Pls support CareersForHealth.ph / TEAM AIHO for Project Pagsulong!

Dearest family, friends, colleagues, visitors, and passers-by:

Pls support our social entrepreneurship project called CareersForHealth.ph .

CareersForHealth.ph  is an online portal that aims to be a platform to help match health professionals with great career opportunities match, including work in lower income communities, to help make health human resources more equitably distributed in the Philippines. It is spearheaded by a group of young doctors serving in NGOs, far-flung municipalities, and various government agencies in the Philippines to help enhance the health and well-being of Filipinos.

We are currently a finalist in a national competition called Project Pagsulong, sponsored by PLDT, RFM, the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines Alumni Community, among other partners. Start-up funds will be given to the winning team in the competition proper. 

To sweeten the pot, P100,000 will be awarded to the People’s Choice. Pls help Team AIHO, the team behind CareersForHealth.ph   become the People’s Choice =] Here are the ways  how:

1. Thru the competition website:

Please go to  http://www.projectpagsulong.ph/top-10/careersforhealthph and click VOTE NOW. Currently, you can vote every 12 hours BUT on March 14, you can cast UNLIMITED number of votes from 8AM to 5PM (Manila time / 8pm-5am EST / +8 GMT).

2. Thru Facebook:

Pls LIKE and SHARE the Infographic of Team AIHO – CareersForHealth.ph which you can find here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=441022762643435&set=a.440341886044856.1073741826.326047674140945&type=3&theater.

Pls LIKE and SHARE the : CareersForHealth.ph Infographic within the contest album  until 5pm  of March 14 for them to be counted.

3. Thru Twitter: Please tweet

#SulongNatin #AIHO

from 8AM to 5PM of March 14 to show support for  CareersForHealth.ph

Thank you for taking time to support our cause =]

Team AIHO of CareersForHealth.ph

Surviving med school

Last Sunday, the UP College of Medicine graduated the UP Medicine Class of 2012. Seven years ago today, my class graduated from the UPCM. Up to now, knowing how terrible my study habits are, I am still in awe that I survived med school. Without a doubt it is through sheer grace from God, nothing else.

I remember saying this prayer at the start of all- well, most- um, alright, many duty days, whenever I have time to drop by the hospital chapel:

Lord, it’s showtime, and You are the Star.

Please keep my mind alert
My eyes keen
My ears piqued
My tongue patient
My heart compassionate
My hands steady
My knees sturdy
My feet quick
(I add- My stomach cooperative- if I have some diarrhea issues)

Lord, may I see You in all of the people I will encounter today
And may they see You through me.

Amen.

I don’t remember when was the last time I uttered this prayer. Probably when I left the university. I really should be praying this more. While I may not be a practicing clinic-based MD, I still am actually on duty, everyday, looking out for Christ’s wounded ones, in whatever form or place...

World Diabetes Day 2011

Diabetes is a health condition that runs in many families, including ours. In the face of its myriad challenges, we can still do something about diabetes. It is not a death sentence. Click on these online resources to find out more about the diabetes. You may just be a click away from better health.

World Diabetes Day 2009-2013

View more presentations from International Diabetes Federation

The science of moods

Discover why you feel the way you do. Explain the highs and lows you experience. Join The Mind Museum's Cafe Sci and swim into THE SCIENCE OF MOODS, 30 July, 2pm-3pm at Mercato Centrale, Bonifacio Global City. Entrance is free.

For more updates on The Mind Museum, follow them on Twitter @themindmuseum and be a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/themindmuseum.

May 31 is World No Tobacco Day

FAST FACT ABOUT TOBACCO AND SMOKING: (from the World Health Organization)

Tobacco kills up to half of its users.

It kills more than five million people a year – an average of one person every six seconds – and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths.

The annual death toll of more than five million could rise to more than eight million by 2030 unless urgent action is taken to control the tobacco epidemic.

More than 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.

Total consumption of tobacco products is increasing globally, though it is decreasing in some high-income and upper middle-income countries.

Tobacco users who die prematurely deprive their families of income, raise the cost of health care and hinder economic development.

Only 5.4% of people are protected by comprehensive national smoke-free laws.

In 2008, the number of people protected from second-hand smoke increased by 74% to 362 million from 208 million in 2007.

Of the 100 most populous cities, 22 are smoke free.

Almost half of children regularly breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.

Over 40% of children have at least one smoking parent.

Second-hand smoke causes 600 000 premature deaths per year.

In 2004, children accounted for 28% of the deaths attributable to second-hand smoke.

There are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer.

In adults, second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer.

In infants, it causes sudden death.

In pregnant women, it causes low birth weight.



WE CAN STILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT SMOKING. WE HAVE TO.

Some suggestions from WHO Tobacco Free Initiative, especially on this World No Tobacco Day commemoration which focuses on Women:

CALL TO THE PUBLIC:
- Demand that your government ban all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
- Demand that your government implement legislation to provide 100% protection from tobacco smoke in all public places and workplaces.
- Campaign for women's freedom from tobacco as a human right.

CALL TO CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS AND NGOs:
- Advocate for full implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
- Urge governments to take into account the specific needs of both women and men in the development of tobacco control strategies.
- Share information about the importance of controlling the global tobacco epidemic among women.
- Help to educate women about the tobacco industry's attempts to ensnare them and the dangers of tobacco use.
- Sensitize men to the harm that their second-hand smoke inflicts on the women and children with whom they live and work.

CALL TO GOVERNMENTS and POLICYMAKERS:
- Implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, as called for in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
- Implement a comprehensive ban on tobacco smoke in all public places and workplaces, likewise called for in the WHO Framework Convention.
- Heed the call in the preamble of the WHO Framework Convention for "gender-specific tobacco control strategies" and the "full participation of women at all levels of [tobacco control] policy-making and implementation [of tobacco control measures]".
- Request assistance from WHO to implement the demand-reduction provisions of the WHO Framework Convention through the MPOWER package of tobacco control measures.
- Ensure that government agencies and other stakeholders work together to take into account the different needs of men and women.
- Ensure that tobacco control strategies take into account the special problems of women who chew tobacco.

Why I will vote for Dr. Martin Bautista for Senator

1. He’s a doctor. He’s kindred. He knows the ins and outs of the healthcare system, both the possible and the problematic. Having studied in the UP College of Medicine and the Philippine General Hospital- he knows first hand what’s good about the Philippines as well as what ails our nation. Having trained and worked as a physician in the US, he knows how things can still be improved as well as the pitfalls to avoid.

2. In his almost 2-decade long stay in the US, he has never forgotten the Philippines. He could have just enjoyed life there; sending dollars every so often as his tangible contribution to us holding the fort here. He chose, however, to return and offer himself for another, higher form of service.

3. He refuses to believe that the Filipino is inherently lazy and/or greedy. He still believes that a nurturing environment will enhance and facilitate the surfacing of the good in all of us. He believes that we wield a tremendous collective power in our hands.

4. His legislative agenda is not a mere hodge-podge of populist ideals. Rather, it is a list of practical, common sense issues that focus on systemic approach rather than band-aid solutions. An example of his train of thought:

Review the country’s debt servicing mechanisms + Rationalize spending on “infrastructures” (especially the superfluous flowerboxes, waiting sheds, and roads that lead to nowhere) --> free up more money for social services, like health and education > increase the salary for civil servants especially health professionals, teachers, and uniformed personnel --> have safer, healthier, more learned Filipinos --> have a more empowered population --> possible lessened dependence on external resources to meet our local needs

5. He embodies the truth that progress, like health, is a multi-faceted concern. While health and well-being form the core of his platform, he is unafraid to take up similarly important fights which affect health like the need for sustainable energy sources; access to quality education from primary to collegiate and vocational level; equal and swift dispensing of justice, and; stricter regulation of government-permitted gambling hubs, among others.

6. He believes in the model of Gawad Kalinga as a means to make decent, quality, affordable homes and livable communities a reality for lower income Pinoys currently living as informal settlers.

7. He does not personally advocate for abortion or other means of birth control BUT he believes that every Filipino has the right to be educated as regards the options s/he has and have access to these choices.

8. He is not afraid of new media and uses it to connect and collaborate with like-minded (and not-so-like-minded) fellows. He sees it as a great equalizer in terms of work and education so that learning and job opportunities can be made available regardless of geography and distance.

9. His campaign spending is virtually entirely from his own savings; he is not beholden to any entity or interest group. Sheer love of country is his motive for running.

10. He does not intend to make being a legislator his livelihood. He vows to not run for re-election should he get voted into office. He intends to do the most that he can in his first and only term as senator.



For Pinoys voting on May 10th, please do consider making #5 Dr. Martin Bautista a part of your senatorial lineup. A vote for Dr. Bautista is a vote for a healthier Philippines.

Online petition to free the Morong 43 - Please sign!

Please sign the online petition in support of upholding the rights of 43 community health workers arrested by the military in Morong, Rizal because they were being suspected to be members of the New People's Army (NPA)- a local insurgency group. More on the "Morong 43" here and here.

Please sign the online petition here: PetitionOnline.com/FreeD43. Help spread the word.

FREE THE MORONG 43!

(Statement of the Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights KARAPATAN, February 7, 2010)

Human rights alliance Karapatan strongly denounces the terrorism being foisted on groups critical of the Arroyo regime’s policies and human rights violations in the run-up to the May elections. Karapatan condemns the recent illegal arrest of more than 40 health workers and doctors, including the wife of Karapatan Deputy Secretary General Roneo Clamor, Dr. Mary Mia, who were conducting First Responders Training in Morong, Rizal early Saturday, February 6.

At 6:15 Saturday morning, at least 300 heavily armed elements of the combined forces of the 202nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army (202IBPA) and the Rizal Provincial Philippine National Police (PNP) forced their way into the farmhouse of Dr. Melecia Velmonte in Morong, Rizal where the training was being held.

According to initial information gathered by Karapatan, the health workers, 26 of whom are female, were made to line up, their photos taken, were frisked, blindfolded, handcuffed, and were forcibly brought to Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. The victims were also interrogated by the soldiers, while another was taking videos of the whole process. Col. Aurelio Baladad, commanding officer of the 202nd IBPA, alleged that the victims are members of the New People's Army (NPA).

"The PNP and AFP conducted the operation based on a defective search warrant allegedly for illegal firearms addressed to the property of a certain Mario Condes, that was issued by Judge Cesar A. Mangrobang of the Imus, Cavite Regional Trial Court. But in the first place, Condes is not the owner of the property that was raided,” Clamor stated.

Clamor also belied the military’s claims that the healthcare workers were making explosives. “My wife, Dr. Mary Mia, is the director of Community Health Development (CHD) for Health Education and Training Services, and has been providing health services as a community doctor for a long time,” he said.

As of writing, no formal charges have been filed against the doctors and health workers, and they are still being illegally detained in Camp Capinpin. The victims’ relatives and lawyers were not allowed inside the camp Saturday afternoon.

"The arms and explosives supposedly found by the military and police in the house, even the election paraphernalias, were planted by the perpetrators during their so-called ‘search operations.’ The military were not supervised by the owner of the house, the have the victims and the residents are lined up outside the buildings,” Clamor, who joined the team that initially gathered data, said.

“My wife and her colleagues should immediately be released, the military are illegally detaining them,” demanded Clamor.

Meanwhile, Lovella de Castro, Karapatan Secretary General added that training communty health workers have become a necessity because of the government's failure to address health care problems of the Filipinos.

"We should thank these doctors who chose to practice their profession in places where they are mostly needed. They train community heallth workers for free, as they are just being true to the oath of saving lives. These community health workers are also volunteers who just intend to provide medical services for the people," de Castro said.

Instead, under the counter-insurgecy program Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL), these doctors and volunteer health workers are considered enemies of the state. "As Mrs. Arroyo's OBL 2 and term of office is coming to an end, the more they have become desperate. Civilians have fallen targets of military operations wherein all due process are taken for granted,” de Castro added.

De Castro called on the people to be more vigilant, and to watch out for the numbered days of GMA in power. "We in the human rights community will not rest until we have held Arroyo accountable to all her crimes against the Filipino people." de Castro concluded

November 14th of every year is World Diabetes Day

As a physician and having had very close family members currently surviving the challenge of this disease, I have seen first hand the personal, social, and economic cost of diabetes. To put things in a bigger perspective, the campaigners of the international celebration of World Diabetes Day put together this set of key messages regarding this burgeoning global health burden:

Diabetes currently affects more than 285 million people worldwide.

A further 344 million are at high risk of developing diabetes.

The International Diabetes Federation predicts that by 2030, over 435 million people will live with diabetes worldwide.

Over the past 30 years the global figures for the number of people living with diabetes have skyrocketed, with severe consequences for healthcare budgets worldwide.

Diabetes is one of several non-communicable diseases that threaten to overwhelm healthcare systems and are emerging as a serious barrier to economic development.

Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes.

Every 10 seconds two people develop diabetes.

Each year a further 7 million people develop diabetes

Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of global death by disease.

Each year 4 million deaths are attributable to diabetes.

All diabetes is on the rise.

Diabetes affects people of all ages.

Care for people with diabetes is best when a multidisciplinary approach is adopted involving
health professionals from all areas.

Access to appropriate medication and care should be a right not a privilege.

Diabetes costs more than money.

Up to 60% of type 2 diabetes can be prevented.

Diabetes brings different challenges at different ages.

Diabetes hits the poorest hardest.

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE WORRIED THAT YOU MAY HAVE DIABETES? Watch this short, 2-minute video below to know more about diabetes. You can also visit the Diabetes Atlas for a more comprehensive look into this disease.

Never lost, always found (17): Tongue in check

Moses, however, said to the LORD, "If you please, LORD, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past, nor recently, nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue."

The LORD said to him, "Who gives one man speech and makes another deaf and dumb? Or who gives sight to one and makes another blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

Go, then! It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what you are to say."

Exodus 4:10-12

I had a major presentation last week in the huge ballroom of a top Manila hotel. In it were dozens of physician colleagues, past and present teachers, and many kindred souls who took time out (and shelled out serious money) to listen to updates in the field of Family and Community Medicine. The latter's presence ought to have made the presentation a comfortable ride. However, a couple of hours before my scheduled talk, I was so nervous I thought I would pass out.

At the height of my anxiety and self-doubt, I requested a colleague to pray with me. We found a quiet spot at the back of the hall and he began to pray with me in earnest. And as expected, as soon as he uttered "Amen" a great wave of peace began to quiet my troubled heart. While awaiting my turn to speak, I quit fiddling with my slides, I stopped surfing for answers to any and all possible questions, I closed the ten or so web browser tabs I was nervously juggling and jotting notes from.

Soon after, I was called to the stage and I began my presentation. I did my best to convey the message I was assigned to deliver- Preparing for Outbreaks and Epidemics- in the time alloted. I struggled a bit during the open forum part but I would like to believe that I was able to more than just "wing it." Then, before I knew it, I already had to descend from the stage to give way to the next speaker.

In my confusion, God is my clarity. In my anxiety, God is my peace. In my folly, God is my way forward.



(A bonus after the presentation, seeing this amazing sunset over Manila Bay just across the hotel's parking lot =])

Good night and thank you, Sen. Ted Kennedy

The world over knows him as the brother of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Others would peg him as the young politician with a variety of supposed indiscretions. But for me, Sen. Edward Kennedy will always be the one who quite literally crashed the 1978 International Conference on Primary Health Care in Alma-Ata, in the then-Soviet Socialist Republic of Kazakhstan, attending the conference not as a member of the US delegation but in his personal capacity as a staunch advocate of the universal right to health care.

What follows are excerpts from the Physicians for Human Rights' blog entry recognizing the superhuman efforts of Ted Kennedy in propelling forward the cause of health for all.



The Philippines maybe thousands of miles away but his leadership and inspiration resonate even here in our archipelago, especially among us who are likewise working hard to make health a right enjoyed by all. His contributions to humanity include the following:

* In 1966, Senator Kennedy created a national health center system.

* In 1972, he became Chairman of the Senate Health Subcommittee, enhancing his ability to champion the cause of quality health care for all Americans.

* Another priority for Senator Kennedy was the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program. This program, popularly known as WIC, offers food, nutrition counseling, and access to health services for low-income women, infants, and children.

* He became a champion of the 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata, which called on the international community, and all health and development workers, to protect and promote the health of all people of the world.

* Senator Kennedy authored the Refugee Act of 1980, which established a comprehensive U.S. policy to provide humanitarian assistance, admission and resettlement to refugees around the world.

* In 1990, Senator Kennedy introduced, along with Senator Hatch, the groundbreaking Ryan White CARE Act, which provided emergency relief to the thirteen cities hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, and also provided substantial assistance to all states to develop effective and cost-efficient AIDS care programs, aimed particularly at early diagnosis and home care.

* In 1994, as Chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, Senator Kennedy worked closely with President Clinton to expand opportunity for working families. His leadership brought about the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

* In 1997, as Chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, Senator Kennedy worked closely with President Clinton to expand opportunity for working families. His leadership brought about the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

* In 2006, Senator Kennedy sponsored and helped pass the Family Opportunity Act, which provided states the opportunity to expand Medicaid coverage to children with special needs, allowing low- and middle-income families with disabled children the ability to purchase coverage under the Medicaid program.

* In 2007, he sponsored the Health Care Safety Net Act of 2007.

* So deep was Senator Kennedy’s commitment to the highest attainable standard of
health, that on July 9, 2008, while recovering from brain surgery, he made a surprise trip to Capitol Hill. There he cast a critical vote to secure healthcare coverage for senior citizens.

What attracted me to be more pro-Obama than pro-McCain is the pronouncement of Mr. Obama in their second presidential debate in no uncertain terms that health should be a right for every American. And I'm pretty sure he got a huge amount of inspiration from Ted Kennedy who has been walking the talk, declaring in the 2008 Democratic National Convention the following:

And this is the cause of my life - new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American - north, south, east, west, young, old - will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.

Good night and thank you, Mr. Kennedy. Rest assured that the work you have done and the items still in your to-do list will be see some hue of completion, hopefully sooner rather than later.

The Philippine Red Party, September 5th, 7pm, SM Mall of Asia - San Miguel by the Bay

4,021 = Number of HIV-positive Filipinos since 1984

817 = Number of Filipino AIDS patients

25-39 years = Age range where 58% of HIV-AIDS patients belong to

72 = Percentage of male patients among the 4,021 with HIV-AIDS

90 = Percentage of HIV-AIDS acquired via sexual intercourse

32 = Percentage of all Filipino HIV-AIDS patients who are overseas workers

(from the July 2009 Philippines HIV-AIDS Registry of the Department of Health)

From "low and slow," the HIV-AIDS problem in the Philippines is now characterized as "hidden and growing." The cost of diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up is still too exorbitant for ordinary Filipinos. The time to band together to stop the looming threat of HIV-AIDS is now.

Support The Philippine Red Party Project, a benefit concert for the HIV-AIDS patients being taken care of by the Infectious Diseases Section of the UP-Philippine General Hospital, to be held at the San Miguel by the Bay of the SM Mall of Asia on Saturday, September 5, 2009, 7pm.


Tickets are at P200 each. Leave a comment or email me for ticket reservations.

More details on The Philippine Red Party Project can be found in http://www.redparty.20fr.com/.

Saving the catchers, catching the saviors

I (finally) caught 27 Dresses on Star Movies last weekend. It turned out to be a really entertaining romantic comedy centered on the life of Jane, played by Katherine Heigl, who discovered early on in her life that she was meant to be heaven sent to brides in distress. When her own sister managed to schedule a trip to the altar with the man Jane has been in-love with for the longest time- her boss, Kevin, who writes the accounts of society weddings in a New York paper, helps her unravel the real reason behind she’s worn those 27 bridesmaid’s dresses.

Jane would be what Dr. Honey Carandang, a preeminent Filipino psychologist, would refer to as a “tagasalo” or a “catcher” or a “savior.” She’s someone who gladly (or not) will do anything and everything for others. She just cannot say no. She manages to juggle all responsibilities and demands, true, but to the detriment at times of her own psyche. Rightly or wrongly, she believes she HAS to do it FOR them.

Tagasalo in many families would be the unmarried child who would forego marriage until all siblings have graduated from college. The tagasalo would be the one who stays home to care for ailing parents. The tagasalo would most likely be in the service or caring profession, an unwitting extension perhaps of the role s/he has taken on for him-/herself at home.

I heard this tagasalo concept for the first time in the training we had for frontline responders to disasters and armed conflict. When it was mentioned by our facilitator, Ernest Tan, there was audible murmur of self-recognition among the participants. Many, if not most of those in the room, were tagasalo, saviors in their own spheres of influence. Unfortunately, the tagasalo is very prone to burnout.

Ernest defined burnout as a state of fatigue and frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward. It often involves depletion, wearing out, exhaustion of physical and mental resources by excessively striving to reach some unrealistic expectations imposed by one’s self or by the values of society.

Burnout can come from internal or external “pressures.” It can come from an internal drive to succeed gone awry, taking oneself too seriously, or inability to separate oneself from one’s job title. It can likewise come from low work or organizational support, poor incentive scheme, or inordinately idealistic expectations from superiors or subordinates.

So are you burned out already? Take this simple self-check. Remember though that this is cannot give you a complete diagnosis of burnout and it is best to seek help from a mental health professional. At the very least, this test may give a label to *that* feeling that’s been bugging you for sometime.

Direction: Assign a number from 1 (for no or little change) to 5 (for a great deal of change) to designate the degree of change you perceive in yourself and the world around you over the past six months.

1. Do you tire more easily and feel exhausted much of the time?
2. Do you find yourself just putting in the hours and going through the motions?
3. Do you notice feeling detached and even avoiding clients, colleagues, family and friends?
4. Do you feel bored and apathetic about your work or commitments?
5. Do you tend to eliminate more enjoyable activities because there is no more time for them?
6. Do you observe a tendency to engage in self-deprivations, i.e. excessive overtime, working late into the night, weekends and during vacations?
7. Do you become overly invested in a client’s welfare or in a project to the exclusion of other commitments?
8 Do you begin to “medicate” yourself with food, alcohol, pills, etc as a way of coping?
9. Do you notice becoming increasingly cynical and disenchanted?
10. Do you observe becoming more cranky and irritable?
11. Do you feel resentful of the time you spent with others and wish to have more time for yourself?
12. Do you feel relieved when an original plan to attend to a client or a project was cancelled?
13. Do you begin to feel pessimistic about your client or your commitment?
14. Do you have feelings of anger and contempt over many of your clients?
15. Do you question your effectiveness as a helping professional?

0 – 25: You’re doing fine.
26 – 35: There are things you should be watching.
36 – 50: You’re a candidate.
51 – 65: You are burning out.
Over 65: You’re in a dangerous place, threatening to your physical and mental well-being.

So how did you fare? Me? Let's just say that I'm a candidate =0

For more information on burnout and dealing with such stress in the workplace and beyond, visit the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention occupational health and safety science blog, and the CDC's online "booklet" on dealing with stress at work.

And they're off: UP Medicine Class of 2009

The tarpaulin backdrop provides a muted understatement of the celebration and promise it represents.


I was in the University Theater attending the 100th Commencement Exercise and Internship Closing Ceremonies of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine – Philippine General Hospital last weekend, almost four years to the day of my own graduation from medical school.
Dr. Esperanza Cabral, Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and alumna of the UP College of Medicine, gave the Commencement Address.


It was with a mixture of wistful delight that we launch into the greater world outside the UP Medicine Class of 2009. This batch of students will forever occupy a special niche in my heart because they are the first ones I have taught full time. As their names were called and their faces flashed in the white screen during the capping and hooding ceremonies, I can still recall many of the words from the papers they’ve written, the conversations we’ve had, the activities they’ve facilitated in the urban poor communities we immersed in as part of their third year medical school curriculum. Some of them, I can hardly I can hardly remember or recognize- the skinheads then now have hair, some slimmed down, some- well- did not =] But I must admit that it is an honor when they do recall who I am, from among the 660-strong faculty of the college =]

Posing with UP Medicine Class of 2009 Class President Paolo Medina, his mom, and UP Medicine Class of 1993 Class President Dr. Portia Marcelo, and myself, UP Medicine Class of 2005 Class President.


After the capping and hooding ceremony, faux diploma on hand, many faculty members swarmed at the foot of the steps leading from the stage. We were not so neatly lined up with hands outstretched, shaking the hands of the graduates and their parents, some getting hugs from us, especially the ones whom we worked very closely with.

Dr. Brian Vincent DG Salvador, cum laude and class valedictorian, with Dr. Nina Dizon, Dr. Delen Dela Paz, and Dr. Jimmy Galvez-Tan.


What almost wrung tears from my eyes was when the parents thanked us for taking care of their children. I must admit that there will always be bad apples in any heap, but for the most part it was an immense joy with their children, and any group of students for that matter. It is an honor to have worked with and for these young doctors, even if it was just for two weeks within their five-year stay in our medical school.



I am confident that I will be taken care of by their able minds, hearts, and hands should the time come I or a family member be taken ill. God speed, UP Medicine Class of 2009. Blaze trails in honor of your parents, your patients, your teachers, your alma mater, and the country who look forward to your selfless sharing of compassion and competence.

Official statement of the Philippine Department of Health on the swine flu virus

This past weekend saw a flurry of reports that can hardly be missed with regard to the swine flu outbreak that has spread through parts of Mexico City, reaching places as far away as Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) has just issued an official statement/advisory with regard to the swine flu virus. Major points in the statement include:

1) The current H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus is a novel one, an unusual combination of pig, bird, and human genetic materials. Consequently, no vaccine is available yet.

2) Human-to-human transmission looks like the mode of illness transmission.

3) The multilevel response of the DOH includes detection of possible infected individuals coming in via the various Philippine ports of entry; identification of local outbreaks of influenze-like illnesses, and; treatment of such individuals in referral hospitals.

4) As a precaution, the DOH recommends the following:

a) Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

b) Wash hands regularly with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

c) Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective

d) Avoid close contact with sick people.

e) If sick, self-monitor and stay home from work or school and limit contact with others.

f) Consult your doctor immediately should signs and symptoms of flu persist.

g) While no travel ban to Mexico and other affected countries is issued, travelers to these countries are however "asked to reconsider their plans to travel to Mexico and other affected countries unless extremely necessary."

5) Contact your local health center or call the DOH Hotline +6327111001 / +6327111002 if you or a family member or a neighbor exhibits flu-like illness including the following symptoms- fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting ESPECIALLY after travel to the swine flu affected countries or having come in contact with someone who has traveled to these place.

More information on the swine flu virus can be found here http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/.

Here is the full text of the official statement of the Philippine Department of Health regarding the swine flu virus issued on April 27, 2009 (taken from http://www.doh.gov.ph/node/2258).

Today, the Department of Health (DOH) clarifies that there are no reports yet of swine flu among humans in the Philippines in relation to the outbreak that originated from Mexico and other affected countries.

This morning, however, we have convened an emergency meeting to develop recommendations that will make our country better prepared to face this recent occurrence of swine flu among humans.

The DOH is emphasizing that the H1N1 swine flu virus recently discovered in Mexico is an entirely novel strain. Experts describe it as having an unusual combination of genetic material from pigs, birds and humans which have reassorted and caused the development of the current human H1N1 swine influenza virus. This is the first time that such a virus has been isolated with evidence of human-to-human transmission. There is no available vaccine as of yet specific for this virus.

Following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) alert to all its member states on April 25 that the outbreak has escalated into a “public health emergency of international concern,” the DOH immediately stepped up its surveillance and biosecurity measures in all international and local airports to prevent the entry of the virus, which has now killed 81 individuals in Mexico and possibly infected and unconfirmed number of other individuals in certain parts of other countries like U.S. and Canada.

The Bureau of Quarantine has already instituted precautionary measures in major ports and possible entry points of the virus in the country. All quarantine stations are already implementing health surveillance measures including thermal scanning of all arriving passengers from countries with reported swine flu cases. Travelers will also be required to fill up a Health Declaration Checklist to screen for potential signs and symptoms and possible exposure to the virus.

A Health Alert Notice (HAN) on flu-like illness or Swine Influenza Virus (SIV) will also be distributed to all arriving travelers especially from the U.S. and Mexico. We will also convene another meeting with all stakeholders at our ports for a more heightened and coordinated response against the entry of the virus.

All DOH Regional Health Offices and local government units are requested to look out for influenza outbreaks, influenza-like illness (ILI) and /or atypical pneumonia in their areas of jurisdiction and to immediately report such cases to the National Epidemiology Center and/or the Health Emergency Management Staff. (DOH HOTLINE: 7111001 / 7111002)

The DOH Referral Hospitals for Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) have also been primed to ready their facilities to receive patients confirmed or suspected to have been infected with the novel swine flu virus. These referral centers include the Research Institute of Medicine (RITM), the San Lazaro Hospital and the Lung Center of the Philippines, all of which are equipped with negative pressure isolation rooms for managing patients infected with highly virulent and pathogenic microorganisms.

The DOH is gearing up to respond to and manage the potential entry of the H1N1 swine flu virus in the country. Sufficient number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the antiviral drug, Oseltamivir, are available and will be given to high-risk exposure groups which include frontline health workers and surveillance teams at the national and local levels.

Meanwhile, we are now advising the public that there is no travel ban being issued by this Department to Mexico and other affected countries. Travelers are however asked to reconsider their plans to travel to Mexico and other affected countries unless extremely necessary.

As a precaution, the DOH recommends the following:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
Wash hands regularly with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective
Avoid close contact with sick people.
If sick, self-monitor and stay home from work or school and limit contact with others.
Consult your doctor immediately should signs and symptoms of flu persist.

The Fourth U.P. Global Health Course

After a two-year hiatus, six months of intensive preparations, and last-minute edge-of-chaos activities, we're very proud to have successfully conducted The Fourth U.P. Global Health Course at Silungan in Morong, Rizal last April 13 to 18, 2009.

The UP-GHC 4 has brought together 28 students studying in the health professions schools of the UP, UST, Ateneo, Emilio Aguinaldo College, FEU, St Louis-Baguio, and West Visayas State University, including two students from Australia. Through marathon sessions last week, the UP-GHC 4 endeavored to re-focus their education towards a preferential option for the underserved as we talked about topics that our respective university curricula hardly touch: topics like globalization, the current financial crisis, war and health, culture and health, health and the environment, the use of ICT, urban agriculture, among others.

UP-GHC 4 faculty members came from the deep bench of the UP College of Medicine, as well as equally engaging resource persons like Sonny Africa from the IBON Foundation and Professor Giovanni Tapang, PhD of the UP National Institute of Physics who talked about the advocacy against the re-opening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

The UP-GHC 4's student coordinator, Angela Wee, as well the student facilitators Bev Ho, Rom Imperio, Venjune Tansiongco, Renzo Guinto, Tina Langit, Micko Perez, Myx Caampued, and VJ Mercado all ensured that the course had the correct balance of youthful perspective, practicality, and fun.

The course may have ended, but our work towards making quality healthcare available to those most in need have just began. Welcome to the wonderful world of public health work Nikka, Jam, Leeo, Ginger, Jackie A, Jackie M, Mitch, Yen, Myk, Paul, Peter, Migs, Omar, Jessica, Kim, Kevin, Leslie, Danni, David P, David C, Dana, Angel, Nery, Jopapz, Nicole, Ezra, Jim, and Dalvie!

Congratulations, everyone! UP Global Health Course 5, coming up!

Connecting learning to global health trends: ICEHS 2008

In celebration of the Centennial of the University of the Philippines (UP) and in keeping with its mandate to be the leader in education, research and service to the nation, the UP College of Medicine and the National Teacher Training Center for the Health Professions spearheads the First International Conference on Education in the Health Sciences (ICEHS), from October 1-3, 2008 at the Science Hall of the UP Philippine General Hospital.



Centering on the theme “Connnecting Learning to Global Health Trends,” the First ICEHS brings together noted local and international experts to collective chart the course of health education in the face of the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Health science educators from the Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States will be flying in to share best practices in their respective institutions. Most notable among them perhaps will be Prof. Frances Baum of Flinders University, Commissioner from Australia of the UN Commission on Social Determinant of Health, a dedicated teacher and researcher in the field of community health and its interrelation with politics and economy.

Included in the roster of some 25 Philippine experts on health and education are two former Secretaries of the Department of Health and UP professors Drs. Alberto Romualdez and Jaime Galvez Tan; former UP Manila Chancellor Dr Marita Reyes; Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Teachers Drs. Antonio Dans and Rafael Bundoc, and; TOYM Awardee Dr Alvin Marcelo, among others.

Participants will experience two and a half days of plenary and symposia tackling issues ranging from distance learning to MD-MBA education models; effective teaching of courses like Gross Anatomy to community-based learning initiatives to admissions policies. This First ICEHS will not only assume the worldview of teachers but it will also paint a more complete picture by presenting perspectives from students as well as institution administrators.

For those with the passion for the business, art, science, and vocation of health education, do not miss this chance to enhance your capacities by learning from the best. Be part of the First International Conference on Education in the Health Sciences (ICEHS).

For inquiries, please get in touch with:

THE CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES
c/o University of the Philippines Centennial Committee in Manila
Rm. 125 Ground Floor, National Institutes of Health Building
Pedro Gil Street, Ermita, Manila
1000 Philippines

Ms. Rhea Obera (UPM Centennial Office)
Telephone Number: (632) 524-7571
Email: upm.icehs@gmail.com
Fax number: (632) 526-0371, (632) 536-1329

9/12

We all have our 9/11 memories.

In Manila, at around 9pm, seven years ago, we were in the UP’s Pharmacology laboratory, preparing materials for an experiment. We were busy chopping narra leaves to teensy bits when my sister sent me a text message saying a plan crashed into the World Trade Center. It was quite a shock because in May of the same year, I was strolling atop WTC, soaking in the sights of New York. Then another message- this time that the Twin Towers were no more. I remember feeling a bit numb, then a shard of fear set in: that if America, a superpower, has been hit hard by such brazen attacks, how much more puny Philippines.

I was in the International Center of Photography in New York City last May. They had a very interesting exhibit on the September 12, 2001 frontpage and headlines of about 100 leading dailies the world over. The photos and text captured permutations of grief, shock, anger, and disbelief as the Twin Towers were in various stages of being toppled and the plume of smoke and ash rose in their stead.

Save for this exhibit perhaps, 9/12 is seemingly lost in the annals of history, obscured by the day that precedes it.

Yet for those in the know, 9/12 is an equally momentous day, more so this year because 9/12/2008 is the 30th Anniversary of the Declaration of Alma Ata.

In 1978, some 200 health experts met in what is now Alma Ata in Kazakhstan to seek solutions for what ails the world. At the end of the International Conference on Primary Health Care, they came up with a 10-point declaration detailing the major strategies through which Health For All can be faster and more feasibly attained. The ten points of the Declaration of Alma Ata follows but beyond the jargon, its spirit can be summed as:

1. Health is a right. It is not merely the absence of illness but the complete wellbeing of the body, mind, spirit, and community.


2. The current inequity in health, the gap between what the more affluent enjoy in terms of health care versus those in lower income settings, is unacceptable and should be addressed right away.


3. The citizens have the right and duty to participate in all activities relating to their health…


4. …But government must play the lead role in advancing all health and development initiatives…


5. …And lay groundwork for an environment that will encourage multi-sectoral socio-cultural-political involvement.


This Declaration is as close a panacea as possible to the health and development concerns of the world. It is the guiding principle by which the UP College of Medicine carries out its mandate of directing all education, research, and training pursuits to the underserved. It underscores how everyone is responsible for each other’s health and the inextricable relationship of health to aspects of development like economics, governance, culture, among others.

Thirty years hence the same challenges remain. But with a new breed of leaders, citizens with more heightened social consciousness, and a renewed sense of urgency in the face of still unbridled inequity, the Declaration of Alma Ata (unfortunately) remains relevant.

Declaration of Alma-Ata
International Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma-Ata, USSR, 6-12 September 1978

The International Conference on Primary Health Care, meeting in Alma-Ata this twelfth day of September in the year Nineteen hundred and seventy-eight, expressing the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all the people of the world, hereby makes the following Declaration:

I
The Conference strongly reaffirms that health, which is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, is a fundamental human right and that the attainment of the highest possible level of health is a most important world-wide social goal whose realization requires the action of many other social and economic sectors in addition to the health sector.

II
The existing gross inequality in the health status of the people particularly between developed and developing countries as well as within countries is politically, socially and economically unacceptable and is, therefore, of common concern to all countries.

III
Economic and social development, based on a New International Economic Order, is of basic importance to the fullest attainment of health for all and to the reduction of the gap between the health status of the developing and developed countries. The promotion and protection of the health of the people is essential to sustained economic and social development and contributes to a better quality of life and to world peace.

IV
The people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care.

V
Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures. A main social target of governments, international organizations and the whole world community in the coming decades should be the attainment by all peoples of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that will permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life. Primary health care is the key to attaining this target as part of development in the spirit of social justice.

VI
Primary health care is essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of selfreliance and self-determination. It forms an integral part both of the country's health system, of which it is the central function and main focus, and of the overall social and economic development of the community. It is the first level of contact of individuals, the family and community with the national health system bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work, and constitutes the first element of a continuing health care process.

VII
Primary health care:
1. reflects and evolves from the economic conditions and sociocultural and political characteristics of the country and its communities and is based on the application of the relevant results of social, biomedical and health services research and public health experience;

2. addresses the main health problems in the community, providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services accordingly;

3. includes at least: education concerning prevailing health problems and the methods of
preventing and controlling them; promotion of food supply and proper nutrition; an adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; maternal and child health care, including family planning; immunization against the major infectious diseases; prevention and control of locally endemic diseases; appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; and provision of essential drugs;

4. involves, in addition to the health sector, all related sectors and aspects of national and community development, in particular agriculture, animal husbandry, food, industry, education, housing, public works, communications and other sectors; and demands the coordinated efforts of all those sectors;

5. requires and promotes maximum community and individual self-reliance and participation in the planning, organization, operation and control of primary health care, making fullest use of local, national and other available resources; and to this end develops through appropriate education the ability of communities to participate;

6. should be sustained by integrated, functional and mutually supportive referral systems, leading to the progressive improvement of comprehensive health care for all, and giving priority to those most in need;

7. relies, at local and referral levels, on health workers, including physicians, nurses, midwives, auxiliaries and community workers as applicable, as well as traditional practitioners as needed, suitably trained socially and technically to work as a health team and to respond to the expressed health needs of the community.

VIII
All governments should formulate national policies, strategies and plans of action to launch and sustain primary health care as part of a comprehensive national health system and in coordination with other sectors. To this end, it will be necessary to exercise political will, to mobilize the country's resources and to use available external resources rationally.

IX
All countries should cooperate in a spirit of partnership and service to ensure primary health care for all people since the attainment of health by people in any one country directly concerns and benefits every other country. In this context the joint WHO/UNICEF report on primary health care constitutes a solid basis for the further development and operation of primary health care throughout the world.

X
An acceptable level of health for all the people of the world by the year 2000 can be attained through a fuller and better use of the world's resources, a considerable part of which is now spent on armaments and military conflicts. A genuine policy of independence, peace, détente and disarmament could and should release additional resources that could well be devoted to peaceful aims and in particular to the acceleration of social and economic development of which primary health care, as an essential part, should be allotted its proper share.

The International Conference on Primary Health Care calls for urgent and effective national and international action to develop and implement primary health care throughout the world and particularly in developing countries in a spirit of technical cooperation and in keeping with a New International Economic Order. It urges governments, WHO and UNICEF, and other international organizations, as well as multilateral and bilateral agencies, nongovernmental organizations, funding agencies, all health workers and the whole world community to support national and international commitment to primary health care and to channel increased technical and financial support to it, particularly in developing countries. The Conference calls on all the aforementioned to collaborate in introducing, developing and maintaining primary health care in accordance with the spirit and content of this Declaration.

TBR16: Of physicians and physicists

Sir, I mean no disrespect but I hated Physics.

I never quite understood what- to me- are abstract concepts like torque and acceleration. The myriad formula and mathematical equations did not help. So it was with a heavy heart that I enrolled for Physics 71 class in that fateful summer of 1999 in UP Diliman. I took it as one of my science electives for my BS Psychology degree but more importantly, it was said to be a requirement for medical school which I planned to begin attending the following year.

Spending summer studying Physics wasn’t really how I envisioned the beginning of my last year in Diliman will be. But looking back now, Physics helped me become not just a good physician but a better Filipino as well.

I enrolled in your Physics class, you a (then?) young professor who acted as adviser of the organization I was a founding member of. I hoped to get through the class with much ease, what with my “connections” with you. As summer weeks spent in school are wont to do, they dragged on, terribly slow. It being a 12nn-2pm class (if I remember correctly) didn’t help one bit. In short, the class was a mega-struggle for me.

Until one day, a group of student activists doing an RTR (room to room) requested permission to speak to our class about the Visiting Forces Agreement or the VFA. It was around this time that much debate was taking place whether or not the Philippines should enter into such an agreement with the United States. The VFA aims to set the guidelines, among other things, for the conduct of members of the US armed forces while stationed in the RP. The recent event surrounding Daniel Smith and Nicole has served as a test case for the VFA. But I digress.

You allowed the ED (educational discussion) to proceed and gave them about 15 minutes of our precious class hours for the discussion of VFA. Afterwards, you shook hands with the students as they left the room and thanked you for the time you gave for the ED. I must admit I was a bit baffled. Not too many teachers would allow an ED in their class, especially during summer class. The schedules are tight: they have to fit a semester’s worth of classroom activities in just four short weeks.

Apparently, one of the ED proponents who visited us was a classmate of yours who, for one reason or another, is still to graduate from the university. You then subtly juxtapose your life with those of the students who just gave us an ED. This juxtaposition remains with me to this day.

You graduated on time, with a degree in Physics, magna cum laude- if I’m not mistaken. You already finished your Masters of Science degree, graduating with the best GWA in his batch of graduate students. At that time of our class, you were already working on your Ph.D. You taught in the UP- for a pittance (I now know this for a fact, sir). While your classmate, is still, well, a student, possibly overstaying his welcome in the university, occupying *space* and squandering university resources invested in him in the process.

As you were teaching in the UP, you shared that you were also helping develop a textbook of basic Physics for Filipino high school students- in the vernacular. You were not brandishing Manila paper signs blotched with red paint but the textbook you were working on was your simple, concrete contribution to Philippine society, helping bring empowerment through science education.

Thanks to you, I came to realize that not all activists are on the streets and not all those on the streets are activists.

I always thought that I was less of a UP student because I can only think of one rally that I joined. It was a rally- just a picket actually, considering that there were just 20 or so of us students who were “encouraged” by our Kas II teacher to participate in the protest in front of Quezon Hall- against the Commonwealth Property Development Plan (CPDP). Let’s just say that UP almost had a mall for a next door neighbor had the CPDP pushed through. I hasten to add that my voice in the protest is but a teensy-weensy bit in the larger community effort to reject the CPDP. ANYWAY…

I always thought that I was less of a UP student because I was not the typical activist, much to my mother’s relief. But your 20 or so minute spiel one summer day almost a decade ago propelled me through medical school, my work in Gawad Kalinga, and my work now in the UP. It boosted my belief that I can practice my own brand of activism and help effect positive change even if I don’t march in the streets and hurl invectives against government, opposing the latter on every occasion.

Inspired in no small terms by you, my erstwhile Physics teacher, I opted to value the investments in me by my parents and the Filipino taxpayer by graduating on time, both in my undergraduate as well as my medical degree. I opt to work with underserved communities even with the prospect of leaving and living abroad. I do on occasion also post on walls Manila papers that contain, rather than angry slogans, lessons on hand washing or hypertension, etc directed to community health workers.

Sir, I sat in your Physics class 9 years ago thinking it will be the worst summer yet. Sir, you have not have succeeded in purging me of my dislike for the subject matter that you teach. Dr. Chris Monterola, I still hate Physics but because of *that* day in your class, I love the Philippines more. I will be always grateful.

Yes, it is worth it

Two years ago this week, I began my stint at the other side of the teacher’s table in the UP College of Medicine. My first major task then was what I did today, act as preceptor for a group of second year medical students who visited a health center in Pasay City and its environs. Our aim was to give them a glimpse of the local healthcare delivery system and the state of the constituents the center serves.

It was a great bonus that the students who I acted preceptor for was the same group I worked with the last year, during the first week of their class as first years. We proceeded to our present task on hand, trudging along under the hot 1pm sun towards the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Pedro Gil Station. We quickly found ourselves jostled in the packed train en route to the Taft-EDSA LRT-MRT (Metro Rail Transit) station where we were to ride a tricycle to the San Pablo Health Center.

And then it happened. My own version of a wardrobe malfunction.

Before I left the office to meet my group, my belt died. I was adjusting it too vigorously that the buckled broke loose from the belt. Despite my best MacGyver attempts, the belt died. Since I was wearing a rather lose pair of pants, I opted to secure them to my waist by using a foldback clip- that black, some-kind-of-a-mini-black-hand-bag-looking office supply. It worked.

Until we were walking up the stairs from the LRT station headed to the MRT side. The foldback clip suddenly became loose and my pants fell 1/5 of the way down my bum. I just caught it in time- before the students, who were before me, beside me, AND behind me, could see what a side of their teacher that can scar them for life.

And so I left them to fend for themselves at a fastfood joint while I scoured the mall joining the two train systems for a clothing store that sells belts. As is wont to happen, no such luck in the first two stores I tried.

The store sold a benign belt in MY size so I just grabbed it and brought it to the cashier. Only to find out that I only had 60 pesos in my wallet: I gave part of the money in my wallet for the typhoon victims in UP Visayas and I bought lunch. Good thing I had my BPI atm card, I can just pay straight from that card. But the machine won’t accept my card. Finally, my credit card consummated the sale and I was off to meet my students, pants securely fastened to my burgeoning waist.

We literally waded through a sea of humanity, crossing from the mall to the other side of EDSA. Thousands of people were making the same trek as we were, plus a thousand others were trying to get into the MRT station via a new, one-way traffic scheme. It took us almost forever to get to the other side. Once there we went right away to the tricycle station to scamper towards the San Pablo Health Center.

It was one of the bumpiest 15-minute-or-so tricycle ride I’ve ever had. It didn’t help that I was riding behind the tricycle driver and we were crossing a major thoroughfare. We safely reached the San Pablo Health Center a good hour late, no thanks to my wardrobe malfunction.

Once there, we were introduced to the local health system of Pasay by the health center doctor, Dr Sy. He explained the protocols and personnel which make the center run. The students fielded a good number of questions such as the average number of consults, types of patients seen, dealing with emergencies in the community, among others. The volunteer village health workers then shared their own experiences as partners in promoting health in the community. The group then split into five groups which toured the different areas of the barangay.

After thirty or so minutes, we all came back to the health center to discussed what we all learned in the afternoon’s session. There was a steady stream of questions ranging from BHW compensation to health and sanitation issues. But the most difficult question was not about a DOH policy or some health concerns. The question that struck me the most was this:

With all the hassles of riding the LRT, the tricycle, all the dust and the heat- is it worth it? Coming to Pasay and working with these communities?

I paused for a millisecond, and put on my self-effacing hat:

I replied, yes it is worth it.

It is worth it, I explained, because I am a person with low EQ. I am impatient. I can’t wait to improve the health system by dealing with one patient at a time. By working with communities, I can help effect wider, faster change. How? By engaging communities, like training volunteer village health workers through whom I multiply myself as a health service provider. The outcomes are worth all the hassle, when erstwhile idle mothers, wives, grandmothers now feel a certain amount of empowerment because of some knowledge or skill I have shared which in turn they are duty-bound to share with their families and neighbors.

That answered seemed to suffice for the students but it really got me to thinking…

Is it really worth it? Do the rudimentary hassles of traveling, politics, seemingly abject poverty really pale in comparison to what I gain as a, in a way, community doctor?

Yes, they do.

Especially when you hear the village health workers share that they no longer panic when a baby seems to have diarrhea because they now know how to take care of him at home. They also know when to take him to the doctor.

Or you hear them give an excellent lecture on nutrition or family planning to a group of young parents.

Or you listen to their discussion on fighting for the allowance that should rightfully be theirs as stated in the Barangay Health Workers Incentives Law.

Or they show off their skill in taking your blood pressure measurement, report on the number of pregnant women they have encouraged to go have pre-natal checkups, or lovingly chastises a patient who self medicates because of the danger of drug resistance

These are just some of the reasons I am staying in the Philippines. These are just some of the reasons I am going against my parents’ silent wish for me to join them in the US, supportive they maybe of my decision to practice community medicine here.

But I guess a major, major reason I am staying here in the Philippines is what another student shared as a major lesson he learned this afternoon: That hope and faith are currencies that may hold no value inside the classroom- but he has seen it in action with the dedicated health professionals and village health workers holding the fort in San Pablo Health Center.

I totally agree. I know that the Lord answers the prayers of those who pray for better health and more decent living conditions, especially among the urban poor. I do have faith and hope for our country springs eternal within me. The students I have been blessed to work with the past two years are a testament of the Lord’s faithfulness that He is looking after the Philippines. I know there is a steady crop of doctors-to-be who I can help nurture to be more pro-Philippines.

But until they grow into medical maturity, I have to be one of those who hold the fort for them. One of the best things I’ve heard during my stint in Gawad Kalinga is that while I pray for answers to our country’s problems, I’d like to be one of the answers to the prayer of our fellow Filipinos.

This ends my second year in the UP on the other side of the proverbial teacher’s table. This likewise marks the beginning of my third year. It’s been a great privilege to be of service to the communities of Pasay, acting as preceptor to some 400 medical students, and working directly or indirectly alongside the 600-strong faculty of the UP College of Medicine.

The Lord continues to affirm my decision to remain in the UP for now. He makes everything worth it. He has taken care of all my daily needs- from the mundane to the exotic to the most academic.

Even the provision of the right belt with the right color and right size, at the right place and right time.