by reyojoson
HOW TO MAKE A PERSONAL PLAN ON HOW TO BECOME A PHYSICIAN
Reynaldo O. Joson, M.D.
Written Circa 1993
Planning is the first step in the managerial process.
Planning is essential in order to make happen what we want to happen.
Planning is important if we want to be effective and efficient in the attainment of our goal.
Planning involves initial analysis of situations, requirements, and actual or potential problems followed by decision-making.
Planning starts with the formulation of objectives. It starts with deciding where you want to go or what you want to have or to be.
Since we are on the topic on how to make a personal plan on how to become a physician, it follows that your general objective is “to become a physician.” From hereon, let’s concentrate our discussion on how to become a physician in the Philippines from the time you are admitted to a medical school up to the time you pass the Philippine Board of Medicine examination.
“To become a physician” is a very broad objective. It is acceptable as the goal or general objective. After formulating a general objective, you must formulate more specific ones to give you clearer directions and targets. To be able to do this, you may want to know what are the governmental and medical school requirements for you to be able to be certified. After knowing these, you now formulate your specific objectives.
If you formulate “to be able to pass the Philippine Board of Medicine examination” as one of your specific objectives, that is acceptable because it is quite specific already. This objective entails taking an exam only. If you pass, you pass. If you fail, you fail.
However, if you formulate “to be able to graduate from the medical school” as one of your specific objectives, this is still quite broad. You may want to be more specific by looking at the medical curriculum of the school, specifically, the instructional objectives and the criteria for certification. You may also want to look at other requirements for graduation beside the academic requirements.
After you have done these things, you probably can formulate more specific objectives this time around.
Examples of acceptable specific objectives as far as the school requirements are concerned are:
To be able to attain a passing mark on the
Competencies expected of a graduate by the school. (Enumerate)
Skills expected of a graduate by the school. (Enumerate)
Student discipline.
Attitudes and traits desired by the school. (Enumerate)
Academic performances based on standards set by the school.
Another objective which should form part of your plan in becoming a physician is to pass an internship program. Do not forget to include this. You have to study the procedures and requirements of the program for you to be able to make a plan on this.
After you have formulated clear and specific objectives based on governmental and school requirements, the next step in planning is to formulate strategies on how to attain the objectives. To formulate strategies, you have first to consider the governmental and school requirements, expectations, and usual operational procedures. Then, you examine your strength and weakness and problems, if any, in coping up with these requirements. Maximize on your strength and improve on your weakness at the soonest time possible. Develop an effective and efficient study habit and schedule. Be hardworking and be always ready to do sacrifices for the sake of your objectives.
Formulation of strategies on how to attain your objectives can be classified into two groups. These are, namely:
Strategies on how to study
Strategies on how to pass an examination or evaluation procedure
You can formulate any strategies you wish, are familiar with, and dictated by the circumstances. The bottomline criteria for deciding on which strategies to use are effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness means what are the chances your objectives will be achieved if you use a particular strategy.
Efficiency means what are the chances an objective will be achieved using a strategy that entails the least expenditure in resources, such as time, effort, and cost.
After you have formulated your strategies, you then determine what will be your methods of evaluation and indicators, meaning what will tell you that you have already achieved your specific as well as your general objectives.
After you have decided on the specific objectives, the strategies to achieve your objectives, and the evaluation procedures and indicators, the last thing to do in planning is to write them down. You must come up with a written plan for you to say that you really have made your plan. The written plan will be your guide, monitor, and reminder. You can revise your plan along the way during implementation when you discover you need to change for the better.
The written plan usually includes at least the following items:
Title of the plan
General objective
Specific objectives
Strategies
Timetable
Evaluation procedures and indicators
To sum up, the easiest way to remember the various steps in planning consists of asking the following questions:
Where do I want to go? (Objectives)
How do I get there? (Strategies)
How do I know I am there? (Evaluation procedures and indicators)
After having considered the above questions, you then write down your answers in a piece of paper. The piece of paper which contains the answers to the above questions constitutes your written and the master plan.
ROJ@17apr10