CSA Alumni Interviews: Doctors ‘Co
Catching up with now-medical students Kate Co and Luis Co
Features | Jude Lim and Ashley Cua
Becoming a doctor is one of the most revered professions in the world, but it’s a long and arduous journey. As college students, even if our courses are medicine-related or considered to be pre-medical courses, some of us have yet to be fully invested in the career path. Some may decide that that’s enough studying for themselves and apply for a job after four years in college, if everything goes right.
For those who are right at the starting line, or even for those at the end of their college stints, we have two of our very own CSA alumni to answer some questions: whether it be doubts about taking up medicine, worries about figuring out one’s specialization, or even concerns on maintaining a social life while on long hospital duties. Our CSA Alumni share their experiences and advice in hopes that students who are considering to pursue medicine do so with awareness, caution, and with the right purpose in heart and mind.
[The interviews have been edited for clarity. Special thanks to Steven Wang, Aadric Cayanan, and Jude Lim for interviewing the alumni, and to Luis Co and Kate Co for their participation in the interview.]
Interviewer: Can you introduce yourself, your undergraduate course, and your current profession/graduate school?
Kate: I’m Kate Co and I graduated from UP Diliman last year (2021), taking up BS Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. I’m hoping to continue my medical studies in St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Luis: I’m Luis Co and I took BS Psychology in UP Diliman. I’m not working in the field yet as I’m still in grad school. In about 1 ½ years, I will work as a doctor.
Why CSA?
Interviewer: Why did you join CSA?
Kate: What encouraged me was that my sister was part of CSA, and I didn’t know a lot of people yet in UP Diliman so I was drawn to the familiar fil-chi community. One of the main things I liked about CSA as well was that I got to meet a lot of new people from different courses, with different point-of-views. It was about the connections and establishing friendships.
Luis: For me, para I have an org na same background, galing fil-chi school. I didn’t know what to expect in UP na most students come from Filipino schools, to be in a community that shared the same background since I’m from Xavier.
Interviewer: What comes to your mind when you hear CSA, or what’s your favorite thing about it?
Kate: A family!
Luis: Simple, random conversations with the senior members. We just sit down and play, have chill conversations. Takes my mind off school. The actual conversing is what I liked mostly. We talked mostly about sports.
Interviewer: Did you play sports with CSA members, Luis?
Luis: Yes, I played basketball with batchmates in the org. Organized sports fests and pickup games.
Interviewer: What’s your favorite memory of the tambayan, Kate?
Kate: It feels so long ago but I guess generally, it was the moments of me going there and seeing my old friends and hanging there, talking with them. It was also getting to know my newfound friends, playing cards and all.
Interviewer: If both of you could re-experience something in CSA, what would it be?
Kate: Maybe it would be attending another CSA event? The events were always fun and full of bonding like the annual dice games.
Luis: I think it would be my experiences in 1st year, like the app process, when I joined UPCSA.
Interviewer: Pinaka-kalat experience sa CSA?
Kate: Parang wala naman? Because my experience in CSA was pretty chill and I was only in the org until second year because third year is known to be the most stressful for MBB. I was planning to rejoin in fourth year but then COVID happened.
Luis: Can’t recall.
Interviewer: Is there a CSA event you’d want the org to bring back? Or any event you’d want the younger members to experience?
Kate: I really enjoyed game night and definitely dice game! I hope you guys are still doing it now even in COVID.
Luis: The acquaintance party, because most of the members show up, so people get to meet. Online for college is generally sad. It’s supposed to give us time to grow the most emotionally and socially, and then you’re all stunted for the past two years. We were screwed over by the pandemic.
Why Medicine?
Interviewer: Kate, your major was MBB and you’re taking up med school now, would you want to pursue something in med that has an MBB perspective?
Kate: Yes, it’s part of the reason why I wanted to go into St. Luke’s because it prioritizes research, like in my undergraduate course. I hope I can use my MBB knowledge in what I pursue in my medicine course.
Interviewer: How about you, Luis? How was Psychology?
Luis: It was pretty chill, less strenuous than other sciences. Was able to balance acads with extra curricular activities and social life. Was not as time consuming to prepare for exams. People in psych are generally grade conscious. Other people carry in group tasks. Not super hard, compared to other friends in the hard sciences.
Interviewer: What inspired both of you to pursue medicine?
Kate: Mostly, me actually! I wanted to go to med na and I planned my undergrad course to be my pre-med. But it was in my 2nd year of college that I was considering a research career instead of med, but now I’m back on track. I’m going to be an incoming first year student who starts on August 1, 2022.
Luis: Medicine is the intersection for someone who likes Science and helping others, to make an immediate impact. If you’re a doctor, if you heal someone, there’s immediate feedback. As a career path, that’s what drew me to it. I was decided since high school to take med.
I think there are three kinds of people who take med. People who know it from the start, discover it late, and people who were forced by their parents. I wanted to become a doctor even before college.
Interviewer: Do you have a particular specialization in mind?
Kate: Right now, I’m still unsure, but one of the things I am interested in is immunology because of my immunology class before. My interests are really based on things I’ve encountered but I’ll see what will happen in med.
Luis: I am planning to apply for general surgery. But talking to another CSA alum, he will tell you not to. The happiest people in surgery are those who are not yet residents or consultants because the hours and workload are insane. There’s this romantic notion of becoming a surgeon because Grey’s Anatomy and Doctor Strange. But surgeons in pop culture don’t show the amount of sacrifice it takes. I am willing to sacrifice a lot of things to get into the path I want. It depends on your priorities. I am okay spending less time on vacation or with friends, or going out when there is still sunlight.
“It’s really about what kind of lifestyle you want. It goes for every career naman. So, it’s important to consider the lifestyle you want and what kind of job will give you that.” — Luis Co, ASMPH ‘2023
Interviewer: Have you ever considered shifting out of your undergrad course?
Kate: No, actually. I really enjoyed what I was learning in MBB and while it was hard, I never considered shifting out.
Luis: No, because it would be hard. Also, I already enjoyed being in psych. Even if I did not pursue med, I can have other career paths like law, corporate, academe. One thing that motivated me to push through my pre-med was thinking that it’s something to go through for the end goal: become a doctor. It’s like vegetables, sometimes you won’t like them but you have to eat them.
Interviewer: Did you do an internship?
Kate: No or well, I was an apprentice in DMBEL (pronounced, dumbbell) so I joined their research and learned their basic techniques. Pero, yung official apprenticeship outside of UP, no I didn’t join any.
Luis: I interned as a graphic designer, it was a skillset I wanted to develop, because I have no creative output as a psych major. I mostly had soft skills so I sought internships that would hone that skill.
Interviewer: If you could tell your freshie self something, what would it be?
Kate: I think it would be to take things slow. When we’re young, it feels like we’re so full of energy, we have dreams and go through so much pressure to achieve something.
“You might lose hope or you might lose your way. But sana when you’re young, try not to get pressured by external factors but instead focus on yourself and learn how to rest at times. Basically, don’t stress yourself out over everything because you have so many years to achieve whatever you want to achieve.“ — Kate Co, SLCM ‘2027
Luis: Grades matter, but only to a certain point. I worked so hard during the 3 and a half years and I missed out on social interaction, so I overcompensated in my last year. If you plan in pursuing a competitive grad school, know your priorities, take time to develop friends. Grades can only take you so far. Who you know matters than what you know. Unless you are very outstanding talaga, who you know opens many doors.
Kate’s Medical School
Interviewer: Since you’ve had to join research labs in your undergrad, how did you choose your research group or your research interest, Kate?
Kate: The lab I joined is called Disease Molecular Biology and Epigenetics Laboratory or Dumbbell for short and it’s the biggest lab in the institution. My primary reason for joining was that I heard about it from my sister’s friend and she told me all about it that the personal investigator (PI) was very nice and you’ll learn a lot from him. I joined in my second year and I don’t regret joining it, it was a really fun and enlightening experience.
Interviewer: Regarding your current grad school, what factors did you consider before going into it?
Kate: I was really on the bench if I wanted to work na or if I wanted to pursue my original goal of wanting to be a doctor. That’s why I took a gap year and I really thought about it. My main factor was the financial aspect because of course, pursuing higher studies is expensive unless you get a scholarship. It’s more years of studying and not contributing to earning money. It was a huge factor and I really had to think about it. But fortunately, I was able to get a scholarship, so that made me more motivated and more certain about my degree.
Interviewer: Have you ever considered going abroad?
Kate: I have, but siyempre there’s a lot of expenses in going abroad so it’s not in my plan right now.
Interviewer: On that note, what was it like to take a gap year? What did you do?
Kate: For the first few months, I worked as a freelancer in an editing job and that lasted until December. And now, I’m just chilling because I really wanted to rest this gap year after being so stressed in my third and fourth year.
Interviewer: Do you have any tips for anyone considering to take grad school?
Kate: My general advice is that before you go, make sure that it’s something you really want to do. It means more years of studying and having a lot to do so make sure you know yourself and what you really want. It’s going to be an investment din siyempre.
Interviewer: Are you ready?
Kate: No HAHA it’s going to be five long years.
Interviewer: Last question, what’s your favorite memory in UP?
Kate: May favorite memory ba? *laughs* I guess it would be meeting my friends and getting to take classes with them! I got to take Philo, Math and Physics all together with a friend, and it was so fun.
Luis’ Medical School
Interviewer: What was it like for you, Luis, to get into medical school?
Luis: In general, in UP, just get high grades, get latin honors, get good grades sa NMAT. Unless you will only go for the most prestigious schools like UPCM and UST, you are basically guaranteed to get into med school. I can count in one hand people who didn’t get into med school. It’s not like you can be a summa cum laude and not get into med school like in the US. It’s not that level of competitiveness. UP branding is very strong. If you have decent grades and decent NMAT scores. You will definitely get into top ten med schools in the country.
Interviewer: What if your grades in school are bad but your NMAT grade is good? What matters more?
Luis: It depends, it’s possible essentially if you are okay not going to UPCM and UST, because the competition. UERM and ASMPH maybe. Having good NMAT and bad grades might reflect character though. Some schools do have an interview like UERM and UPCM. UST does not. If you get a 99 NMAT, as long as you’re borderline failing, no way you can’t get into UERM.
Interviewer: Nakatulong ba si CSA?
Luis: In some ways, when I entered med school, there were people I knew who were from CSA. In some ways, there was already a network there.
Interviewer: What do you think employers are looking for in fresh grads?
Luis: I think that depends on the job. In traditional big companies, what matters a lot is your degree. Your degree should make sense, have relevant experience. For startups, skills matter more. So it depends on the industry you are entering. A lot of younger companies care about what you can bring to the table.
Interviewer: Bakit students go to UPD and not UPM for pre-med?
Luis: UP Manila is not a good location, unless you are vying for a specific course. The quality of life between UPD and UPM is night and day. If may UPCM sa Diliman, people would prefer to go there.
Interviewer: What is your most fulfilling experience in med school?
Luis: I am already working sa hospital as an intern. So I have had patient interaction. The times that the patients thanked me even if what I did is least significant to their health. Even if we were the errand boys. It still helped, they recognized my contribution. The 16–24 hours I had to stay awake for was worth it.
Staying the long hours was difficult because it messes up your sleep schedule. In the Hospital, in 24 hour duty, only 1–3 hours of sleep lang. Much harder, because there are dire consequences, the patient may get less than adequate healthcare.
Interviewer: Isn’t it counterproductive to treat patients when you’re half awake?
Luis: No choice eh kasi there are not much health workers because they are not being paid enough. Not enough doctors. We also have to do a certain amount of duty training to become a specialized doctor, a surgeon needs around five years of doing 80-hour weeks. Specialization is important if you want to become financially independent sooner since general physicians don’t pay a lot.
Interviewer: Thoughts on the healthcare system in the country?
Luis: For those in filchi community doing med school, don’t look at it as working lang sa hospital. Pwede ring public health. Might not earn as much, but the impact they have are greater, since it’s on a larger scale as a public health official. You will not get rich on medicine alone, it takes a long time. The time it took to reach that much wealth, you can do with less time in another industry.
It’s hard to become self-made rich in medicine. Rich doctors I know, they are second generation doctors already, didn’t have to struggle a lot. You will become upper middle class, doctors won’t struggle to put food on the table. The floor is high, but the ceiling can be very low but also very high, depending on how you play your cards.
That ends the interviews with the medicine students and CSA alumni, Kate Co and Luis Co. Stay tuned for more conversations and advice from UPCSA’s esteemed alumni, especially those who are exploring different career paths!
