Philippin

How to es:
Become An Ultimate Guide

a Doctor 1. Prepare as early as high school.

in the
2. Get into college.
After graduating from high school, you can either take the “fast track” or “slow
track” to get that dream Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.

The “fast track” allows you to get the degree in a relatively shorter time. Instead of
spending 4 years to earn a baccalaureate degree and another 4 years in medical
school, you’ll be entering a condensed program that can make you a doctor for as
short as 6 to 7 years.

In the Philippines, there are programs that make this possible:

 University of the Philippines’ Intarmed which picks aspiring doctors from
the top 10% of UPCAT passers to complete a 7-year medical program straight
from high school.
 De La Salle University’s Bachelor of Science in Human Biology allows
qualified students to earn a Doctor of Medicine degree in just 6 years. The first
two years are spent studying at the DLSU-Taft while the third year onwards is
the “medicine proper” to be taken at DLSU-Med.
 De La Salle University in Dasmariñas has similar programs that shorten
the time frame of completing medical education. One is
the B.S. Biochemistry where students enter medicine proper during the third
year and the B.S. Medical Biology program which is similar to the B.S. Human
Biology offered by DLSU-Taft.
 The University of Santo Tomas is now offering a 6-year medicine
program beginning school year 2019 to 2020. Currently in its trial stage, the
“Innovative Doctor of Medicine” program will pick its first 90 students through a
stringent selection process. The lucky few who will make it to the program’s
initial implementation can take the medicine proper after only two years of
general courses–and without completing a bachelor’s degree.
For the majority of students, however, the “slow track” of taking a bachelor’s
degree before entering a medical school seems to be the more logical choice.
For one, it gives them plenty of time to think about their future. A lot of things may
change during those four years. You can wake up one day and realize you’re not
actually in love with becoming a doctor but only with the glamour and prestige
that come with it.
To make this realization, you must take up a course that will prepare you well for
medical school or will expose you to hospital work.
Pre-medicine courses, or simply “pre-med” courses,” are college courses that are
structured to prepare you for the challenges of medical school and internship.
These include biological and Allied sciences programs like:
 B.S. Biology
 B.S. Nursing
 B.S. Psychology
 B.S. Medical Technology
 B.S. Pharmacy
 B.S. Public Health
 B.S. Physical Therapy
Each of these pre-med courses has pros and cons so it doesn’t matter which one
you choose as long as you’re genuinely interested in the program. Remember,
you will be spending four years of your life studying the course so might as well
choose something that you can see yourself enjoying.
Nursing teaches you how to build rapport with patients and collaborate with other
medical professionals. It also builds your clinical skills and trains you on how to
translate “book knowledge” into practical application.
Physical Therapy is a great choice if you’re eyeing a career in geriatrics in the
future. Psychology is ideal for future doctors in the fields of Neurology or
Psychiatry.
Both Biology and Medical Technology are heavy on science subjects so it will
help you ace the first few years of medical school. Public Health, meanwhile, is
best for those who want to immerse in government work in the future.
While it’s ideal to take one of these pre-med courses, you can still pursue
Medicine with a totally unrelated, non-science college course.
In fact, there are engineers, entrepreneurs, IT professionals, flight attendants, and
teachers who only realized their desire to become a physician after graduating
from college
If you’re one of those late-bloomers, don’t fret. As long as you’ve completed
a B.S. or a B.A. degree, you are qualified to take the NMAT, a mandatory exam
for all aspiring doctors in the Philippines (more on this later)
However, in top schools like UST or PLM, applicants who didn’t take pre-med
courses in college will be required by the admissions office to take extra units in
subjects where they’re lacking like Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics,
Mathematics, Social Sciences, Humanities, or Language and Communication.
3. Take a gap year (optional).
Let’s say you’ve just graduated from college. At this point, you should have a
clear idea of whether taking Medicine is the right career path from you.
If you’re still unsure, it’s a clear indication that you’re not ready for medical school
yet. Someone who has the passion to become a physician running through his
veins will go ahead and enroll in a medical school–no questions asked.
Take the uncertainty as a sign to do some soul-searching. Know yourself more.
Take a gap year. Get a master’s degree. Work for a while to save up more
money.
Whatever you choose to do, remember that you can only get into medical school
once you’re 100% committed to it.
The life of medical students and doctors are no joke. It’s nothing like Grey’s
Anatomy.
Assuming you enroll in a medical school straight from college, you’ll be spending
the rest of your 20’s studying and won’t be financially independent until you’re in
your mid-30s.
It takes a lot of sacrifices. You’ll have endless sleepless nights away from your
friends and family. Sleep and social life will become a luxury.
Hospital politics, demanding patients, almost inhumane work schedules, and a
corrupt healthcare system will drain you of all the positivity and make you
question your life choices.
Ask as many doctors as you can about the realities of becoming a doctor. If you
still think the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices, then you’re already in good
standing. You’ll fare better than those who quit after three years of medical school
when the reality of what clinical work involves sinks in.
4. Choose your target medical
school/s.
If you’ve already weighed the pros and cons of taking up Medicine and there’s
nothing stopping you from doing so, it’s time to look for a medical school.
Here’s an updated list of all medical schools in the Philippines.  
In choosing a medical school, you have to consider the following factors:
a. NMAT percentile cut-off: While some schools are more lenient when it comes
to NMAT scores, well-known institutions reject applicants whose NMAT grades
are below their cut-off scores. UP College of Medicine, for example, only accepts
those with 90+ percentile rank/score in NMAT. UST and UERM, on the other
hand, have cut-off scores of 85 and 75, respectively.
b. The minimum number of units for specific college subjects: Especially if you
didn’t take a pre-med course, you will most likely take extra credits in specific
subjects as required by the medical school you’ll be applying for. For instance,
the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), one of the best and cheapest
medical schools in the country, require all their applicants to have the minimum
number of units in Mathematics, Social Sciences, Language and Communication,
Humanities, and Sciences.
c. Tuition fee: The bad news is the medical education in the Philippines is not free
for all. Expect to shell out tens of thousands in tuition fees alone every semester.
If you didn’t come from a wealthy family, you will face stiff competition to get
accepted into one of the few highly competitive public medical schools.
Knowing that the cost of medical education hinders many from pursuing their
dreams of becoming a doctor, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) now
offers Cash Grants to Medical Students Enrolled in State Universities and
Colleges (CGMS-SUCs).
The program allows qualified individuals to study Medicine for free beginning
school year 2017-2018. Cash grants will be equally divided among the following
public medical schools:
 University of Northern Philippines
 Mariano Marcos State University
 Cagayan State University
 Bicol University
 West Visayas State University
 University of the Philippines-Leyte
 Mindanao State University
 University of the Philippines-Manila
Aside from maintaining a general weighted average every semester, students
who will benefit from the free education are required to render one year of service
in the country for every year that they receive a cash grant. After all, the subsidy
is intended to alleviate the shortage of doctors in the Philippines.
d. Board exam performance.  harder and score well in NMAT.
A medical school’s passing rate in the past board examinations reflects the
quality of education and training it provides to its students.
While location matters when choosing a medical school, it’s doubly important to
entrust your future to an institution with a good track record. To help you decide,
we’ve analyzed the performances of the most reputable medical schools in the
country in the previous board examinations.
5. Ace the National Medical
Admission Test (NMAT).
Before you can enroll in any medical school in the Philippines, you need to take
and pass the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT).
It’s an aptitude exam that measures your readiness to handle the grueling
academic demands of medical schools.
Similar to IQ tests, the NMAT is administered twice a year by the Center for
Educational Measurement, Inc. (CEM) as authorized by the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED).
While it’s true that NMAT is not a 100% reliable predictor of your success in
medical school, you shouldn’t take it lightly either. If your dream school has high
standards like UP Manila, for example, you should score at least 90+ in NMAT.
That score isn’t even considered above-average given that most of the applicants
who get in have 99+ percentile scores.
To qualify for NMAT, you should be a graduate or a graduating student of any
college degree course in the Philippines. Foreign students and graduates are also
welcome to apply. There are testing centers both here and abroad, the specific
locations of which are determined by CEM.
Medical schools admit students based on two things: college grades and NMAT
score. Those with Latin honors and high NMAT scores easily secure slots in top
medical schools.
If you didn’t perform well in college, however, that’s all the more reason to study
6. Apply to your chosen medical
school.
If your aim is to be qualified in one of the top 10 medical schools listed in the
previous section, then acing the NMAT is only the beginning.
Depending on your school of choice, the following are the requirements that you
have to go through or submit before getting admitted:
a. NMAT – Again, different schools have different cut-off scores. In case your
score fails to meet the mark, you can either retake the NMAT or enroll in another
medical school with a good track record but with no specific NMAT score
requirement.
b. Entrance examination – Some universities require all incoming medical
students to go through yet another screening process in the form of an entrance
exam. If you just took NMAT recently or you’re fresh out of college, this shouldn’t
be a problem. Otherwise, know beforehand the coverage of the exam and aim to
get the passing or above average score set by the school.
c. Police clearance – Medical schools require enrollees to submit police
clearance, NBI clearance, or both to prove they were not involved in cases of
moral turpitude (forgery, robbery, rape, etc.)
d. Certificate of Eligibility for Admission to a Medical Course (CEMed) – This
document is usually requested by the medical school once the student passed all
the screening procedures like entrance exam, interview, etc. It can be obtained
from the regional offices of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
If you’re a foreigner, you may apply at the CHED Office of Student Services
(OSS) inside the National Engineering Center Building in U.P. Diliman.
Below are the requirements needed to get a CEMed:
 Certificate of good moral character.
 Birth certificate.
 An original or duplicate copy of the Examination Report Form showing
your NMAT score.
 Transcript of Records (TOR).
 For graduates of government schools, a copy of the Diploma or
Certificate of Graduation authenticated by the school registrar.
 Duly accomplished CEMed application form.
e. Recommendation letter – This signed document is submitted for formality and
should come from a reputable source like a faculty member or college dean of the
school where you came from.
f. Interview – Whereas your NMAT and college grades may predict how well you
can handle the academic demands of medical school, the panel interview will
assess whether you’re truly cut out to be a doctor.
It can either be a one-on-one interview or a panel interview like in UP College of
Medicine.
The interview is a chance for the admissions to dig deeper into your character,
evaluate your intentions, and test whether you have the emotional and mental
capacity to weather the storms of medical school (and beyond).
Expect the questions to be similar in format and content with the following:
 Why do you want to become a doctor?
 What makes you a better choice in comparison to others?
 What will drive you to study and push through even if it is tough both
physically and mentally?
 How motivated are you?
 If you won’t be a doctor, what would be your career of choice?
 Do you have a backup plan should you be unable to finish medicine?
 How do you de-stress?
 What was the most stressful situation that you had? Can you tell me how
you handled this situation?
 Why should we choose you from other applicants?
In some instances, the interviewees may also veer off from these type of
questions and ask something unexpected, like those related to medical issues on
a national scale:
 If you would be given the chance to solve a single national issue, what
would be your choice and how would you deal with it?
 What do you think is the biggest issue in healthcare and how would you
solve it?
To ace the interview, all you have to do is be yourself. The interviewees probably
have years of experience doing this so they can smell whether you’re being
genuine or not right off the bat.
7. Survive medical school.
The moment you enroll in a medical school, everything becomes a level playing
field.
It doesn’t matter if you took Engineering or Biology in college; everyone is starting
from zero.
In the Philippines, the Doctor of Medicine degree is a five-year graduate program
that will build your foundation as a future doctor.
The first three years are filled with academic instructions delivered through a
combination of laboratory work and lectures.
Freshmen should expect to study basic sciences like Biochemistry, Preventive
Medicine, Community Health, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Psychiatry, and
Medical Practice I.
Second-year students will spend a year studying basic concepts of
Pharmacology, Microbiology & Parasitology, Pathology, Medicine and Surgery,
Medical Economics, and Psychiatry II.
In the third year, medical students will immerse in disease management, learning
more about the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and clinical management of common
as well as rare medical conditions. At this point, you will start interacting with the
patients in the actual hospital setting.
The fourth year is your year as a junior intern. This phase is also known as
clinical clerkship during which you will be rotated in different hospital
departments.
Expect to spend anywhere between several weeks to two months in various fields
like Surgery, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and various
subspecialties. You will be under the supervision of a faculty who will then
evaluate your performance after each hospital duty.
After 4 years in medical school, you will finally graduate and earn the “Doctor of
Medicine” diploma provided that you overcome one final hurdle: a final graduation
requirement in the form of a thesis, practical exam, or an independent research
project.
Once you graduate, you will then transition to a post-graduate internship. This is
the last phase of your training where you will work alongside residents and other
members of the healthcare team. Just like before, you will remain under the
supervision of a faculty member known as the “attending physician.”
The post-graduate internship allows you to train more intensively in different
subspecialties like Dermatology, Urology, Gynecology, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, etc.
It’s a critical period in your medical education since you won’t be allowed to take
the licensure examination and practice your profession if you fail to complete the
required hours of internship.
Knowing what lies ahead is one thing but actually being there and surviving med
school is another. And the best way to properly navigate your student life is to
learn from those who already came out of it. Below are just some of the valuable
tips every incoming medical student ought to know:
 Studying to become a doctor comes with a price. And no, I’m not just
talking about the expensive tuition fees and other expenses which should be
clear to you by now. Med school will take a toll not just on your finances but
also on your social life. While the first three years are relatively easy, your
clerkship (4th year) will require you to spend countless hours on hospital duty
which means not seeing your friends and joining your family on special
occasions and holidays.
 It’s not just what you know but who you know. Even the brightest medical
students won’t survive medical school as loners. Make friends with students in
higher years; they can give you study materials and insider tips you would
otherwise have no access to. Build meaningful connections with professors
and other doctors; they will serve as your mentors and possibly refer you to
wonderful opportunities in the future. Learn to ride with work politics; getting
along with all types of people will help you advance your career just as much
as your smarts and skills.
 Never cram your way out of med school. If you’re only there because
your parents want you to, you’re not fooling anyone except yourself.
Remember, a half-hearted medical student is a future liability. One day, you
and your stocked knowledge will be the only ones standing between a
patient’s life and death. Study every day not because your grades depend on
it but for all the lives you’ll be able to save once you become a full-fledged
doctor.
 De-stress. Unless you want to burn out, you have to find a way to relax at
every chance you get. If your school have sports or dance organizations, don’t
waste the opportunity to join. Do things that will keep your body moving and
your mind away from the stresses of med school. Busy student life should
never be an excuse to take care of yourself.
 
8. Pass the Physician Licensure
Examination.
A graduate of a “Doctor of Medicine” program can’t work without a license to
practice. And to get this license, he/she must pass the physician licensure exam
given twice a year (March and September).
The exam is administered by the Board of Medicine (BOM) under the supervision
of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). It has two categories, each of
which covers six different subjects:
 Basic sciences (Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Microbiology,
Pathology, and Pharmacology).
 Clinical sciences (Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics,
Surgery, Legal Medicine and Preventive Medicine).
To pass the exam, you must have a board exam average rating of at least 75%
with no grade lower than 50% in any subject.
While waiting for a hospital willing to accept you as a resident, you can get
moonlight jobs to earn income.
“Moonlighting” refers to the practice of working a second job outside your primary
job. As a moonlighter, your limited experience may backfire when you encounter
cases you know little about so think twice before accepting new opportunities.
Once accepted, medical residents may spend 3 to 6 years working in the hospital
depending on their chosen field of specialization. There’s even a joke that the
reason why medical residents are called as such is they literally “reside” in the
hospital for the entire duration of their training.

Medical students usually have 2 to 6 months after a post-graduate internship The following is a list of common fields of specialization and the corresponding
allotted for the review. If you paid your dues in med school and didn’t take any number of years you’ll spend in residency training:
shortcuts, all you need is to refresh your memory on all the fundamental concepts
you’ve learned over the years.  Anesthesia – 3 years
 Dermatology – 3 years
Once you overcome all the hurdles, your “MD” license will finally allow you to
work as a general practitioner, or earn from “moonlight” jobs. Alternatively, you  ER Medicine – 3 years
can take another gap year before going to residency training.
 ENT – HNS – 4 years
9. Undergo medical residency  Family Medicine – 3 years

training.  Internal Medicine – 3 years

After getting their licenses, most new doctors in the Philippines opt to go through  Obstetrics and Gynecology – 4 years
a residency training program to further their careers.
 Ophthalmology – 3 years
If you don’t like to take this path, you can establish private practice right away to  Orthopedics – 4 years
work as a general practitioner. Companies also hire general practitioners and pay
them fixed monthly salaries to work in various settings like hotels, schools, clinics,  Pathology – 4 years
etc.
 Pediatrics – 3 years
The main disadvantage is that GPs have less income and career growth  Psychiatry – 4 years
opportunities than specialists. If you want to be the latter, then your best option is
to go straight to residency.  Radiology – 4 years
 Rehabilitation Medicine – 3 years
Getting a slot for your medical residency training is like applying for a job. You’ll
be competing with other new doctors aiming for the same specialization, with  Surgery – 4 to 5 years
some of them closely connected to the higher-ups or are board exam top
notchers so their applications are prioritized over others.
Medical residents are paid a pittance throughout their training, the reason why
some take moonlighting gigs in the first place.
Private hospitals offer Php 12,000 to Php 20,000 (with or without benefits
like SSS and Philhealth) while government hospitals offer a relatively higher take-
home pay of anywhere between Php 30,000 to Php 50,000 (mostly with benefits).
Take note that while residents in government hospitals have higher salaries, they
have three times more workload which could mean little to no sleep every single
day.
The competition is also more intense in public hospitals so some are willing to
share the slot with another doctor just to get accepted, hence driving the salary
even lower.
All residency training programs in the Philippines are regulated by their respective
societies. For example, residents who are specializing in psychiatry are regulated
by the Philippine Board of Psychiatry, future pediatricians by the Philippine Board
of Pediatrics, and so on.
These societies are also tasked to administer diplomate board examinations at
the end of the training programs to ensure the competency of the doctors joining
them.
Once you pass the exam, you can work with a guaranteed higher salary or
proceed to fellowship for your sub specialization.
10. Get into fellowship training.
When you’re done with your residency training, you have two choices: either work
and start earning money or spend a few more years to pursue a subspecialty
(also known as fellowship).
At this point, years of training and working in the hospital should give you an idea
of what field to subspecialize in.
Just like in residency training, you also have to go through a process in order to
get accepted into a hospital that offers a fellowship training program.
For your chosen subspecialty, you’ll spend another 2 to 4 years of training and
working in the hospital. Oncology, for example, requires 3 years of residency in
Internal Medicine and another 3 years of fellowship training before you can
become an oncologist.
The following are the subspecialties of Internal Medicine you can consider
pursuing:
 Cardiology
 Endocrinology
 Gastroenterology
 Geriatric Medicine
 Oncology and Hematology
 Hospice and Palliative Medicine
 Infectious Diseases
 Nephrology
 Pulmonary Diseases
 Rheumatology
After completing your fellowship, you will take another exam. Passing it gives you
a certification so you can work as a specialist. Your success as a specialist
largely depends on the quality of the training you received during residency as
well as your choice of training institution (hospital) for your fellowship.
Specialists who have completed their residency training and have been qualified
in their chosen field of specialization can now fill one of the various lucrative
positions offered by both private and public institutions.
A specialist surgeon, for example, can earn over Php 100,000 from one operation
alone in his private practice and earn additional income as a consultant in a
training hospital.
Specialists can work in a specialized private clinic, private hospital, or a
government hospital. They may also land an administrative position in the
Department of Health (DOH) and other similar government agencies.