CDU-CM Reveals a different side of medicine

CEBU, Philippines - My first week at Cebu Doctors’ University College of Medicine had our newly elected Student Council announcing before lecture: “We’ll be collecting dues for our Acquaintance Party starting next week. Attendance is mandatory. Start thinking of theme suggestions.” A mandatory costume themed dinner dance… in med school? Where do we medical students get time for this? “And now we’ll be taking nominations for Mr. and Mrs. Med.” The names started flying, accompanied by an uproar from the class excited at the idea of putting their peers up for scrutiny of the masses. Mr. and Mrs. Med? The thought of it seemed to bring me back to a high school popularity contest for the title of Homecoming King and Queen. I tried to keep an open mind. 

Weeks passed and I continued to drag my feet about the idea of attending. One of my group mates, a Filipino born-and-raised, decided to enlighten me on the underlying cultural idiosyncrasy: “Smalltalk isn’t the norm here like where you’re from. People don’t simply start conversations with strangers for the sake of conversation and become best friends.” Interesting. I consider myself to be a sociable person, and in my undergraduate studies (in the U.S.) I was a huge proponent of making smalltalk in between classes or in line, waiting to get my lunch. That simply was how things worked. But that doesn’t fly out here. “Out here, there needs to be a more obvious reason to talk – i.e., an activity happening around you, a planned event, a decidedly social situation… an Acquaintance Party,” as explained. Oh, got it!

Friday, July 15, 2011 found me in the lobby of the Oak Ridge Pavilion thinking, “Not bad.” The first-year Student Council sets up the Acquaintance Party every year, and our year had not let the College of Medicine down. Professional photographers greeted you at the door to capture your arrival on film. Groups came in their respective costumes, ranging from Jabbawockeez to Pilots and Stewardesses to French Maids. Yes, I said it – French maids! A quick stop by the registration table to make sure you got credit for showing up. Then a chocolate fondue greeted you inside with your choice of ingredients. It was clear that a lot of time and effort went into preparing for the occasion. When asked about the stress and chaos of organizing this event for the entire College of Medicine, Student Council Vice President Raisaleene Ledesma replied: “Stressed? We’re actually more stressed about SGD (small group discussion) on Monday! This actually gives us a chance to ‘let loose’ a little.” The more I spoke with those involved in the planning of the night’s events, the more it became clearer to me that that Acquaintance Party for some was more than a mandatory dinner dance or meet-and-greet on a Friday night, but an opportunity for them to put their time and energy into something outside of medicine at least for just one night.

First year students John Romero and Valerie Mangio took to the floor and got the night’s program underway by calling on the Dean of the College of Medicine Enrico Gruet, MD, who succinctly but effectively re-iterated that: “Medicine is a stressful process. The better you get to know each other, the better you can decide who you will work best with in the upcoming years. The better you work with your group mates, the more you will succeed.” Yet another dimension of the Acquaintance Party was added to my beginner’s understanding of exactly what it was – an opportunity for people to break out of the monotony of the Monday through Friday uniform and show a little of who they are outside of the study of medicine.

And the students definitely did just that. Kicking off the night’s showcase was the College of Medicine’s dance team with its high energy hip-hop performance, featuring contorted moves, some popping, some locking, and some dropping. After the dance was the induction of the new Student Council officers. With the formalities out of the way, the live music played, the food was served, and the good vibes were underway.

One thing I’ve noticed since being out here is that just about everyone sings, dances, or plays an instrument, and the good thing is that no one is afraid to show it. So if everyone has some type of talent to share, I realized, and everyone is caught up in medical school and racing toward a life of sleepless nights and endless shifts, events like this just might be the only chance for these students to really share their creativity and talents with others.   

Following the cascade of music and dance expositions the main event, the seeming pinnacle of overall talent showcasing for a CDU medical student – Mr. and Mrs. Med. With first-year student Cheska Cagulada and second-year student Mark Labella at the helm of the ceremony, the interactive showcase of “CDU-CM’s finest” never skipped a beat. Beginning with a series of grand introductions of this year’s contestant couples, the contestants’ opening punch lines were followed by a gauntlet of pageant-like modeling of different outfits and costumes, as well as a grueling question and answer session. In the end, the crowd was won over by first-year student Kristhy Atuel and second-year Patrick Jordan Lim, who now have the privilege of representing the CDU College of Medicine at this year’s Intrams and Medlympics.

For my groupmates and myself, the night did not end there, as we took the party to the Grand Family Suite at Sarrosa Hotel for more “teambuilding” and first-year memories.    And as in any walk of life, if you don’t take a moment to stop and appreciate what talents, perspectives, and personalities your colleagues have to offer, you’ll miss out on getting to know some great people. And sometimes – maybe just sometimes – it might take more than a little American smalltalk. Ladies and gentlemen, consider the Cebu Doctors’ University College of Medicine successfully “acquainted.”