Life at ASMPH
Co-curricular life at ASMPH
Students with varying interests converge at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, with these interests finding their outlet in different student groups. For some, these organizations serve as a counterbalance to the stress of their academics. To others, these extracurricular pursuits complement their education.
Student Organizations
EsKWELA
Health education is the focus of students in EsKWELA. Advocating preventive and promotive health care among preschool children, EsKWELA aims to form children, families, and communities that are responsible for their health.
ATENEO MED DANCE GROUP
Students who have a passion for dance join the Ateneo Med Dance Group. For them, the kinetic arts serve as an avenue for self-expression. More than that, however, dance can serve as a means to empower others and effect changes into health systems.
SURGICAL SOCIETY
The Surgical Society caters to students who want to further develop their surgical and clinical skills outside the regular academic setting. Medical missions in Filipino communities with limited access to health services serve as exposure for members.
KYTHE A+
Students who join Kythe A+ instill and strengthen hope among chronically ill pediatric patients, through play and family empowerment. Kythe A+ envisions a world where children still experience a colorful childhood despite the challenges—physical, social, and otherwise—that come with their health condition.
ACSIS
The Advocates for Consciousness and Social Involvement Society (ACSIS) leads the students in cultivating their advocacies. Activities of ACSIS range from raising awareness and engaging in discourse on socially relevant issues, to gearing students towards action.
Athletic Teams
ASMPH students strive to exemplify “Mens sana in corpore sano”, a Latin phrase that means “a sound mind in a sound body”.
Through athletic teams, students can learn and develop their skills in a variety of sports: basketball, volleyball, football, badminton, lawn tennis, table tennis, swimming, track, and ultimate frisbee. The Student Council also holds activities that allow students to participate in other physical disciplines, such as martial arts and yoga.
Annually, the Athletics Council, an auxiliary committee of the Student Council, hosts the House Cup. Students—and, sometimes, faculty members—are assigned to one of four “houses” and participate in recreational games, requiring them to work as a team to win the eponymous award. The event has been traditionally called InflaMed, with the houses named after the four cardinal signs of inflammation—Rubor, Calor, Tumor, and Dolor.
The ASMPH also regularly participates in the yearly Palarong Medisina, organized by the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges (APMC). The ASMPH won the overall championship title in 2016, besting 13 other medical schools in the Philippines.
Winning entails a combination of talent and grit. On top of sleepless nights reviewing for exams, students engage in physical conditioning and continuous improvement in their sport. Weekly training sessions are usually held in the evening, after classes have ended.
Student Council
Overseeing these organizations and school activities is the ASMPH Student Council, or the ASMPH-SC, which is the official representative of the student body to the administration, faculty, and other schools and external institutions.
The top five positions in the ASMPH-SC are the President, the Externals Vice President, the Internals Vice President, the Chief Finance Officer, and the Secretary-General. The Executive Officers and Legislative Officers, who are elected at the start of the academic year, represent their batches.
Auxiliary committees include the ASMPH Organizational Council, Academics Council, Athletics Council, External Affairs Council, Public Health Council, the Secretary-General team, and the Finance team. These committees serve to champion excellence in academics, extracurricular activities, and nation building.
Rituals and Traditions
The Orientation Seminar (OrSem) is the event that welcomes the incoming Year Level 5 students into the Ateneo community, culture, and life. The freshmen are introduced to the various organizations and personalities within the school. In the OrSem Walking Tour, they get to go around the campus and meet representatives from the different school councils and organizations. The OrSem program also features many talented student performances such as those by AMDG, VOX, and the various dance groups. Aside from being acquainted with the many student groups in ASMPH, the freshmen also have breakout sessions with upperclassmen representatives, who give them tips on adjusting to medical school and answer other concerns they may have.
Opening Ceremonies
The Opening Ceremonies is an annual tradition held at the start of the school year that formally welcomes the Year Level 5 students, as well as the other batches, to ASMPH. The ceremony begins with a Mass of the Holy Spirit and proceeds with the ceremonial Ringing of the Bell that dates back to the first batch of ASMPH students. The Top Ten students of the previous school year and exemplary student groups are likewise recognized during this ritual and the newly elected officers of the upper batches are formally inducted as they begin their office for the new school year. The annual Opening Ceremonies reminds us of what we committed to accomplish as One ASMPH community.
Blue Stars is the annual Christmas Party for the ASMPH personnel and staff that takes place every December. The entire community comes together as one family to celebrate the spirit of Christmas and the season of giving. Everyone is invited to experience a night filled with fun activities, games, raffle prizes and surprises that culminates with the showcasing of the many talents in ASMPH.
Pugad Agila is the school wide board operations of the ASMPH. Pugad Agila builds a community that concretizes care for each other towards the achievement of a common goal, a common mission. Kulturang Walang Iwanan.
Pugad Agila is also the symbolic of home for ASMPH.
The Pugad Agila motto , “No Atenean Left Behind”, is a commitment not only to achieve the 100% passing rate in the annual Physician’s Licensure Examinations but also a 100% commitment to continually support each other as one ASMPH family. It is a credo that inspires every ASMPH student to do more, to be more. Through Pugad Agila, student volunteers reach out beyond the self. It builds a community that recognizes that more can be done with others and for others.
“Pugad Agila is more than just the board operations. Pugad Agila is a culture, it is a credo, it is our Eagles’ nest, it is home. Pugad Agila is an experience of generosity, love, and selfless giving. Pugad Agila is a coming together of companions on a shared journey. Pugad Agila is where we return to rest, and draw strength to fly again.”
-Excerpts from the Pugad Agila Lawins Dr. Danica Pasia and Dr. Carla Lee 2012, Dr. Lourae Esteban and Dr. Raine Bugayong 2013, Kathleen Yoingco and Miguel Torrijos 2014, Maria Via Eloisa Morales and Stefan Fredric Claveria 2015, Ana Patricia Vargas and Emil Marzo 2016
Blue Lights is the traditional Send-Off for the incoming Year Level 8 students who will begin their clerkship training as part of their medical education. It marks the transition from learning in the classroom to application in the clinics and community. The program ends with the ceremonial coating of the incoming clerks with the white coat they will be wearing until they become licensed Atenean doctors.
Blue Toast is the event that celebrates the achievement of ASMPH’s newly-licensed MD-MBAs. The event concludes the months-long effort of Pugad Agila, the school’s board operations team, who were fueled by the “No Atenean Left Behind” culture to rally behind every Atenean taking the board exams. The community revels in a night filled with many exciting performances and surprises and concludes with a toast led by the Ateneo de Manila University President to ASMPH’s newly licensed physicians.
Resilience Programs at ASMPH
The school’s culture of “No Atenean Left Behind” permeates in all aspects of our community life. Driven by one of our core values, cura personalis (care for the other), the ASMPH is committed to forming not just the mind but also the heart and soul, the entire person of each and every student, faculty and staff. As such, the school ensures that it offers various resiliency programs to help support the ASMPH Community.
ASMPH focuses on a wholistic mental health and wellness care approach where different offices, academic and non-academic programs help in providing care to the community. These are the ASMPH Health Services Office, the Leadership Formation Cluster and the Campus Ministry Office.
The Health Services Office provides primary health care and wellness programs to ASMPH students and employees. The Health Services team is made up of licensed medical professionals who are tasked to offer the following services: Primary Care Services (including Acute Care and Mental Health Services), Comprehensive Health Assessment, Immunization Service and Wellness and Health Promotion.
Student Support Services
Office of Student Affairs (OSA)
The Office of Student Affairs facilitates non-academic, co-curricular student support services to provide a milieu conducive to academic growth and personal development. It is under the Office of the Associate Dean.
The functions of OSA are the following:
Works closely with the ASMPH Student Council and Student Organizations in the development and planning of social, cultural, sports and other co-curricular activities that are consistent with ASMPH policies. It oversees the conduct of student activities, assists in the facilitation of logistical needs and in the administration of the student activity fund.
Provides assistance, guidance and support in the conduct of student-led school activities such as the OrSem and the Blue Lights Coating Ceremonies
Collaborates with the Health Services Office, the Formation Cluster, as well as the Student Wellness Team in creating initiatives and programs that address student well-being and mental health.
Evaluates documented critical incidents involving violations in the Code of Conduct of the Student Handbook and assists in the administrative hearing processes of the Discipline Committee. It provides guidance and support to students with disciplinary infractions. It also monitors the implementation and compliance to disciplinary penalties.
Works with the Formation Cluster in the implementation of the CARE Protocol and in monitoring reported students at risks.
Facilitates Scholarship Application and provides logistical support to the Scholarship Committee. Provides assistance to scholars through the Scholars’ Society.
Supports ASMPH fund-raising activities for Scholarship and Financial Aid.
Collaborates with the faculty and coaches in crafting initiatives in career guidance and development.
Updates and revises the Student Handbook
The Campus Ministry Office (CMO)
The ASMPH Campus Ministry Office, as a unit under the APS Chaplaincy and Campus Ministry Offices, provides students and other members of the ASMPH community (administrators, faculty, professionals, staff, maintenance personnel, alumni, worshipping community, housekeeping personnel, and security personnel) with opportunities for spiritual nourishment. It is hoped that through its programs and services, members of the ASMPH community will be able to deepen their prayer life and so live out their spirituality in everyday life.
Services include:
* Recollections and Retreats
* Liturgical and Devotional Services (e. g. Masses, Holy Rosary)
* Spiritual Accompaniment and Pastoral Counseling
* Weekly Examen, Prayer and Spirituality Sessions
* Offering of Mass Intentions and Prayer Requests
* Online Social Media Outreach
Health Services Office (HSO)
The ASMPH Health Services Office has been established to lead the health services program of the school. The HSO is responsible for the
Provision of primary health-care services administered by licensed medical professionals:
Provision of adequate facilities for health care and updated health records of all students and employees;
Promotion of a healthy lifestyle such as, but not limited to, healthy diet, physical activities, and no smoking and drinking of alcoholic beverages and substance abuse, and to provide a healthy environment not only inside the campus but also outside the school premises;
Provision of policies that will enable the practice of healthy lifestyles.