I am a poor young married man from New York City, who is the only one in his immediate family who has ever finished college. I came to the Philippines to get another degree to support my sick wife and my brothers and sisters (abandoned by our parents). I send her money every month to support her. We have no children yet.
I was attending University of San Carlos (USC) as an MBA (Master’s Degree of Business Administration) student. Now I am planning to either study Medicine or Nursing (or Physical Therapy). It will take me 5 years to finish the Medical program and 4 or 5 years for the nursing program (regardless, my internship will be in the U.S. the final years).
If I go back to New York City, there is not enough money to provide to have babies, medical insurance, and other stuff; although I make more than the average 20+ year old. I am already 27 years old. I have no parents to support me because I was abandoned by both at a young age. It is just me…here… Should I go into medicine to be a doctor or study nursing? I’ve always dreamed to be a doctor, but I keep hearing more HORROR stories of medical students from the US studying abroad than nursing students studying in the Philippines from the US. I also was thinking about just divorcing my wife and marrying a Filipina student or worker (preferably in the medical field) to work in the US and help us and their family back in their country as part of this plan.
Nursing or Medicine? I think it is better to study both of these courses in Metro Manila, as I’ve been all over the Philippines traveling and visiting many colleges; Silliman University in Dumaguete City is an exception, and they now have a new Doctor of Medicine program that started in 2005.
I have a degree in Business and Graphic design. Also, I will not run out of money staying here up to 8-10 years. I already am almost complete with my science requirements in the University of San Carlos, located in Cebu. I visited and have already been welcomed into a few med schools for 2010 who claim to help you do a clerkship in your last year of med school: UERM, Fatima (Metro Manila), Silliman (Dumaguete), Cebu Doctors’ University (Cebu). Cebu Doctors’ has U.S. linkage for physical therapy clerkship. US Clinical Experience in medicine is important since I only can work in the US and not this country, unless I get married to a Filipina. Nursing and physical therapy seem to be an easier option.
I’d like to say Nursing, because in the Philippines you have to have a pre-Med course before you can actually get into Medicine. Nursing is a pre-Med course, so if you graduate and decided to become a Doctor, you can still pursue it, or if you ran out of money, Nursing is a pretty high paying job in the US, you can work as a Nurse and save up to continue being a doctor.
I am a Filipina living in the US, not a nurse but in a family with a lot of nurses.