Ronibats.PH

14 August 2011

I Am Twenty-Three

By Ron Baticulon

6 Min read

9 comments

14August

Lately, I have been having a hard time remembering how old I am. When filling out forms or talking to customer service personnel, there’s an inevitable six-second lag before I figure out the answer. I even have to make a quick calculation in my head sometimes. I find this unusual because as a child and a teenager, I always knew my age. You could ask for it while I’m in the middle of a book, in front of the computer screen, or watching TV, and I would instantaneously blurt out the answer. Five. Twelve. Seventeen.

Read on

5 August 2011

Sampung Payo para sa mga Kukuha ng Medicine Board Exam

By Ron Baticulon

3 Min read

16 comments

05August

Mag-aral nang mabuti sa Biochem. Ito ang first exam. Dapat “good vibes” agad. Kapag pangit ang pakiramdam mo unang exam pa lang, iisipin mo na ‘yan araw-araw hanggang sa panlabindalawang exam.

Read on

17 July 2011

Sometimes You Never Get to Thank the People Who Do Not Believe in You

By Ron Baticulon

6 Min read

8 comments

17July

When I was a Grade 6 pupil, I cried over my first periodic exam in English. Periodic, my English teacher then would always stress — not periodical, as we were wont to say before he came to our small private school. Sir E’s instructions on the exam were clear: we were supposed to read the given passage and answer the subsequent questions in complete sentences, based on what we read. I did not follow the instructions.

Read on

24 June 2011

How I Got into INTARMED

By Ron Baticulon

6 Min read

221 comments

24June

Using her then box-type cellular phone with a 15-minute battery life, my unassuming mother delivered the good news that would ultimately lay down my career path.
“Anak, congratulations! Nakapaskil dito sa blackboard. Nakapasa ka!”

Read on

11 June 2011

Some Days Feel Like an Indie Movie Playing in Real Time

By Ron Baticulon

5 Min read

18 comments

11June

She could not stop thanking me profusely.
“Dok, maraming maraming salamat po sa lahat ng tulong ninyo sa anak ko,” she said, one hand clutching both handkerchief and rosary, the other stroking her son’s forehead. I had just signed the necessary discharge orders and I approached my patient to remove the thin tube sticking out of the back of his head. The tube was inserted in the operating room to drain excessive cerebrospinal fluid. It would serve no purpose now.

Read on

28 May 2011

You Work Hard for Moments Like This

By Ron Baticulon

5 Min read

14 comments

28May

I never liked going on duty on Sundays. Sundays are never quiet in the hospital. Somehow, people get into all sorts of trouble and find a convenient excuse to drag themselves to the hospital on a day that used to be dedicated to attending mass, rest, and mellow music on the radio.

Read on

1 May 2011

Good Morning, Dok!

By Ron Baticulon

3 Min read

1 comment

01May

“Good morning, Dok!” he would always say in the morning when we did our rounds. Despite being 18 years old, his voice was a high-pitched squeak of a boy reaching puberty — awkward, but always happy and thankful nevertheless. It was one of the effects of his brain tumor, in addition to his short stature and delayed maturation of physical appearance. Any stranger would incorrectly guess his age to be no more than 12 or 13.

Read on

16 April 2011

Medical Officer III

By Ron Baticulon

3 Min read

7 comments

16April

Every day begins at 5:30 am. As I walk past the charity wards on the way to the Neurosurgical Special Care Unit, I mumble a short prayer asking for a little more kindness and a little less impatience. That has become my morning habit. I used to wish for fewer patients, until I realized that I didn’t need the daily disappointment, and thus directed my morning offering to self-improvement instead.

Read on