Compiled Answers for ASM

Guerrero
Christine Therese Y. Guerrero, PTRP

1) Why do you want to become a doctor? Discuss the reason why you are in medical school?
What are your motivations? Identify a character in the movie who has similar or the same
reason as yours.

Why I want to become a doctor:

•To serve the community
•improve the quality of life of the patients and bring them back to the community
•to save lives
•to honor God by being an extension of His healing hands

Reasons I am in medical school:

•same as above
•inspired by my parents in their profession

My motivations:
•it is an honorable profession that contributes a great deal to the community
•not everyone has this opportunity

Character in the movie with the same reasons as me:

The character I have the most similar reasons with when it comes to becoming a doctor
is Patch. This is in the sense that we both want to be able to heal patients beyond physicality.
We both want to make them smile despite the suffering they already have to endure.

2) Identify scenes in the movie that show the importance of communication skills and
explain.
The scene where Patch joined the third year medical students during rounds and asked
the patient for her name. This scene showed the importance of compassion and connecting
with the patients in a way that the doctor shows that he/she really cares about the well being
of the patient.

3) Discuss medicine as an art and medicine as a science.

 Medicine is a science because it follows certain procedures and is composed of different
discoveries and theories that have been accepted and practiced over the centuries with a
goal of healing people through these studied methods.

It is an art because it is practiced and expressed in unique ways by the medical

practitioners while still following the scientific methods. It also requires skill which in art,
requires constant practice over time.

4) What scenes affected you most in the movie and why?

One of the most touching scenes for me was when Patch had the courage and initiative
to reach out to the terminal pancreatic cancer patient. This particularly touched me because
it was a selfless act which took an extra effort to reach out to the patient. This was a true act
of compassion.

5) What kind of doctor do you want to be?

A kind, empathetic, doctor dedicated to compassionate service.

6) What are the learnings from this movie that would help you on your journey to become a
doctor?
This movie showed me that a doctor is more than someone who treats patients. A doctor
also has to be able to connect with his patients and treat them like people who have real
fears, anxiety and feelings. Because of routine, doctors may sometimes forget that. Being a
doctor is a noble profession looked upon with respect, and this respect must be reciprocated
to their patients.

Gomez

Joseph Arnold Gomez

1. From when I was little, I've experienced first-hand the effect of inadequacy in the healthcare sector.
If only there was an immediate intervention or maybe if only there were available tests for earlier
diagnosis, then maybe my father could've lived back when I was four. I've decided to pursue this
profession because I want to advocate for a better healthcare system for the community. I want to
provide for the people, especially those who are marginalized and socially-disadvantaged. I 'd like to
give to the people what was deprived of us - adequate medical attention and intervention, centered
around compassion and health equity.
My main motivations are my family and the socio-economically disadvantaged in the community.
Patch Adams.
2. Patch uses humor as his way of communicating with his patients. When he accidentally entered
the pedia ward, he used his wit and resourcefulness to make the children laugh, eatablishing
connection in the process. He broke free from the norm of the profession which entails a doctor-
centered system and an apathetic approach to health services. Patch advocated an intimate and
empathetic approach in medicine, prioritizing a patient-centered system. He believes that a doctor
must be a friend to their patients. He was able to get along with the elderlies by talking to them and
knowing their interest. Through proper communication and humor, he was also able to make a friend
out of the stubborn cancer patient, making the patient more compliant in the process. These are just
some of the important applications o proper communication not just towards patients but also
people in general.

3. Science by definition is a systematic body of knowledge. Medicine is a field composed of

interrelated studies and practices that focuses not just on the health and welfare of an individual, but
also of the community as a whole. It is also a form of art since it is a practice that entails the mastery
of certain set of skills involved in the promotion of human welfare. We can also relate art in medicine
by considering the human body as a canvass and we doctors are the artists responsible in preserving
the beauty of God's creation through the art of diagnosing and treating diseases.

4. What affected me the most was when Patch assisted his friend who was suffering from cancer
finally bid farewell and died peacefully and with integrity. I believe that other than promoting health,
doctors are also responsible in caring for those gravely sick and assisting them in their death - in the
least painful way and with integrity. Another scene that affected me was when Patch confronted the
panel of orthodox doctors who were mostly unapproving of his unorthodox ways. The way he pointed
out the real problem of the current healthcare system: indifference. Like Patch, I am an advocate of
the patient-centered system which encourages doctors to be a friend to their patients and really get
involved in each of them, treating them with compassion and as a person.

5. I want to be a doctor who reaches out to those who need healthcare the most. A doctor who not
only treats patients but is also a friend to them and treats them as persons. A compassionate and
empathetic friend who will provide healthcare in utmost excellence and a medical professional who
will advocate healthcare equity.

6. Some of the learnings from the movie that I find helpful in my journey are the value of compassion,
friendship, and perseverance. Compassion towards the patients and treating them as friends and as
persons, will definitely bring me a long way in the field. Friendship not just between colleagues but
also between the patients plays a big role in communicating effectively. And finally perseverance, a
very important ingredient in pursuing the best healthcare system possible. Patch never gave up in
his advocacy and is now helping thousands of people who are suffering because of health inequities.
I believe that with these, I will be well equipped in pursuing my career and someday help thousands
of people just like Patch - delivering accessible and affordable healthcare and advocating health
equity for the community.

Guaza
Mary Celman Guaza
1) Why do you want to become a doctor? Discuss the reason why you are in medical
school? What are your motivations? Identify a character in the movie who has similar
or the same reason as yours.

It is really not that easy to identify what is or what elements pushed me to pursuing
this hard, winding road. It is full of holes, miseries even people with no slightest idea
what is the curriculum behind this profession are all aware of. It is of no surprise if
people answered, “For the service of others. Full compassion and support in bringing
comfort to the people” or in any similar way. But what really is compassion? How do
you measure compassion? Have you ever wondered to yourself what true service is?

Compassion diminishes over time. That has been the over-all sentence I believed in
since I was a kid. Quite dark, I believe, for someone as young as I do before to stick it
into my being for years to come but it is the harsh reality of today. No one could deny
the fact that some of our acts are just for show, as we’ve been doing this all of our
lives. What I do believe in is grit, and if you’re quite focused on what you done and
what you think is right for yourself, then that is right for humanity.

Quite selfish to think about but it is a good place to start. Looking beyond would
diminish the fact that you may lose yourself, your identity, while pursuing this over
time. You cannot jump over to servicing people as a goal. Look at what people tend to
diminish, which is actually yourself. So for me, it would be that I know it would be
good for me as it would be good to the people I would like to be helping for the future.
Projecting the solutions I see fit to myself to other people. That is the reason why I
chose to pursue med.

So no, it would not be Patch that I relate to. It would be Arthur, who sees beyond what
is needed to be seen.

2) Identify scenes in the movie that show the importance of communication skills and
explain.
It would be the time when Patch was having his daily interview with his doctor, who
showed apathy the whole duration. It shows how unprofessional it is to not listen to
your patient as a whole, which for my part is a good lesson about communication to
med students hoping to be good doctors in the future.
 3) Discuss medicine as an art and medicine as a science.
Art has been the founding stone of medicine, since the beginning of time. From
appealing to the Gods with the concoction made to the gross anatomical illustrations
by famous painters like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, medicine as a science
has completely revolved itself with art. Knowing each angles of muscles and how its
physiology works is art itself. Art, as a body of knowledge, has no definite meaning
but to sum it all up it would be that it shows how humanity is. And by that, medicine
as an art and science revolved in the fact that it has evolved itself, renewing, and
constantly changing its ways to accommodate the needs of humanity in terms of
prolonging life itself. It has grown with humanity, as a pool of knowledge and as an
evidence to the ever-changing art that is us.
4) What scenes affected you most in the movie and why?
All of them has changed my perceptions for the better, seeing that it all has different
applications in life and that it is all equally important to remember.
5) What kind of doctor do you want to be?
Someone who won’t think that it is a bad decision. Really, there are ups and downs on
every journey but at the end of the day it would be yourself and your decision who
would drive you on the next journey of your life
6) What are the learnings from this movie that would help you on your journey to
become a doctor?
A lot, I believe. From good communication to understanding what it is to be human is
a good learning that should be taken as a cue for the better

Chelo
1) I am here in medschool because of the opportunity that was given to me. The opportunity to
take such expensive study and the opportunity to learn more to be able to help other people.

I think, each and everyone of the medical student in the movie represents me. They all share a
common goal, to be the best doctor.

2) The scene that really gave an impact to me was that moment when Arthur told Patch to see
what no one else sees. To see what everyone chooses not to see. It made me ask myself if am
I giving my attention to the wrong perspective. Also, it struck me when Patch Adams
highlighted this a line about treating a person. He said that if you treat a disease, you may win
or lose. But if you treat a person, you will guarantee that you will win. I think that is an eye
opener to us aspiring doctors.
 3) The movie showed us a slice of the reality in our profession. Some doctors neglect the most
important connection that we should have with our patients. It is the connection thru
communication. They just look at the disease in the patients not the disease and the patient
individually.
The scene where I think communication skills was very important was when the patient who became
Corrine's murderer showed up in the clinic. He told so much things thru actions that he is in need of
help. A good communicator isn't just good in listening but is also good in pointing out some nonverbal
actions that a person sends. If only they saw this problem, maybe the tragedy did not happened to
Corrine.

GO
1. I want to become a doctor because I want to enter into a noble profession that will allow
me to go home from work knowing that I have made a difference in someone’s life.
Motivations: My parents, family. and my future patients that I can help in their healing
process and make them happier especially the kids—>character (patch adams)
2. When Patch asked for the patients name during their rounds
3. MEDICINE
Art: because it requires special skills which are perfected over the years
Science:it is learning the basics, techniques and functions and structures.
4. When Patch played with the kids @ Cancer ward.

“A doctor’s mission should not be just to prevent death, but to improve the quality of life. You
treat a disease. You win-lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you’ll win, no matter what the
outcome” -patch adams
5. I want to be the kind of doctor who looks past the image of a patient as only a person who
I need to treat, but to see the patient as someone who I also need for me to become not only
a better doctor, but better as a person.
6. Never give up -you are the captain of your destiny