work. I am not in favor with this. I do understand that a person who works in the hospital and some one who handles life should be in the right mind to make decisions and a proper rest is needed. But going on a 24 hours duty is also a training of character. It makes someone stronger by handling stressful situations. It makes a doctor think and act right even in the highest pressure. This is what a doctor is made of. And this is the life he/she'll be facing in the real world. So, how could you these new batch of interns have these qualities if the program will be changed?Aside from this they will be lesser cases that they can encounter during their course. I am not for the change of the program just because i had been into it and i want them to experience the hardships themselves but because this it will make them a better doctor because of it.....