The Best Medical Schools – What to Look for

In Davao City, there’s only one medical school that you can attend to, i.e. Davao Medical School Foundation. It’s one of the bet medical schools in the Philippines but not in Asia. Still, it’s a chosen school of some Indians who come to the Philippines to study medicine as they don’t want to spend millions for their medical studies.

Choosing the best medical schools in the Philippines will require you to conduct a thorough research. Just because a school is popular doesn’t mean it can offer you the right knowledge and training that you need to become a successful medical doctor.

What does it focus?

Medical schools have their own specialties. Davao Medical School Foundation, for instance, specializes in primary care. Thus, it’s not the best medical school if you want to become a researcher.  It might not be the right fit for your goal.

What’s the quality of their teaching?

The best way to answer this is to ask the past and current students. Or you may also check out the school’s faculty to student ratio.

Avoid consulting its admission’s office as you’ll only get biased information.

Asking the current students of that school can give you unbiased review. Pretty sure, they’ll give you an honest nod or a thumb down.

How competitive it is?

The best medical schools in Asia aren’t calm. Most of them are cut-throat. Students are competing against each other just to be on top of the class or just pass.

However, a medical school that’s calm and collaborative doesn’t mean it’s not the best one on list. In fact, one of the best medical schools has unique evaluation system that lets you enjoy your schooling.

Are the students happy?

The best medical schools won’t only give their students that best training but they’ll also give them an enjoyable life, despite the competition.

You won’t be studying all the time. So, you need a school that can also give you a break when you need to. It’s best to talk to the school’s current students and learn about how their medical school life is. Are they happy staying in that school or are they wishing they’ve enrolled somewhere else?

Where is it located?

The location of the school is important in helping you make the right decision. Make sure that it’s still near your family and friends.

Good thing is that most medical schools have their own clinical facilities where their students are trained. At Davao Medical School Foundation, students can apply for internship at DMSFH. The hospital is just adjacent to the school.

How much does it cost?

The best medical schools aren’t cheap. You’ll need to shell out thousands to millions of pesos just to go through the system. However, they do offer some scholarships that you can apply to in order to reduce the overall expenses of attending a medical school. Then again, applying for one is a cut-throat business. This is because the school will only grant scholarships to a limited number of students.

It’s difficult to find the best medical school where you can enroll in. But the most important thing is to go with a school that can make you happy while training to be a medical doctor.

Facts About Birth Control Everyone Should Know

Sadly, there are only 62% of people, who use contraception, know about the real facts about birth control. Many men and women are still not sure about the proper way to take, say birth control pill, even after their doctors have explained it to them.

Thus, I’ll highlight the list of things that you must know about birth control.

1. Obtain it for free

Yes, birth control pills or other methods can be obtained for free. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act. City government clinics are required to provide men and women the birth control methods that they need without paying anything.

What of your health insurance? Some providers do cover birth control without deductible. So, go ahead and ask your insurance company about it.

But, don’t expect that all brands are covered. You should assume that the birth control pills would be given are generics.

2. Use it consistently

This is one of the reasons you need to understand the explanation of your doctor on how to take your birth control pill. There are many facts about it that you must know to successfully prevent yourself from getting pregnant.

You won’t get pregnant if you take it every day or as prescribed by your physician. Don’t always assume that when you take it, you won’t get pregnant 100%.

You can avoid unintended pregnancy by taking it as directed.

3. Monitor side effects

Not all birth control pills are created equal. Some will suit you while others don’t. Most of the time, gynecologists will prescribe women with a pill that they know or they’ll give their patients pills that they currently have free samples stored in their closet.

But this doesn’t mean that they’re best for you.

So, track the side effects if you’re experiencing any. Then, talk to your doctor about them. The information you’ll give them will help your doctors find the right birth control pill for you.

4. Opt for IUD

Intrauterine devices are said to be more effective than birth control pills, patches or rings. This is because the t-shaped device inserted into your uterus can eliminate human error.

IUDs are safe. This is one of the facts about birth control that you should know. Currently, they’re considered the most effective. Plus, they offer long-acting results. And if you wish to get pregnant, you can reverse it by removing the device.

Can birth control pills cause weight gain?

This is one of the concerns of most teenagers who are taking them. They do cause weight gain, if you’re taking the early version of this type of pill.

Thankfully, modern birth control pills have been modified. Thus, you don’t have to worry about gaining weight while taking this pill.

Will they interact with other meds?

Your doctor will ask you of the other medications you’re using before giving you the right birth control pill. This is because some drugs don’t mix well with this type of pill. If you’re taking antibiotics, anti-depressants or natural supplements, you should consider telling your doctor about them. They might interact and reduce the effectiveness of a birth control pill.

Mental Health Counselor – Tips on Finding the Right Provider

It’s not easy to find mental health counselor that you can trust. This is especially true if you don’t know the counselor that fits your specific needs.

To help you get started, here are some tips as you search for the best provider.

Know the type of provider that you need

Mental health providers provide treatment right after diagnosing a patient with a mental health condition. Some of them have taken/completed master’s degree while others have undergone advanced training. Either you go for the former or the latter, you must choose the one who is licensed to provide you with mental health services.

A mental health counselor can be a psychiatrist. He/she is a licensed medical doctor who specializes in mental health. He/she can handle mental health cases of child, adolescent and geriatric. Even addiction psychiatry can be provided by this type of doctor.

Another person you can go to is a psychologist. He/she isn’t a medical doctor. But he/she is trained to handle thoughts and emotions, as well as behaviors of his/her patients. A psychologist holds a Ph.D, a Psy. D., or a Ed.D. But a psychologist can’t prescribe medicine, unless he/she is also a medical doctor.

A psychiatric-mental health nurse can also be considered a mental health counselor. He/she is a registered nurse. The only difference from that of a regular nurse is that he/she underwent rigorous training in mental health issues. He/she can diagnose, treat and assess mental illnesses. As regards to prescribing medicines, he/she must be an advanced practice nurse.

Try considering some factors

Although it’s okay to go to a provider who can treat a range of mental health conditions, it’s best to seek mental health counseling from a person who is trained to treat or diagnose your specific condition.

This means that if you have an eating disorder, the mental health counselor that you need is a psychologist. Marital problems can be consulted with a licensed marriage counselor. And so on and so forth.

If your condition is complicated, then you have to consider getting counseling from the person who is an expert in the field and who underwent training for your condition.

Find out if you need medication

As previously mentioned, some of those counselors cannot prescribe medicine. But just because you have mental health disorder doesn’t mean you need medicine. However, if you do need medicine, you should consider consulting with a mental health counselor who is licensed to prescribe the right medicine for you.

Get to know your insurance

Not all insurance providers will cover fees of mental health counselor. If your insurance can cover it, you should look into its list of specific providers that are covered.

As soon as you know that your condition can be covered by your insurance provider, it is a must that you get to know the policy, your benefits, as well as your limits.

Whether the consultation fees and medicines are covered by your insurance policy or not, you need to make sure that the mental health counselor you choose is trained and licensed to practice in this field. You must pick a counselor that you can establish a good relationship. In this way, you can easily maximize your treatment.