Life of a Medical Frontliner

When the pandemic comes, all countries are affected, especially the frontliners. Because of this pandemic, many frontliners died. And also, some of the frontliners are not going home; they are staying in the hospital to take care of their patients.

Meet Ms. Venice Camille Patricio, a frontliner and one of the top 2 in taking a physical therapist board exam in 2017. And she graduated from PLM and now she is taking medicine to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

According to her, the experience of being a frontliner when the pandemic came was that she was scared, but she knew that everyone else was scared as well, and they also thought that they were not ready for it.

She also added that when a pandemic comes, there is a problem with trusting whom they will believe to give them a command from the top, especially since COVID-19 is new.

She also said that it was very hard to be a frontliner because they lost a lot of patients and the one who was serving people died because of the pandemic.

She said that it was difficult because they have to take care of the patients and also go to the administration because they need to go with the flow of what the administration will say.

Aside from that, she also said that if you want to do something but it is against the protocol, you cannot push it, so they need to know how to go with the flow with the administration and they need to know how to take care of their patients.

Meanwhile, when she was ranked in the top 2 on the board exam as a physical therapist, at that time when the results were released, they were in CCP watching Cinemalaya. And when they see the results, her friends start shouting.

She stated that she was happy to be in the top 2, but not that much, because one of her friends didn't pass along their batch.

"Hindi siya naging super happy for me, kasi we were rooting for each pero next exam batch pumasana siya yun na yung masaya for us," she said.

Despite the achievements that she has made now, she has the biggest ultimate dream, although it is hard to achieve, which is that she wants to improve the health care system in the Philippines, a healthcare system that will care for Filipinos without incurring debt.

Ms. Venice Camille said that what inspires her the most professionally to keep going is her patients. And patients push them to find different ways to handle the situation.

Before she achieved her achievements, she faced some struggles that made her stronger and keep fighting for her dreams, which is why she needs to balance her family needs compared to her passion.

“Pag hindi mo na alam ang ginagawa mo you need time to reassess yourself,” she said.

On the other hand, she also wanted to say to people who want to achieve their dreams that they should do what they want to support themselves, but don't forget their passion.

"Kung may pangarap ka sa buhay na hindi mo pa makakamit ngayun its ok magkakaiba naman tayo ng oras, maybe its not that time to follow that dream pero in the future pag ok ka na at stable ka na magagawan na yan ng paraan,” she said.

For her success, when you are happy with what you are doing and, at the same time, when you are helping other people.

Her determination to make a change in the world is empowering. She put her heart and soul into her work and achieved more than any personal goal she could have set for herself.

And the way she shows that she is enjoying what she is doing when she realizes what she's done and also aspires to having the same level of determination as Ms. Venice Camille.

All in all, being passionate involves commitment, hard effort, determination, and the courage to lose over and over again. Being a passionate person like her, who understands what she aspires, on either way, can bring positivity, joy, and a sense of genuine meaning to her life since she’s determined to make the effort.