Steps of becoming a Doctor in the Philippines

Whenever we ask children what do they want to become when they grow up, and they answers,"I want to become a successful doctor someday" most often we replied "Oh that’s really nice, that's a very noble profession indeed" or this "I know you can do it, just continue believing in yourself and in your dreams"

It is indeed a noble profession a lot of people dream of becoming. But for some people, like me, who doesn't have anyone in the family who is a doctor, we don't know how long would it take us to become a successful doctor someday.  

Here I want to share something I learned from going through this same journey as yours which I honestly didn't know upon entering medical school but wish I knew, not that it would change my course but somehow you know would've totally prepare me holistically :) 

This timeline of your journey starts after graduating from senior high school since this where you and your classmates take different baby steps in achieving each of your dreams. 

Timeline of becoming a successful Doctor:

• 4-5 years of pre-med degree 
• 4 years of medicine proper
• 6-7 years straight program (UP INTARMED/La Salle Human Bio)
• 1 year post graduate internship
• 2 months of board exam preparation 
• 3-6 years of residency training
• 1-3 years fellowship training

You can take any pre-med degree, even non-medical related ones, however, some medical schools would require units of some science courses such as physics etc. Though, I can say it is more advantageous to take health-related degree if you already knew you wanted to pursue the field of medicine after graduating from high school. I took BS in Nursing which only took 4 years unlike others such as BS in Physical Therapy which takes 5 years. Of course, not only you consider the length of years studying, but more importantly your passion. If you are passionate of becoming a physical therapist or pharmacist or med tech, regardless how long it takes, you should pursue them. Your passion is what makes your journey more enjoyable.

There are few medical schools which offers straight program for medicine, such as the 7-year program of UP INTARMED, 6-year program of La Salle BS Human Bio and recently, UST released an article that they will be accepting the 1st batch of their 6-year Innovative Doctor of Medicine program for the academic year 2019-2020. You may click the links I provided, to visit their website. This is one fact I didn't know before entering medical school. I hope a lot of medical schools in the Philippines or more so, all medical schools in the Philippines will offer straight program for medicine. Since being in this field really takes a toll of our lifetime, it's one way of shortening it but still providing quality education producing best doctors. 

Every medical student should undergo 1-year post grad internship in their matched hospital. I'm not sure with med students from UPCM if they are allowed to have their internship done outside PGH. You may refer to my post about internship for more info :)

And for you, who, like me, wants to pursue residency training in your chosen field of specialty, it is important to know that not only they differ in specialization but also in their length of years of training. And another 1-3 years, depending on what sub-specialization you wish to pursue. More or less, hospitals offers the same length of training for these different programs. There are a lot of students who take into consideration the length of residency training in choosing their field of specialty, that's why I included the common field of specialty in this post. 

Below are the accredited residency program and its equivalent of years of training offered in Perpetual Help Medical Center-Las Pinas as of December 2018.

RESIDENCY PROGRAM	YEARS OF TRAINING
Internal Medicine	3
Pediatrics	3
Obstetrician & Gynecology	4
General Surgery	5
Emergency Medicine	4
Radiology	4
Radiologic Oncology	4

There are now straight program offered for various specialty as well, where you don't have to undergo the previous required residency training. For example, before you need to take residency for IM before going to Neurology but now there's a straight program for Neurology, others are Dermatology, TCVS, Orthosurgery, Neurosurgery and etc. PGH offers a lot of accredited residency and fellowship training. Don't worry my dear, along your journey to MD, you'll gain a lot of information from your mentors regarding the field of specialty you're planning to take. Don't be shy to ask and they'll willingly help and guide you :)

It's honestly exhausting just thinking about how many years still ahead should I go before I can say "I am now a successful doctor". Each of us has our own definition of being a successful doctor. Some feels it's already enough to be a general physician once they achieved getting that MD attached after their name and a license to heal. It won't make any person less of a doctor if he/she did not pursue further training in a specialized field. What matters is how he/she was able to help other people with the knowledge, skills, & attitude he/she gain from all those years of studying.

Each of our journey differs from one another, and we should not compare our success with that of others. Taking further training in these fields are not the only way to serve as a doctor and be successful. May we all discover our passion and pursue them with an earnest heart, all for the greater purpose of serving those who are in need. May we all be blessed. To God be the Glory!