MT101 in PSMID convention

I was not able to attend the 48th Annual PAMET convention. Fortunately, me and my co-workers were sent by our hospital to go to PSMID (Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases) convention.
The PSMID convention was held at Crowne Plaza Galleria last Nov. 28-30. There were only a few Med Teks there; the majority of the delegates were doctors. And of course, Med Reps are all present. For those who have not been to any PSMID convention, let me share to you what I experienced and learned from this event.

First, the fun part! Just like the PAMET convention, Med Reps here are giving away a lot of FREEBIES!* Yehey!!! You just have wait for the long lines, sign some paper with your name and contact number and you got yourself a freebie. Funny thing about PSMID is all the Med Reps will call you "Dok" even though your I.D. tag says you're an RMT, I guess they're just playing it safe since most of the delegates were doctors. I also learned something new about doctors. They like freebies, maybe even more, just like we do. They were also willing to wait for long lines to get a free "eco-friendly" bag, may mga nanininigit pa nga e.hehe!

Aside from the free stuff (and the food), just like PAMET, there are also symposiums. I was able to attend three symposiums. During the second and the third day of the convention, there was actually a certain time where you can choose which symposium you wish to attend. This was done because some symposiums or sessions were industry sponsored. The symposiums that we attended were very informative and practical. All topics were focused on the prevention and control of infectious and emerging diseases. I believe that the doctors who were present would immediately put to use what they learned.

Overall, the convention was both educational and fun (parang field trip!). The convention was clearly loyal to its theme (Strategies, Intervention and Responsive Solutions in Infectious disease). Every session, research and symposiums were aiming to battle the infectious disease here in our country. I bet that the doctors have appreciated it more than I did. If I were to choose between PAMET or PSMID, I would say... Well, I don't really have a choice but to pick PAMET because I'm a Med Tek but I have to give props to PSMID. Buffet lunch vs Sit-down meal (PAMET), more freebies (personally speaking), and the freedom to choose on which symposium you want to be in. I just hope next time PAMET would have something about hazard pays or fixed minimum salary grade for Med Teks. Just saying...


*List of free stuff I got: 4.0gb USB, 9 bags: 5 "eco-friendly" bags, 2 extra-large bags, and 2 messenger/body bag, >10 ballpen, 2 prescription pad, 1 notebook, 8 tablets of vitamin samples, some antibiotic, spoon and fork with chopsticks kit,  and 1 umbrella.

**I also learned that the plural form of symposium could be either symposiums or symposia. ;)

Share to all Med Teks, Doctors, health professionals and all who attended PSMID or PAMET convention!

Please comment or share your experience on PAMET or PSMID. Thank you and God bless!

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Job hunt in Singapore

Most Med Teks have chosen to work in the Middle East. Some are in New Zealand, U.K., the North America and some other Asian countries. But what caught my attention was a very nearby country that has a rising economy and a good pay grade. I found out that you don't need a visa to get there so I took the risk and went on a job hunt in Singapore.

First, let me tell you what I thought was the advantages of working in Singapore. It only takes about three and a half hours to travel from Manila or Cebu to Singapore. We have the same time zone. This makes up for your homesickness. Why? Because if you're really homesick you could just go home during weekends. A lot of airlines nowadays are offering travel promos. You may want to book a Friday night ticket and go back to SG by Sunday evening. This may also be advantageous to people who are in a long distance relationship. If your partner wants to see you or surprise you, he/she could just visit you anytime because they won't need any visa to get there.

On my first day in Singapore, I went to a friend who was already working there and he let me stay at his place for a couple of weeks. Job hunting in SG is expensive. If you want to get a job there, you need all the resources you can get. When I was at his place, I immediately prepared all the things I need for applying. About one or two weeks prior my trip to SG, I already applied online. I was hoping that I could get shortlisted and get an interview when I get to SG. Back to my prepping, I took out my USB, and borrowed his laptop. I Google searched for the nearest 7-eleven store where I can get a SIM card for SG and an ez-link card (this is the card they use for transportation). I went to the store, bought a SIM card and an ez-link card, got back to my friend's place and printed copies of my resume (with my friend's address and my SG cellphone number). After that, I made a walk-in application at the nearest hospital which was Changi General Hospital. After the walk-in application, I went home and applied online. On the next day, I bought a newspaper and browsed the classified ads. I applied to all positions that I qualify. I also searched the internet for job openings, I used jobstreet.sg, jobsdb, st107, monster, etc. I made telephone calls to agencies and hospitals asking if they have openings. I also made a lot of walk-in applications to almost all hospitals in SG, and I applied online whenever I get back to my friend's place. Needless to say, I did this everyday for almost two weeks. It was definitely exhausting. I got lost sometimes.hehe! But everything was new to me so it seemed to be a bit of an adventure. I remember one time that I got lost, I was walking and walking and lo and behold, I could see the Merlion! haha!

Unfortunately, I did not get a job at Singapore. I had one interview though when I was already back here in the Philippines. The employer was kind enough to let me have a Skype interview to save the trouble for the trip. It was my first Skype interview and there were two interviewers but I was never really nervous. I guess personal interviews are more intimidating. It was for a job opening for a perfusionist. I did not have enough experience and I was not able to get the job.

The whole experience was actually an eye-opener for me. Here in the Philippines, I never had a hard time getting a job. There's always a place for Med Teks. Without prejudice, I kind of felt what nurses here in our country feels when they could not find a job. It was so frustrating. I went from hospital to hospital and no one not even HR personnel would talk to me. They would just point you to a drop box where all resume are collected. (I wonder if they even open it.hehe.) I would not discourage you though because I still believe that SG is a good place for Med Teks to work. The culture is asian, the cuisine is asian, there are a lot of Filipinos there, what else could you look for? They offer a good salary, some even higher than the common offers of the Middle East. Plus, SG is near us. It is really harder though to get a job at SG. Harder than the usual application you do for other countries. But just like any other job hunting, all you need is a lot, and I mean, a lot of patience. (For those who want to work abroad, you may want to read my recent post: to leave or not to leave)



(Although I was not successful in getting a job from SG, I'll try to share with you some tips that I learned when I was there and some tips from my friends who are already working there on my next post.)


"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it." 
- Theodore Roosevelt

Share to all Med Teks, health professionals and to all those who want to work or working in Singapore!

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Medical Technologists and "Amalayer" patients

Medical Technologists and "Amalayer" patients

It is impossible that you have never encountered an "Amalayer-like patients". If you don't know what Amalayer is, you probably haven't used the internet or watched the news lately. It has gone viral in the web and just for the sake of those who really don't know what Amalayer is, check this video:

I know you can relate! hahaha! I just feel sorry for the lady guard. Even if the girl was right, I don't think anyone deserves to be treated that way. This actually happens in the out-patient department of the laboratory. I guess this often happens during or after blood extractions. If we have CCTV in the opd, we probably have a collection of stuff like this. This is actually just a norm for us. A patient or a relative of a patient suddenly freaking out and makes a scene. Just to share my experience, I had one incident that is similar to the video above. A relative of a patient was so furious that she threatened that she would sue me for allegedly losing her blood bags she bought at Phil. National Red Cross. Later that day, I called the PNRC and found out that she left the blood bags there.
 
If you're a customer or a service oriented employee, you already expect a lot of complaints from your customer or patients. Whether you're a nurse, a rad tech, PT, front desk clerk, receptionist or a Med Tek, you can never escape the fact that we can never win this kind of arguments or situations. Patience is a virtue and in this type of situation, it is an understatement. But what we have to understand is that this is our job, and the best that we can do is to be professional. For those who experienced Amalayer-like situations and remained calm and professional, then I congratulate you for a job well done. Let us continue to be understanding and caring to our patients. For the Amalayer-like patients, well... See you tomorrow and God bless!

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Check the seminar page

For your convenience, I updated the seminars page. I will probably update the page at least once week depending on how many seminars I find. I hope it will help some of you to save the trouble of looking for seminars in the web. I also update the Job openings page at least two to three times a week. You could also check our facebook account for job postings.

Here's the latest seminar I found out:

9th Postgraduate Course in Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine
"Perils, Progress and Promises in the Practice of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine"

Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) Auditorium, Training Center
Filinvest Corporate City Compound, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
March 14-15, 2013

Early registration fee: Php 1,500.00
On-site registration fee: Php 2,000.00
Click this for more details


For all our nurse friends:

BASIC IVT TRAINING FOR REGISTERED NURSES

December 20,21,22 2012

Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) Lecture room 2 and 3, Training Center
Filinvest Corporate City Compound, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Registration fee: Php 2,800.00 (inclusive of foods and kit) Php 500.00 processing fee to ANSAP
Bring a photocopy of PRC license and two 2x2 id pictures with green background.
Click here for more details ===>  http://www.ritm.gov.ph/Announcements/Dec%2020-22,%202012,%20IVT.pdf

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QuickInfo: Rabies in the Philippines

"Rabies is a menacing disease which kills around 200 to 300 Filipinos per year. It’s 100% fatal, but it’s also 100% preventable. Know more through our first QuickInfo upload on Rabies in the Philippines."

Source: http://www.ritm-research.org

QuickInfo: Rabies in the Philippines

Source:http://www.ritm-research.org

Long Distance Relationship (Part 1)

I don't think long distance relationships are uncommon to Med Teks. I believe that it is experienced by many Filipinos. Your partner might be a Med Tek, a nurse, a doctor, an engineer, an architect, a seaman, a cook,a domestic helper or any other form of work available abroad, the fact still remains that you are distance apart. Long distance relationships might look close as Manila to Davao, or as far as Cebu to Dubai, but it still bears the same weight and the same amount of loneliness. (check my post about working abroad, click here)

Long distance relationship. If I were to ask 10 random Med Teks if they think that long distance relationships would work, I would assume that more than 5 out of 10 Med Teks would say "no".  It is undeniable that this type of relationship is quite difficult. If I may quote a colleague, "yun nga na araw-araw magkasama naghihiwalay pa, yun pa kayang magkalayo!". Although it is quite true, many are still in this type of relationship. The physical aspect of the relationship is hard, but the emotional part is harder. Let me try to explain that. When you celebrate your monthsaries or your anniversaries, you are alone. This occasions should have been celebrated with a partner but he/she is absent. That's the physical aspect. You suddenly feel the emptiness, the longing for her/his embrace or the touch of their lips, or as simple as the grasp of his/her hand. That's the emotional part. That pain when you feel like you can smell their scent but could not feel their warmth. Like a ghost in your mind, you could only see but you can never touch. What a burden. Hirap noh? Never remind a person whose in a long distance relationship about Valentine's day and Christmas (you may also want to avoid the line: "Pasko na! Ang lamig ng simoy ng hangin!" ).

Job openings

Most probably, the readers of this blog are Med Teks. I figured that while browsing the blog, you may also want to look for some jobs here in the Philippines and abroad.. Check out the Job Openings page I just added. I'll try to post as much job openings as I can. There are links available where you can search jobs from other website.

(I am not endorsing any website nor any job positions. Be careful in choosing jobs abroad. Always check the agency status at the poea website.)