The Official Student Publication of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health
APRIL NEWSLETTER
The ASMPH Student council for SY 2015-2016 with fellow ASMPH students. From left to right: Dustin Cruz, Moira Larin, Iya Sanchez, Kirk Plata, Tiffany San Juan, Teejay Santos, Gio Alejo, Micha Aldea. (Not in picture: Camille Sison (Secretary General)). Photos by Tiffany San Juan, Marianne Taliño, Chuck Javier, and Nikki Bitoy.
BE MORE. BE ONE. BE ASMPH: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ASMPH SC
by Camille Mallillin and Francyn Yangson
This year’s ASMPH Student Council (SC) envisions itself to be a “dedicated governing body that will establish effective and efficient systems, facilitate collaborative efforts, advocate student empowerment, and imbibe the ‘Be More. Be One. Be ASMPH’ culture.” But what concrete steps have the current council taken to this end, and more importantly, are they on target with regard to these goals? SCOPE checks in on the council. CONTINUING ESTABLISHED PROJECTS The council spearheaded several projects this school year which according to them, serves the best interests of the students. These also include projects that fall under the Academics and Athletic Councils. Staple projects such as the Acquaintance Party, Christmas Party, The Grand Sale, and Parents’ Day were retained, which Internal Vice President (IVP) Kirk Plata believes “serve as avenues for community development.” Gio Alejo, the current External Vice President (EVP), continues to play the functions of representation in the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges (APMC), especially in organizing inter-school events such as MedGroove-MedRhythmia (MGMR) and Palarong Medisina. Teejay Santos, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO), carried over efforts from the previous year, such as the Grand Sale and publishing financial reports. He and Secretary-General (SecGen) Camille Sison led the provision of uniforms, scrubs, nameplates, medical supplies, and textbooks for students. PRODUCING NOVEL WORK New projects and systems were also institutionalized this year. According to the current council, this is to ensure the longterm, sustainable growth of its successors (and subsequently, the student body), even after the
current council’s tenure is finished. These projects aim to promote continuity and a proactive mindset in ASMPH. Plata, on his end, focused on the standardization of how the different internal projects are organized. “In the process of executing them, I am working towards being able to transition these changes to the next year in the form of an Internal Project primer,” he says. Alejo established the Public Health Council to instill awareness and advocacy among various public health interest groups in the school. Some of the Public Health Council’s efforts include creating partnerships with communities in Northern Samar, utilizing previous integration projects that were not being used, and engaging the student body in the 2016 elections. Santos says that the council introduced a revised Budget Proposal system this year, allowing organizations to bid for budgets for their projects. Long-term assets, according to Santos, were also purchased this year. Sison initiated the Weekly Updates platform, which shows all academic, student organization and varsity activities for the week. This was created so that student organization leaders were aware on why attendance from a certain year level may be low, and so that students know training schedules.
One of the major achievements of the Student Council this year was the institution of amendments made in the constitution last year. “By doing so, we paved the way for a more stable and united student government. Out of all these changes, the integration of the Pugad Agila to SC was the epitome of this integration for me,” says Alejo. POPULAR GOVERNMENT The council recognizes the importance of their projects and systems being reflective of the student body’s needs and responsive to their concerns. Batch Executive and Legislative Officers are elected and implemented to this end. But aside from this, students are also given the opportunity to evaluate projects once they are finished. The council itself also critiques projects prior to and after its execution during their meetings. The SC is primarily responsible for representing the interests of the students in discussions that involve other stakeholders in different issues. “Whenever the student body has concerns,” says Sison, “we bring them up to the administration, and try to negotiate and work with them.” This year’s council prides itself on the increased representation of the student body, especially in discussions with the ASMPH Administration. According to them, this may be
SCOPE NEWSLETTER an effect of the current council’s efforts to be more ‘hands-on’. “[There is] better transparency in terms of finances and being able to convince the administration in allowing the student council and representatives in the school budget planning,” says Santos, citing this as an example. The current SC was also able to garner representation in certain committees such as the Cafeteria Committee and the Fundraising Committee. Currently, ASMPH also has an official liaison in the Student Council of the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. “Ensuring these representations empowers our council and our constituents by assuring that we are part of the administration’s decision-making in certain matters that concern us students,” says Tiffany San Juan, Student Council President. The representatives for each batch, the Executive Officers (EOs) and Legislative Officers (LOs), are also avenues for consultation and representation. “[They] are working hard to ensure that the opinions and suggestions of the student body are taken into consideration. As a small school, all SC officers are actually very approachable and the administration is very responsive to our comments and criticisms as well,” says Alejo. San Juan further explains the system of representation in the SC, “The idea here is that each representative talks to their respective audiences and brings their concerns to the table. This year, we made sure that council meetings are all-inclusive –meaning, everyone is required to attend every meeting, regardless of their position. This is to ensure that all perspectives are covered and all concerns are brought up at the fastest possible time. Previously, council meetings included the executive council only or the representation was more concentrated on the higher positions. We tried to change that this year. For things we weren’t able to cover, we released several forms that individual students can submit to us for their concerns—the Legislative Office has an incident report form and the Executive Office has a feedback form that each EO should have released to their batch.” CHALLENGES AND MOVING FORWARD Many of them are in agreement, however, that certain systems and processes within the council still need to be refined. “It’s always a goal and a challenge every year to try and reach out to the clerks and interns,” says Plata when asked about what else he thinks the council can do differently this semester. “It has been difficult to figure out a system to serve them in the clinics, and hopefully
future councils will be able to do so without having to spend a lot of time and effort in the process.” Managing their responsibilities individually as students and leaders is admittedly also a challenge, according to Santos. “It is important to make the systems more organized and plan ahead of time. But sometimes you really can’t blame people about this problem because we’re all medical students and it’s really hard to juggle everything, particularly on hard modules.” Apart from academic reasons, Santos also had some plans that did not push through because of logistical and financial issues. These plans include the ASMPH Fair and the Privilege Card. Further, the weekly updates platform that Sison initiated was only effective for the first semester. “Sadly, I wasn’t able to continue this into the second semester since things got really busy,” says Sison, “but hopefully, the next SecGen can implement something like this.” The Student Council still has less than three months to address these challenges and with the school year coming to an end, they are also looking to focus on feedback on their work and transition for the next set of officers. “Next school year will be big for ASMPH given that it will celebrate its 10th founding anniversary, in the same year that it will host the 50th APMC Annual Convention. Those are really big events that we’re trying to organize as early as now, and will probably set the direction for next year’s SC,” says Alejo. All of these efforts are done by the SC with the end-goal of sustainability in mind. San Juan explains, “I feel that every year the council only operates on a ‘per school year’ basis. While that is technically really our limitation, since we are only elected for one academic year, I believe we should operate on a continuity mindset from now on and create activities that have culture-bearing effects that the students can actively feel that they created and that are a part of.” Sison adds, “For sure we won’t be able to finish polishing everything this school year, but we’re making sure that we’ve laid down most of the foundations. [This is] so that the incoming SC won’t have a difficult time, and will know what to focus on.” When asked about their platform, the current SC officers believe that they were able to achieve most of what they promised. San Juan had five main principles in her platform: continuity, change, cooperation, community, and core. “As president, I believe I have walked in this direction the entire year. Though I believe there are more things we could have done to implement these five principles, I am certain that we have not strayed from our intentions to provide adequate service provision to the students and to do our best in
Euphoria (Semstarter Party), Inflamed, and Parents’ Day are projects organized by the Student Council.
“Ensuring these representations empowers our council and our constituents by assuring that we are part of the administration’s decision-making in certain matters that concern us students.” - Tiffany San Juan, YL7 Student Council President
making ASMPH have the “Be More, Be One, Be ASMPH” culture,” says San Juan. Plata’s platform from the previous elections focused on improving the different projects that the SC offered and making the planning of projects easier for the different members of the community. Plata believes that majority of the projects were successful both in providing a great event to the students and in fostering a sense of community within the student body and among the other members of the ASMPH community. Alejo feels that he was able to achieve 75 percent of what he wrote in his platform. For Sison’s platform on streamlining processes and improving communication, she believes that she was able to accomplish these goals with the help of her fellow officers. Inferring from their personal evaluations and despite the said setbacks, the ASMPH SC 20152016 was able to establish their vision of “Be More. Be One. Be ASMPH” through their projects that took effect. While it is true that not all of their initial platforms and plans have been met, it is important to note that their performance was also partly dependent on the contributions of the student body as well. We hope that the last three months of the school year will enable the SC and the student body to work hand-in-hand on these remaining reforms. ---------------------The article focuses on the perspective of the Student Council regarding their performance and projects, but we want to get your perspective as well! What are your thoughts on the Student Council and the student body’s achievements this school year? Send us your comments at: http://bit.ly/SCOPE_SuggestionsFeedback. The student body’s viewpoint on this topic will be released in a followup article.
SCOPE NEWSLETTER
TRANSPARENCY IN NUMBERS: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TUITION FEE INCREASE
In general, the largest portion of students’ tuition fees is utilized by schools to pay for various operational expenses. These include utilities, supplies, scholarship and financial aid, furniture and equipment, water and electricity, faculty development, research, subscriptions and books. For the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, school year 2015-2016 brought with it more changes and developments compared to the previous academic year. The tuition fee for this academic year was spent not only on the usual operational expenses but also on major school improvements. These are apparent with the development of the fifth floor outdoor area, the expansion of the school cafeteria, and the installation of CCTVs, among others. With the announcement of a tuition fee increase for School Year 2016-2017, SCOPE looks into where our matriculations will be going and whether these will be beneficial for the students.
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS AND PARTNERSHIPS In addition to covering the usual operational expenses of the school, there are a number of planned projects and acquisitions for the incoming school year that will have an impact on students. These are: (1)Major campus improvements (2)Acquisitions of furniture and equipment (3)Partnerships with CASSTI for the enhancement of students’ skills training Major campus improvements The increase in tuition fees will be spent on major improvement projects next school year. These include upgrading of our current facilities such as interior repainting and floor regrouting; restroom, lab and office renovations; electrical rewiring; lighting and blinds replacement; repair and relocation of anatomy blowers as well as table and chair replacements. Additions to the school are also underway with the installation of more CCTV units for plenary halls, hallways and equipment rooms, rain shield for student lounge areas, and the construction of a campus clinic. Other plans still being discussed include the improvements in the parking area. Acquisitions of furniture and equipment Students can also look forward to acquisitions of furniture and equipment in the coming year. These include educational equipment such as teaching cameras for Anatomy, Histology, Pathology, Microbiology and Parasitology classes. Technology improvements will also be implemented such as purchasing of a DLSR camera for school functions; computers and printers for the offices; lapel mikes, audio cords and high-resolution projectors for plenary rooms; improved cafeteria appliances and an IT system that will be integrating registration and cashier files with student and faculty portfolios. Partnerships with CASSTI for the enhancement of students’ skills training Planned enhancements in the clinical skills curriculum for students are being discussed between the year level coordinators, spearheaded by Dr. Dodie Alfonso, and the Center for Advanced Skills, Simulation, and
by Maan Bermudez
Training Innovation (CASSTI) management. Incoming Year Level 7 (YL7) students may be the first to experience these enhancements next school year. Students will get firsthand training and experience in clinical skills that they would eventually use in clerkship, internship, and beyond. The school will be shouldering the costs of the pilot run to be incurred with the CASSTI exposure for next school year as the school administration is still negotiating for long term rates. This pilot run will determine the value, feasibility and eventual tuition fee costs of this program for the next batches of students.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES FEE Another key component of the tuition and fees is the student activities fees. It is a restricted fee set aside specifically for student spending which is not included in the operational budget of the school. Only the student body, as represented by the student council and student organization leadership, has access to these funds. Teejay Santos, Finance Head of the Student Council, notes that there have been improvements in the dissemination of the SAF, particularly to student organizations. According to Santos, the revised budget proposal system proved effective for student organizations. Implementation of this continued into the second semester to better cater to each organization’s needs. The goal, Santos says, is to be able to maximize the student activities fee for this half of the school year. Details from the first semester’s financial statement would be released as soon as approval from auditors and the legislative board have been given. These financial reports aim to update the student body regarding how the SAF budget has been apportioned each month. Other income-generating projects for use by the student body and which increased the fund for student activities were the ASMPH Grand Sale and the Secondhand Sale. Most of the income has been allotted to the aforementioned budget proposal system. Some of the revenue went to the procurement of multi-use items for students. INCREASED REPRESENTATION The administration has agreed to provide an avenue for students to give inputs on the use of the school’s budgets by proposing that the student council gather student ideas prior to the budget season. Recommendations on what the school can improve and prioritize spending on can be discussed at a student assembly conducted by the student council. After which, the student council can prioritize student recommendations and present these during the budget hearings of the administration. How this will be carried out is currently being finalized, as this will have to be included in the functions of the student council. If implemented well, this could be an effective avenue for students to voice out their concerns and needs to the administration, as well as discuss the necessary improvements. The administration would like to emphasize, however, that figures presented during the school budget meetings may vary from the final approved budget. This is due to the multi-level hearings and
The cafeteria extension and fifth floor outdoor area are some of the evident developments of the school this year, made possible with the previous tuition fee increase. meetings that the proposed budget goes through. After consolidating the school budget from the administration and year level coordinators, ASMPH officials present the proposed budget to the University Budget Committee of the Ateneo. Afterwards, this will go through a final approval from the University Board of Trustees. The result of the latter is then deemed as the final budget of ASMPH. Thus, certain budget items may be dropped throughout the lengthy process. COMPARING MEDICAL SCHOOLS Given the tuition fee increases, ASMPH currently has the third highest fee, just behind St. Luke’s College of Medicine and University of the East-Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center. However, given that our school offers a double degree, students are actually saving Php 36,250 per semester which should have been the additional cost for the MBA program. WORKING BEYOND THE NUMBERS Given the breakdown of projected expenses for the coming year, perhaps the main factor to consider now in determining the significance of the forthcoming tuition fee increase is whether or not the student body has adequately felt and benefited from the previous increases. Further, given the opportunity to express student interests to the school administration through the student council, the student body is empowered to reflect on the effects of these changes. This creates an avenue for students to voice out concerns which they feel are yet to be addressed. Time will tell if the planned developments and process changes will be adequately implemented by the concerned parties and felt by the school community, making school year 2016-2017 definitely one to look forward to.
SCOPE NEWSLETTER
FINDING VIABLE SOLUTIONS TO THE ASMPH PARKING SITUATION
The ASMPH parking lot currently holds 82 available slots for students and faculty.
by Mina Dilig and Lenny Ortiz Photo by Maan Bermudez
Last February 9, the ASMPH community was surprised to see a notice posted at the parking building exit of the Medical Arts Tower of The Medical City (TMC) indicating a mandated price increase in parking fees. Before, what ASMPH students had to pay was simply Php 45 for the first four hours, then Php 10 for each succeeding hour. Considering an average ASMPH student time spends about nine to ten hours in school, their rate per day would reach Php 95 or Php 105. With the newly imposed rates, however, a student with a ticket that isn’t validated will be charged Php 300 for the first four hours, and Php 100 for every hour after. Now, for the same amount of time, parking at TMC would set back an ASMPH student at least Php 900 a day. This change in the pricing scheme posed major problems for the considerable portion of the student body that drive their own cars to school. While Php 95 per day, or Php 1, 900 per month, had already been a substantial and tolerable tradeoff for the students who drive, the new policy would see them spending a minimum of Php 18,000 per month. Needless to say, the change was met with objections, with most students finding the announcement sudden and unfair. Mediations between the school and hospital are still underway to try to reach a compromise, as even the ASMPH administration was unaware of the sudden decision by The Medical City. The Strip’s parking lot is another option that is close in proximity to ASMPH and is relatively cheap, but faces similar problems to the free-forall campus parking as the slots here are limited and run out early. For these students then, the newly constructed Rockwell Business Center (RBC) surface parking has proven to be their saving grace. Located on the Ortigas Avenue side of RBC and opening at 6:30 am, the parking area is relatively large and slots are still available even after 8 am. Not only that, prices are almost similar to those of the old TMC basement rates, so students who had gotten accustomed to paying Php 95 would find this as a viable option. In the meantime, students’ responses to the price increase have been variable. Among Year Level 6 (YL6) students, several of them adjusted easily in the following weeks, shifting their schedules and leaving for school 30 minutes earlier than usual, most reaching ASMPH early enough to get one of the 31 free-for-all slots allotted for students. Given that the slots are limited and cannot supply the whole student body, students wanting these would need to force themselves to be on campus unreasonably early, with slots running out as early as 5 am. Some even take measures to ensure a slot by being in school at 3 am, then find ways to pass the time until class begins. In contrast, there are still students that have a more difficult time adjusting to the price changes. One student chooses to park as far as Tiendesitas,
Table 1. Parking space allotments Group Involved
Parking Spaces Alloted
Year Level 5-7
31
Year Level 8
7
Year Level 9
7
Persons with Disabilities
2
Carpool
16 in use (22 total allotment)
Faculty
19
TOTAL
82
and walks to ASMPH. Another student copes by driving to a friend’s house, and then carpools to ASMPH. There is also a student who decided to park at a nearby free parking basement, and bikes to and from ASMPH. However, according to these students, these actions prove to have several logistical difficulties and can be tiring when done on a regular basis. From adjusting their schedules in order to arrive in school earlier, to employing other means of transportation, ASMPH students definitely became creative with their daily travel arrangements. However, at the end of the day, the time that is being lost in doing these extra measures is still a very valuable commodity that the students want to regain in the future. A lot of students have expressed their concerns and are eagerly awaiting action from the school administration. Asked about the administration’s actions regarding this issue, Ms. Maria Lourdes AlmedaBenito, Assistant to the Dean, assures that the apprehensions of the student body are being heard. Ms. Almeda-Benito explains that while the administration wants to solve the parking situation as swiftly as possible, there are many factors that come into play and affect the resolution of this issue. Ms. Almeda-Benito shares that any renovation by the school on the complex would have to seek approval from the University Management, University Board of Trustees and Meralco—the latter of which donated the land on which the school is built and thus has a stake in its affairs. Financial constraints also play a part, as the increase in tuition fee for the next school year is already budgeted for other renovations and changes that the school is implementing to cater to the other needs of its students. Lastly, Ms. Almeda-Benito also notes that the school cannot force the management of TMC in retracting its price changes as the hospital is having problems of its own in accommodating the vehicles of its clients. Prior to the price change, the parking of
TMC was also accommodating the vehicles of professionals working at the Rockwell Business Center, in addition to the students of ASMPH, leaving little space for its patients, doctors and other employees. The school, however, is currently conversing with the hospital for possibly reserving several parking slots—with the previous parking rates— for the clerks and interns who are rotating in the hospital. It is also exploring other long-term options, such as possibly building car lifters and/ or engaging a valet parking service, in order to eliminate the dependence on third-party entities for the ASMPH community’s parking needs. Given these factors, the process of resolving the parking situation is an extensive and tedious one. Looking at the issue from a wider perspective, it becomes understandable how not everything can be directly addressed by the administration at this time. The administration then calls for the cooperation of the student body in improving the parking situation while the long-term developments have not yet been implemented. Some ideas which have sprung up is utilizing the carpool system more, as only 16 of the 22 the parking spaces reserved for carpools are currently being utilized by the student body. Another idea involves dividing the free-for-all parking spaces equally among the three lower batches, to diminish the factor of differing class times in the parking scheme. As stated, the many factors involve challenges not only to the administration, but also the student body, to approach the parking issue systemically. Similar to what we have been taught in our public health and business management classes, this involves looking at the larger context and developing a more equitable system that would be beneficial to the school community as well as the many stakeholders involved. Perhaps this is an adequate time for us to dynamically engage in this issue, to use our knowledge in pursuing innovative ways to solve the parking situation of our school.
SCOPE DEPUTIES BOARD FOR SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016 Daniel Manuel Macrohon Head Mel Mara Pearl Cablayan Managing Deputy Nicholas Cancio Rafael Mendoza Publications Team Deputies Maria Angela Bermudez Photography Deputy Benjhoe Empedrado Creatives Deputy with the guidance of the EDITORIAL BOARD Denise Nicole Villanueva Mica Araya Lordieliza Melendrez Katrina Caballas Nicole Bernadette Terre Leanne Cassandra Chua Kathrinna Feliz Alerta John Kevin Paulo Biadomang John Gabriel Hernandez Katrina Marie Hernandez Maria Lourdes Almeda-Benito Aileen Pascual Advisers