This was my third time to visit Palawan. In May 2007, my classmates and I lived and spent some days in a far-flung, no-electricity area at the tip of Puerto Princesa City. My group conducted public health education, feeding, and health survey to the locals. That was a worthwhile experience away from the comforts of electrically powered appliances (TV, rice cooker, air conditioning) in exchange of simple life under the roof of a small house made of bamboo. In April 2008, we went to a coastal barangay in Busuanga Island. We ate fish freshly caught from the abundant sea everyday. We drank sweet juice of the newly pruned young coconut from the neighborhood. We taught the people about common diseases, breastfeeding, and good personal hygiene. We even had a chance to do actual physical check-up on them under the guidance of a volunteer doctor of an NGO. All these past experiences in Palawan were able to hone my skills in clinical practice and leadership and inspire my ego to serve and give back to my beloved country after finishing my studies.
April 2009. This was my third time to immerse into a beautiful, eco-rich province of diverse and unique culture and welcoming, hospitable people. It was not in a Palawan barrio setting but rather in a Palawan hospital. My classmates and I chose to get into the plexus of hospital experience in the provincial setting in order for us to collect observations and hands-on in the operations of a rural hospital. Back at school everyday, we have been exposed to the PGH setting which has a large population of both health providers (but still not enough) and patients (they never stop coming!). But to be involved and get acquainted with the playground of rural hospitals would be a unique addition to our learning experience. And if things went right, the experience may be an inspiring one - suffice to give us, future doctors, one more reason to stay and serve locally.
My classmates and I had clinical duties at Ospital ng Palawan everyday for eight hours for more than a week. We rotated in the ER and OR/DR of the hospital. We were personally welcomed by the Hospital Director, Dr. Juan. Some of us had the luxury of assisting in the OR for eye surgery, child delivery, and orthopedic surgery. Some were able to insert IV lines and suture minor wounds. We noted the system that makes the hospital run and became a part of that system. Aside from these clinical and administrative observations, I would say that I give particular special attention to the personal stories of the nursing aids, nurses, and doctors. There was this one nursing aid who happened to be a volunteer for three straight years without payment. She told me that she enjoys her job and acknowledges her part in health provision to the afflicted is as vital as what the nurse or doctor gives. She experiences self-satisfaction and fulfilment not from the monetary currency which has never came to her but from the smiles and greetings of patients she cared for in the hospital. Another story is by a doctor who was not originally from Palawan. After her community service in the province, she fell in love with the place and decided for herself that the province would be her future clinical abode. Notice that it was never money that arrested her heart in Palawan but the inner peace and happiness she enjoyed. One more interesting story is a senior OR nurse who has been in the profession and service for thirty long years which is years long way before I was born. She looks quite happy with her job and she deserves the respect she receives from the younger ones and even from the surgeons who operates on the operating table she prepares. The respect does not blossom from fear or seniority but from the heated passion and genuine service she has shown in her profession and to her patients.
These are stories of good value. But in the midst of good, not-so-good lurks and appears. Well, in the real world, nothing is perfect. Entropy is everywhere. Of course, I heard few not-so-good stories, hospital gossips, and complaints. I saw some flaws in the system which is not isolated to this particular hospital but epidemic in the multitude of hospitals in the country. But, why worry in a dark corner where there is a small-lit fire burning. To the light - that's where my senses should focus on and not to the engulfing darkness. No one would be inspired if one is not willing to be inspired and changed. When I look back to the stories, I couldn't help but be touched and inspired. These gems of inspiration keep the fire burning in my heart and mind to continue to believe that our country's ailment would heal soon if everyone is willing to take part and contribute in the healing process. I would say, because of these stories, I yearn to serve my country and her people more and more.
For the past summers in Palawan, the experiences were so pleasant and inspiring. I have written in my past reflections that I would love to stay and be at service to my people after I get my degree. I was able to recognize the gist of fulfilment to have my very own reasons to stay in the country and forget ambitions of 'greener pastures' abroad because Philippines is already a "greener pasture". I arrived at questioning myself what we really meant by greener. Is it the thick wallet a doctor gets in a foreign land where (I personally observed) the patient cannot even say thanks to his doctor and a lawyer stands by watching the doctor's ass as he (the doctor) goes through the medical procedures? Or is it a wallet with just enough bills in it (and sometimes plentier) of a doctor who enjoys the praise and gratitude of most, if not all, of the village people who were unable to pay in cold cash but rather in kind such as chicken, eggs, fruits, and veggies? I admit I have my bias to doctors staying but I am not trying to portray that all doctors who had gone to another country are money-hungry and/or end up in a very dim, sorry situation. Of course, reasons for working abroad are not solely dictated by economics for some people. But I would say it is for some! And the end of their stories differs in the end. Some would be self-fulfilled; some sorry. My point is we can try to make ourselves content with the little pearls and pleasures endemic to our archipelago. We can find our own happiness locally if we only give ourselves a chance to experience what's worth is it to stay for our country. It's a huge sacrifice and change of values that beget nationalism (the genuine kind!) which can be learned and practiced not only in puppy years but in the grown-up-dog period of life.
