Hippocratic Oath

(my Entry on the Essay writing Contest last September. Nakachambang maka Second place kasi mejo nagmamadali kasi gutom nako nun at may Subsec party that night. hehe)

"Hippocratic Oath"

It was love at first sight.

The first day of Medical School, the flashed us the oath that was sworn upon by each and every doctor who walked this earth. I immediately fell in love with the oath: its history, its meaning, and the fact that so many people desires it yet so few have survived to get it. And as i sat in awe in front of these words, I couldn't help but wonder, "How will this school take me there?"

They immediately put our eyes in the prize. But of course, as we all know, the road to "doctor-dom" will never be easy. And indeed, it never was. Out came the rush of marathon lectures, exams, practicals. We were loaded with new terminologies, jargons, names. So many memory work that is more than a man would need in his life. The pressure was so intense that I started to crumble and ask, "Is this really a love worth fighting for?"

The answer came to me through a facilitator one daw who told me, "The strongest people have the most problems, the hardest trials. It's not because God wants them to suffer, it's because God trusts them enough that he knows you can get through it." From then on, pain became pleasure. Yes, the subjects always kept us running, not because our professors are sadists, it's because the believe we can get by.

In Med, I've experienced staying up till morning for a report only to be overhauled in the morning. I have missed family outings just because I have a date with Katzung, Robbins, or both. The ranting could go on, but then again, it is also in this process I stood in awe of the Human Body. Our professors always say, "How did God do that?", "Can't you see how wonderful this body God made for us?" In the fast pace pf med, they make it a point to stop for us to appreciate the view. UST Med pushed us so much that we are always on the edge. And they push us more, so that from that edge, we learn how to fly. We are bred to be competent

We're required to say "Hello" and "Thank You" to our patients, to be courteous and considerate. We're always challenged on what to do on crucial ethical situations. We don't hesitate to push wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, and we hold the hand of an old patient to help him walk to his bed. We are bred to be compassionate.

This school always xhallenge us to do more and be more. The journey into the Medical field will take us a lifetime. But this lifetime, will touch many more other lifetimes than an average life probably would. We will save lives. And whoever saves one life, saves the world entire. We are bred to be committed.

When I entered me, I have a lot of reasons: to be rich, powerful, respected, popular. But as II walk through this journey, those "impure" reasons were dissolved until there was onle one reason left... the classic reason that echoes around the walls of Medschool for all time: To Help Humanity.

Now, as I get nearer to the day I will recite that oath, I can't imagine myself from any other Medschool but UST. As I will raise my hand to recite my Hippocratic Oath, in my veins will flow the blood of Rizal, and all the other great doctors who have gone through the same rite of passage as mine. My name will rank among the biggest roster of doctors in the country. I will live the life the way our mentors have lived: Competent, Committed, Compassionate.

It was Love as first sight.

And this Love, is my gift to the world.