UPM and St. Luke's

[Ella Shepherd]

Hi! I'm thinking about applying to these two med schools in the Philippines (among other med schools...but these two are my top choices):

University of the Philippines, Manila
St. Luke's College of Medicine

I hear they're the only two med schools in the Philippines which require 5 years. I don't mind that. I just wanna get a good medical education.

Anyway, could you please give me some background information on these two schools? As much as possible, no biases please. I just really wanna know the real thing.

If you could also give additional information about the campus, facilities and % boards passers, etc, it would be a great help.

Thank you!

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[bleudsky]

as far as i know about UP manila, they only accept few applicants. competition to be accepted is very high - other applicants are students of their Intarmed program, honors graduates from UP diliman, los banos, other schools, & sons/daughters of UP-PGH consultants/specialists, & they accept <5 applicants who graduated from the US. you also must have a high NMAT score (99%) to get a chance just for the interview.

yeah they have a high passing rate in the local licensure exams. according to my co-resident/friend who graduated from UP College of Medicine, many of her batchmates are also reviewing for the USMLE.

 

[Ella Shepherd]

as far as i know about UP manila, they only accept few applicants. competition to be accepted is very high - other applicants are students of their Intarmed program, honors graduates from UP diliman, los banos, other schools, & sons/daughters of UP-PGH consultants/specialists, & they accept <5 applicants who graduated from the US. you also must have a high NMAT score (99%) to get a chance just for the interview.

yeah they have a high passing rate in the local licensure exams. according to my co-resident/friend who graduated from UP College of Medicine, many of her batchmates are also reviewing for the USMLE.

Woah!

But I think you mean 90% not 99. That's what some of the applicants told me.

 

[bleudsky]

maybe but in reality you must aim for 99% because you are competing with applicants who have high IQs.

i know someone who had a percentile score of 96% during her NMAT. even if she graduated with honors during her pre-med, she wasn't given a chance for interview because she doesn't know someone in the PGH nor someone teaching in UP CM.

 

[luxor]

Even though you greduate UPM or other med. schools, you can't get license in Phillipines.
If you don't have Philippines' citizenship, they don't allow you get a license...never...
Foreigners can't practice there except a very very special case like a naturalization etc.

 

[jaypeeMD]

maybe but in reality you must aim for 99% because you are competing with applicants who have high IQs.

i know someone who had a percentile score of 96% during her NMAT. even if she graduated with honors during her pre-med, she wasn't given a chance for interview because she doesn't know someone in the PGH nor someone teaching in UP CM.

yup, they say that you have to at least have a percentile score of 98 to get their attention. (mine is 97 but was not enough to get me through UPCM). a few exemptions may be at hand though (a very FEW exemptions, that is).

 

[kittycrinkles]

i think getting into Intarmed is difficult because you'd have to do well in the UPCAT. but getting into UPCM as a lateral entrant (not Intar) is even harder because not only do you have to get an impressive NMAT grade and at least a cum laude status, you can also be assured of a spot if you have "strings"... but don't get me wrong, ones who have "pulled strings" are still a minority.

 

[angiostent]

Hi! I'm thinking about applying to these two med schools in the Philippines (among other med schools...but these two are my top choices):

University of the Philippines, Manila
St. Luke's College of Medicine

I hear they're the only two med schools in the Philippines which require 5 years. I don't mind that. I just wanna get a good medical education.

Anyway, could you please give me some background information on these two schools? As much as possible, no biases please. I just really wanna know the real thing.

If you could also give additional information about the campus, facilities and % boards passers, etc, it would be a great help.

Thank you!

CAmpus
up- average looking campus.typical school ambiance. with pgh very near the campus. to get to the accounting office you must cross the street at the back. near a mall. along pedro gil.

st.lukes.- med school is only enclosed to a one building. medical looking environment when you enter the building. fully tiled floors. the area is small but the bldg is tall. behind it is a subdivision. located near e.rodriguez.

hospital:
pgh- not beautiful but plenty of cases.
st. lukes. very beautiful but clerckship is more on paper works(as what i have heard)

Board passers august 2007:
upcm- 99%
slcm (william h. quasha memorial)-88% or 85?? (forgot the exact)
up-mor than 100 students
sl- less than 100

up cm- 102 years old
st. lukes- 13 years old

st. lukes- i saw some foreign medical students.
up cm- i saw none

in terms of hospital, i think st lukes is far ahead with pgh. but in terms of the college of medicine, up is much better and has an abundant of different cases(just my opinion). if im in your shoes, id still choose up cm because you have all the advantages when you study in up except for the high tech facilities.

a pt student who used to have his duty at pgh told me that pgh facilities are really not that good. that's why they have to improvise gadgets for them to be able to provide the desired equiptments for their patients.

 

[kittycrinkles]

in terms of facilities, st. luke's is a world-class hospital. it is a private hospital, so it should have the most updated facilities. pgh was world-class years ago. it is a government-funded hospital (trivia: PGH gets the bulk of the UP System's part of the gov't budget) so don't be surprised to see ancient buildings and overworked CT scans/MRIs/etc.

for foreign school graduates, i think UP admits around 2-3 every year. in my class, we had 2 (1 singapore grad, the other i don't know).

for learning, UP has a LOT of patients. med books would say this certain disease is very very rare (ex. SLE cases in males, PNH cases etc.) but you'll be pleasantly surprised to know there are 3 or so admitted patients in the wards. for St. Luke's, i'm assuming it sees a lot of patients too since it is a tertiary referral center, however i'm not so sure if the students are entitled to actually co-manage these cases.

i'm sorry if i could only speak for pgh because it's the only hospital i've ever been.

question, why do you prefer a medschool that requires 5 years?

 

[Ella Shepherd]

in terms of facilities, st. luke's is a world-class hospital. it is a private hospital, so it should have the most updated facilities. pgh was world-class years ago. it is a government-funded hospital (trivia: PGH gets the bulk of the UP System's part of the gov't budget) so don't be surprised to see ancient buildings and overworked CT scans/MRIs/etc.

for foreign school graduates, i think UP admits around 2-3 every year. in my class, we had 2 (1 singapore grad, the other i don't know).

for learning, UP has a LOT of patients. med books would say this certain disease is very very rare (ex. SLE cases in males, PNH cases etc.) but you'll be pleasantly surprised to know there are 3 or so admitted patients in the wards. for St. Luke's, i'm assuming it sees a lot of patients too since it is a tertiary referral center, however i'm not so sure if the students are entitled to actually co-manage these cases.

i'm sorry if i could only speak for pgh because it's the only hospital i've ever been.

question, why do you prefer a medschool that requires 5 years?

Thanks! This helps a lot.

I really don't know. I guess I don't mind studying an extra year as long as it'll benefit my being a doctor.

 

[Ella Shepherd]

Even though you greduate UPM or other med. schools, you can't get license in Phillipines.
If you don't have Philippines' citizenship, they don't allow you get a license...never...
Foreigners can't practice there except a very very special case like a naturalization etc.

I'm a Filipino citizen. Half Filipino but a Filipino nonetheless.

 

[Ella Shepherd]

maybe but in reality you must aim for 99% because you are competing with applicants who have high IQs.

i know someone who had a percentile score of 96% during her NMAT. even if she graduated with honors during her pre-med, she wasn't given a chance for interview because she doesn't know someone in the PGH nor someone teaching in UP CM.

i think getting into Intarmed is difficult because you'd have to do well in the UPCAT. but getting into UPCM as a lateral entrant (not Intar) is even harder because not only do you have to get an impressive NMAT grade and at least a cum laude status, you can also be assured of a spot if you have "strings"... but don't get me wrong, ones who have "pulled strings" are still a minority.

Wow...I know the world isn't fair but I just have to say that that totally is not fair! Sigh...I didn't realize UP can be like that. Oh well...even if there's a small chance I can get in, there's still that small chance. I'll hold on to it.

 

[Ella Shepherd]

CAmpus
up- average looking campus.typical school ambiance. with pgh very near the campus. to get to the accounting office you must cross the street at the back. near a mall. along pedro gil.

st.lukes.- med school is only enclosed to a one building. medical looking environment when you enter the building. fully tiled floors. the area is small but the bldg is tall. behind it is a subdivision. located near e.rodriguez.

hospital:
pgh- not beautiful but plenty of cases.
st. lukes. very beautiful but clerckship is more on paper works(as what i have heard)

Board passers august 2007:
upcm- 99%
slcm (william h. quasha memorial)-88% or 85?? (forgot the exact)
up-mor than 100 students
sl- less than 100

up cm- 102 years old
st. lukes- 13 years old

st. lukes- i saw some foreign medical students.
up cm- i saw none

in terms of hospital, i think st lukes is far ahead with pgh. but in terms of the college of medicine, up is much better and has an abundant of different cases(just my opinion). if im in your shoes, id still choose up cm because you have all the advantages when you study in up except for the high tech facilities.

a pt student who used to have his duty at pgh told me that pgh facilities are really not that good. that's why they have to improvise gadgets for them to be able to provide the desired equiptments for their patients.

Interesting...thank you!

I guess all it'll depend on now is if I get into UP CM or not. If not...St. Luke's it is. I hope.

 

[jaypeeMD]

ella, regarding the difference between the four and five year curriculum of different medical schools all depend on their internship program (not another year of classroom/paper works). the 5-yr curriculum have their internship program integrated with their curriculum and IS a prerequisite for graduation.

on the other hand, 4-yr curriculum doesn't include their internship program, therefore you can graduate before your internship. you can however entitled to go to any apmc-accredited hospital for your internship (well, acceptance will also depend on your school performance).

but also keep in mind that in whatever curriculum your in, you ARE required to take a one year internship program before taking the board exams.

 

[Ella Shepherd]

ella, regarding the difference between the four and five year curriculum of different medical schools all depend on their internship program (not another year of classroom/paper works). the 5-yr curriculum have their internship program integrated with their curriculum and IS a prerequisite for graduation.

on the other hand, 4-yr curriculum doesn't include their internship program, therefore you can graduate before your internship. you can however entitled to go to any apmc-accredited hospital for your internship (well, acceptance will also depend on your school performance).

but also keep in mind that in whatever curriculum your in, you ARE required to take a one year internship program before taking the board exams.

I get it now. Thanks.

 

[awestruck]

I'm from St Luke's but I transferred to another school already. I'll try to be as objective as possible.

Advantages:
* good facilities (impressive auditorium and library, the medical center has the best and complete facilites)
* small number of students so there is possible learning advantage here compared to other schools

Disadvantages
* relatively new medical school so they don't have a proven effective and standardized curriculum
* curriculum is in the process of being changed so expect alot curriculum changes. (they will add and delete subjects at whim and students do not have a say regarding the curriculum changes)
* alot of policy changes (i.e. in terms of grading system, scholarship terms, etc.)
* faculty changes ( alot of the professors resigned, even those who were pioneers... this means they already lost alot of their competent professors... so this means quality of education here is lowered.)
* only 12 currently enrolled for the 1st year batch this coming school year ( i don't know how those 12 people would survive clerkship and internship since there are alot of work to be done at the hospital)
* lack of patient exposures and experience in actual patient management since you'll be doing alot of papers instead.
* alot of the current students already transferred to other schools. even some of the clerks also transferred to other schools.

My personal take on this school is that they are making alot of changes at the disadvantage of the students. They are just simply concerned on having a 100% board passing rate so they neglect the needs of their students.

instead of considering st luke's... consider instead UST, UERM or FEU. these are the top medical schools in the country aside from UP PGH. UST is also well known and is said to be second to UP as some would say. there's more to learn in these medical schools! pick a school that would aim to maximize your potentials! don't settle for good facilities only...

 

[awestruck]

Consider UERM as well since I think they can help you arrange your internship abroad as some of the FilAms were saying... rather than being stuck in the Philippines for another year...

Many of the FilAms are choosing UERM... I don't really know why... They only have a 4 year curriculum. But don't expect that they would have good facilities... One advantage of not having good facilities is that your clinical skills will be honed.

In St luke's, alot are choosing to quit eventhough they are already clerks. They are all too tired but then again the potential for learning is not being maximized. They are bombarded with a ton of work (paperwork) but minimal patient exposure. Alot of the residents are also complaining because of the same reason...

I am really discouraging you to enroll at St Luke's. It is not worth it despite the impressive facilities.

I would suggest Ateneo Medical School if you are after the facilities. They are tied up with Medical City, which is also a JCIA accredited hospital. St lukes and Medical city are the only JCIA accredited hospitals in the country today. You also graduate with a masters in Public Health after 5 years since it is integrated in their curriculum. The professors are from UP PGH so that's not bad... They have the same curriculum as PGH and same exact lessons sometimes... On the down side, it just recently opened just a year ago... So it's really a new school! They have a good program so I think it is worth the risk!!!

 

[awestruck]

Look at the advantages and disadvantages of each school... it's wise to ask the students in the school you are applying to. But at the end of the day, it is still your decision...

God BLess future colleague!!!
VOTE wisely!! hehe!
UP is still UP
It is still the premier university...
(I'm biased since I graduated from this university. Proud to be a former "iskolar ng bayan"!!! )

 

[awestruck]

parting words...
"Good medical education is not necessarily equivalent to good facilities.
Sometimes it takes pure reliance on clinical skills to bring out the brilliance in a doctor."

 

[awestruck]

As of My experience visiting UP & St.Luke in PHI for presentations. I would say the different between these 2 places are the environment and the facilities. St.Luke's looks more Hi-Tech. UP looks very natural, all the big trees and stuff.

They're buying medical contents pretty much the same databases.

I would have to agree with what he said..
If your main concerns are the facilities and databases, then St. Luke's would probably be a better option for you.

There is still alot that St. Luke's has to work on in terms of how they are handling the school in general. This is because they are relatively inexperienced if you are to compare them with schools like UST, UERM, FEU and PGH. The school is still very unstable... Alot of shift in school policies that are not necessarily advantageous and needed. If the school is able to overcome the issues that they are having at present, maybe things could work out for you in St. Luke's...

I also feel that it is better to be exposed to actual cases rather than read about it... Well, this is just my own take of things... It may not necessarily hold true for you. In contrast, a plethora of cases awaits you in UP PGH. You get to see and manage cases that textbooks would regard as rare.

A problem that you may encounter in terms of applying to PGH is getting good grades and NMAT scores... you need to get at least a 90% NMAT and cum laude standing to increase your chances of getting in.

 

[awestruck]

another thing, for st luke's, you need to get an 85% NMAT score to get in..

best of luck in your medical school applications!

 

[Ella Shepherd]

Thank you very much awestruck! You've helped immensely! You're user name fits you well, although it's me who's kinda awe-struck! heehee

I'm kinda ashamed that my reply to you is so short, compared to all the things you shared with me. Still, thanks a lot!

GO UP!