Indian graduates of the AMA School of Medicine (ASM), a member of the AMA Education System (AMAES) in the Philippines, topped the recently-concluded Foreign Medical Graduates Examinations (FMGE) of India last June. ASM produced 160 Doctor of Medicine Indian graduates last February 2021, of which 144 took the licensure exam.

Dr. Shubham Saket, also a Pre-Med graduate of the AMA Computer College Makati under the BS Psychology program, was ranked Top 1 in the exam. Five (5) other ASM graduates hurdled their way into the top 10. Saket, who was identified by the school's faculty as an academic achiever, lauded ASM for "the nurturing environment for students" and the help provided to them, which in the long run proved to "be fruitful and will continue generating brilliant physicians."

Dr. Puneet Sardana, another Pre-Med graduate of AMA Makati and was ranked Top 4 in the licensure exams exclaimed: "ASM may not be the greatest medical school for other people but for me it was the best. The faculty is world class."

Dr. Christel Bridget Maria, ranked Top 8, declared: "Being at AMA has been a wonderful experience, faculty members are very supportive and take great initiative to inculcate medical knowledge in students."

The impressive performance of its Indian students in the FMGE has proven that ASM is one of the most sought-after medical schools in the Philippines by Indians as well as by other nationalities from Africa and the Middle East. According to Dr. Maria, “AMA school has a unique pattern of problem-based learning which include integration of basic and clinical concepts into organ-based modules.” The modules are augmented by correlate activities, such as lectures, laboratory exercises, and case discussions.

Indian students have been moving mountains to get a medical degree from foreign countries. After acquiring the degree from abroad, they need to pass FMGE that would allow them the license to practice in India. India’s National Board of Examination (NBE) which conducts the exam twice a year revealed that the second highest percentage of Indians who passed the FMGE came from the Philippines at 25.69% between the years 2015-2018. This augurs well for ASM to continue and further enhance its healthcare education capability and marketing capacity to further attract foreign students, as well as Filipinos, to enroll in the school’s Medicine program. AMA likewise offers the BS Psychology and BS Nursing courses as Pre-Med programs.

Start your journey to becoming a globally-competent medical professional when you study at AMA School of Medicine. Visit https://amaschoolofmedicine.amaes.edu.ph for more info or to contact admissions.

How it all started

Jennette Cajucom or "Jen" for short has always been interested in technology and computers. She started programming as early as 15 when she was in high school, and has been fascinated with creating programs since then. While her grandparents wanted her to have a promising career in Nursing, as it was one of the few high paying jobs back then, Jen's heart and mind kept leading her towards her real passion, which is technology. After working as a marketing officer for a few years, she eventually studied again and enrolled in BS in Computer Science the moment AMA College Sta. Mesa Campus opened.

Very flexible

One of the things Jen liked the most about AMA is its flexibility in terms of class schedules. Jen had to make sure that broken schedules are kept to a minimum in order to make efficient use of her time and focus. Thankfully, AMA allowed her to choose the schedules that worked best for her. This eventually helped her achieve her goals in passing her subjects with flying colors. In fact, she was a consistent Dean's Lister during her AMA days.

Real world status

After graduation, Jen juggled between helping out undergraduates with their thesis and machine problems and applying for jobs. In a few months, she eventually landed one as a systems analyst for a software consultancy startup. It was during this time where she helped the company revisit the database systems that were deployed to clients. Back then, securing client full payment was a struggle, as once a system or software was developed and deployed, everything had to be covered before full payment was received - from testing and debugging after deployment, to training all users, and even adding new features and functionality when requested. Jen then created a system to make sure that all these were carried out to make it win-win both for her employer and the client. While these efforts brought results, in the long run, the company still had to shut down, as the firm owners migrated abroad to start anew.

Life wasn’t easy but was exciting for Jen. Not much IT and computer-related jobs were available during this time. As the contact center industry was introduced in the Philippines though (back when it was not labeled yet as “call centers”), Jen found herself joining in one of the big players in the BPO industry as a technical support specialist for a known computer hardware account. She then later became a Helpdesk Operations Manager, and this was where she began to gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior and learned how to solve problems for people. If there was one meaningful takeaway she learned that was more than just gaining and honing technical skills, it was putting back the meaning of “help” in “helpdesk” and understanding that providing customer service is not just an after-sales activity but an end-to-end delightful experience.

Connecting the dots

Despite the challenges, Jen embraces the idea of how dots in life actually connect to lead you to something bigger, better and more meaningful. She believes that where she is now is the result of all those dots, no matter how good or bad, or how long or short they were.

"Once connected, the dots indeed give meaning and you’ll just realize how everything makes sense; why things have happened the way they did, and how everything comes into play in the grand scheme of things..."

“...and I owe all of this self-discovery to the foundation and discipline from my family and alma mater,”

“You can think of each dot as a function in your computer program. The whole computer program is your life. When all the functions or modules for a program are integrated or put together, it creates something more useful, more meaningful because the whole program (or application) now has more functionality, more purpose.”

After several years of working in the BPO industry, Jen is now the CEO of her own company which provides digital marketing solutions to any type of business, and a personal branding consultant to business owners. From time to time, she gives talks and workshops about topics aligned to her expertise. She’s also a TEDx speaker and is the Philippines’ editor for Marketing in Asia.

 

Her knowledge about technology, project management, her deeper understanding in customer relations and marketing, and other business disciplines gained from AMAES and the actual industry, and how all of these come together, have led her to become a more client-centric, more human-focused entrepreneur and leader that she is today.

Start gaining the knowledge and skills you need to build a better future when you study at AMA. Visit www.amaes.edu.ph for more info and to pre-register online for any program.

What’s your dream company? Is there a specific company you would want to work for?

If your answer is yes, you might just get some idea on how you could turn your dream into a reality from the story of Nancy Dane Parone in our first ever AMAzing Alumni feature.

As a student
Nancy Dane graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology at AMA College - Binan. She shares that college was a totally different experience for her, as from being very studious during her primary and secondary years, she began being more active in school activities during college - and made more friends as well. Overall, she says that she really enjoyed her college years at AMA and recognizes that her education at AMA enabled her to achieve her career goals.

Challenge accepted
During the last semester of her last year at AMA, Nancy had to work full-time in a BPO company in Pasay in order to help her family with their expenses, and be able to provide for her schooling as well. Her daily routine would be going to school in the morning at AMA Binan, going home to Cavite to get some rest, then travelling to Pasay to work. It was a huge sacrifice, but Nancy was determined to achieve her goals and not even the challenge of having to balance work and school will stop her.

Achievement unlocked

Nancy has always enjoyed CISCO more than any other subjects back in college. Among all electives, CISCO was her favorite. After graduating from college, she had planned to work for CISCO and so when an opportunity opened at CISCO Philippines, she immediately applied for it and got hired.

Bigger opportunity

After 4 years of working in CISCO Philippines, Nancy has now moved to Singapore after being accepted for an opening in CISCO Singapore. She shares that working in CISCO Singapore is a totally new challenge for her, as workers in the said country are regarded as extremely hardworking. Moreover, Singapore is culturally diverse; it is a country where you will encounter people from different ethnicities, which requires knowledge in dealing with different types of people. Overall, she finds the new working environment to be exciting and challenging at the same time, since CISCO is a tech company and every day is a chance to learn something new.

Piece of advice
Nancy’s life is a story of courage and perseverance. Her advice to the young generation is,  "Keep pushing forward and never ever give up. Pursue your passion! And if you failed at some point, know that it’s God’s redirection, as He has bigger plans for your career and you will realize one day that everything will make sense. Failures are stepping stones towards achieving your dreams, so just get up and dream high. God’s got you!"

Have what it takes to make big achievements when you study at AMA Education System. Visit www.amaes.edu.ph for more information or to pre-register online and our Admission Officer will contact you to provide more information and to answer your questions.

Seven out of the top 10 fast-rising careers in the Philippines require IT-based expertise. 

The COVID-19 pandemic fast-tracked digital transformation for a lot of companies in the Philippines. Businesses need to consider the increased need for online transactions in their capacity building.  

School network’s experience and expertise in IT backs efficient delivery of learning in the new normal

July 21, 2020—Despite the setbacks brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) strongly advocates for educational continuity. In a recent ministerial e-Forum of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones expressed , “Our battle cry is: learning must continue” but this is always with the health and safety of students as top priority during this time.

Notice is hereby given that Althea Rumbaoa and Rhea Carlos who represent themselves as recruitment officers of the AMA Education System soliciting job applications in various Facebook groups are NOT CONNECTED WITH AMA EDUCATION SYSTEM. Any recruitment activity made by these individuals are not authorized by AMA.

AMA job applicants are notified through our official AMA email address, and we never ask for any payment in connection with job application processing.

Any information in connection with these individuals may be reported to hr-recruitment@amaes.edu.ph.