Hi! I was doing some research on UERM and after a couple minutes of doing so I ended up here. I'm actually planning to go there (sent in my application documents and did my NMAT last December) and I'm praying that I get accepted ^^ Anyway, I just want to ask - how is it? Being a medical student and all. Are the sleepless nights as prominent as they say? I guess what I mean to say is, what general attitude should equip to prepare myself?

Hi Jaye! I'm glad that I can give you some insight on medicine school. I hope you get in as well because UERM is really a good school for medicine! Just a heads up, most doctors from St. Luke's are from UERM. The president of the said hospital is an alumnus. :)

Yup, there are sleepless nights if you cram all the time. I guess what you need to equip yourself with is time management and to have a strong personality.

I mean, its gonna be hard but you definitely need sleep. It's really time management, moreover SELF management. Also you have to resolve some identity crisis and all those insecurities because most of the medical students are competitive. I mean you'll get great friends naman, dont get me wrong. But you just have to learn when to let go of things and to give way for other people.

Let me know if you do get in because my suggestion is reading and reading ahead. 1st year is tough! You must review ahead of time most of the time because exams come every month :)

I hope this helped! Good luck! :)

Anj (may I call you Anj?),

Thanks for the tips :) I was worried about sleepless nights even with good time management (I feared it would be that hectic) but from what you said I'm glad it's not as bad as I imagined, but still tough nonetheless. Yeah, I heard about UERM's reputation, which is why I chose to apply there and only there, haha. And I got accepted ^^ So there's that.

And about competition - I'm expecting that 100% (I mean it's a whole level above the competition in college, which was insane even back then). Thanks for the heads up!

May I ask one more question? What course did you take up in college? Did it help a lot with your 1st year medical subjects? Thanks ^^

By the way, your English is flawless :)

Hello Jaye!

Sure thing, Anj is fine :) That's great! Are you an incoming 1st year? Let me know if you need advance notes and e-books :)

I really can't talk much. I have a surgery exam tom. Hehehe.

I took up B.S. Biology in UP Diliman :) Yup, it did help with my 1st year medical subjects especially biochemistry :) But really, your pre-med course is not an indicator in succeeding. It is still time and self management. It will be only a stepping stone (in my case, biology has prepared me in the theories) but I had a hard time applying them in the clinical sense. So basically there is no best pre-med course, sadly. hehe

Thanks! I really wanted to become a journalist before being persuaded to become a doctor. hehehe. :)

I'm fluent in the vernacular (tagalog) language too, just for your info. hehe.

Nice to know I am helping some people with my writings. haha!

Hi Ms. Angelica!
I was searching about UERM and I was led here. :D
I'm also from UP Diliman and about to graduate with a BS Biology degree. :D
I wanted to ask about the facilities in UERM.
I'm currently torn between UERM and St. Luke's.
Maybe you can give me your insight.
Thaaaanks! :D

Hey Hazel, you caught me in a bad timing. exams. hmmm... im planning to write about that soon but I hope this reaches you on time.

To start off. I am bias. UERM!!! hahaha

hi there. i just enrolled in UERM. im actually trying to save money on books since they're pretty expensive. is it advisable to buy all the books...i met a UERM student kasi and she said na nagpphotocopy lang daw siya. and would you recommend to read the books now before classes start this june? thank you very much! -kris

Thanks for the reply ;) Yeah, I figured that a person's major would help somewhat, but won't carry you the whole way - time and time management, got it.

Yes, I am an incoming 1st year, and thanks for the offer ^^ I think I'll need those notes/e-books you mentioned (are they the same as the transes that everyone keeps mentioning?). How could I get them from you? (I'll be living near the campus if that helps).

Journalism, cool :) You could always do journalism on the side, you're really good at it :D We have similar interests. When I was young I seriously wanted to be a novelist (got too busy though), so I might continue doing that in the future as a side hobby. If you really love doing something, you shouldn't stop ^^

Hey Kris and Jaye,

You don't need to buy books for 1st year. Well, if you really want to buy. I will recommend Netter (Atlas of Anatomy) and Moore Clinical anatomy.

You kinda got me in a bad timing since my external hard drive was stolen last March, just after exams so all my 1st and 2nd year files are unfortunately lost so I have to retrieve my files from my friends when I get to purchase a new external hard drive. Hehehe.

But I think I have some back-up cds left. I will check. Uhm.. well, I don't mind if we meet up in school when classes start. I usually hang out in the library. hahaha. I'm a geek. hehe.

Thanks Jaye! Yup, im planning to do both but I had to sacrifice it since the first two years of medical school are the hardest. They say third year is hard but I think it would be more smooth sailing since you get used to the load.

If I were you guys, il purchase an ipad. Then I could teach you how to load it with ebooks. Unfortunately, my ipad was also stolen and so was my lap top. hahaha. So, im back from scratch.

I'll try to retrieve my files soon and then just email me on the whereabouts on how and where to give it to you. :)

Good luck in school! For me, 1st year was the hardest! If you do have time, I highly recommend that you review ahead for anatomy, physiology and biochemistry this May!

If I get my files, il upload it and send the link to you guys :)

Chow! Hope to see you around the campus! :P

thank you for the reply! was really planning on buying all the books! thanks for the heads up. buying an ipad sounds like a cheaper idea. oh and can i also have a copy of the e-books/notes? will probably study anatomy and physiology...a lot of terms and drawings!

:) kris

can you also use kindle? -kris

hey kris :)

sure thing, i can email it to you or give it personally. my external hard drive was stolen from me however so i need to retrieve it when i get back to manila. im on a vacation right now so im sorry if i dont get to reply asap :)

yup, you can use kindle too. im just used with my ipad, which i should also replace since it was stolen too. haha.

Just try to enjoy the summer first, then 2 weeks before classes start, il send those files to you. Email me your email address :)

ur blog really helps and also ur multiply page! love it! thanks a lot for all the help and good luck to us! my email is khris_dy@yahoo.com

:)

Hi miss anj!

I'm also an incoming 1st year med student at UERM.

I'm fond of reading med students' blogs, and since i'm going to UERM, I searched for one and luckily I found yours. Thanks for the tips regarding the books! Having a tab sounds like a great idea and is really more convenient, and i must say, cheaper than buying all the books in the list. Since I haven't purchased any books yet, what I'm planning to do is to buy at least one book per subject, and the rest of the books in the list, iddownload ko na lang as e-books. Would that be alright? What books do you think are advisable for a 1st year student to buy?

And one more thing, uwian po kasi ako, so I'm really nervous when it comes to time management. I can feel that commuting would eat up a lot of my time. Advice naman po. Thanks in advance!

By the way, your blog is a great help to us incoming 1st year students! Nakakakaba and nakaka-excite. I guess I'll be reading more of your posts from time to time. :D

-Janine

Just bought a laptop, so I guess I can already spend time in the world wide web these days so I'll be uploading the ebooks and transcriptions of the lectures AKA "trans" :) I'll email the link to you Kris or just try to link it here :) You are so much welcome :) It's my way to thank back all those wonderful upper year friends that I have who have helped me in med school. It's really a pay-it forward kinda thing :)

Janine, if your eyes are already used with the tablet, I would have to say that all ebooks are sufficient but if you want to buy the major books of 1st year per subject that's fine :)

For 1st year UERM:
Anatomy- Moore, Clincally-oriented anatomy
Physiology- Berne and Levy (standard), althou sometimes we use Guyton because it's shorter. Hehe
Biochemistry- Devlin (NO EBOOK. oh sorry. this is what I bought pala); but you can use... I forgot. dnt worry. Im gonna write a blog soon on the preparatory needs of incoming 1st year med students and I'll try my best to upload the books or if not, you can meet me up in school and give me a blank dvd or usb :) I usually hang out in the library. :)

Congrats! UERM is really one of the best med students :) Chow.

Hi Ms. Anj! Thanks a lot! Looking forward to your next blog! Hmm... Maybe I'll just try to approach you in the library. Ok lang po ba? Nakakahiya naman. Hahaha! Thanks again for your efforts in giving us not only tips but also the things that we'll be needing in med school. Goodluck to us! :)

It's alright :) Just approach me and introduce yourself when you see me :)

Hi Ms. Anj.
I'm Kim incoming 1st year this August at UERM. I love UERM for I studied there too as a Nursing student for a year. :) can you please help me finding e-books that they use for Med school.