The Department of Family and Community Medicine once again showcased its best and brightest by garnering practically all the major awards during the Golden Anniversary and Annual Convention of the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians, the specialty society which represents family doctors all over the country. As a fitting celebration on its 50th year, the PAFP hosted both the 18th World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca) Regional Conference for Asia Pacific and the 10th Wonca Rural Health World Conference at the Waterfront Hotel, Cebu City, 20-24 February 2011.
A total of 3,000 local participants and 400 foreign delegates provided the backdrop for the recognition of those who have distinguished themselves in the teaching and practice of Family Medicine since the inception of the specialty. The ceremonies started on a good note as the Department was cited for being the Most Outstanding Clinical Department in the history of the specialty up to this point in time. This was given in recognition of the pioneering work and leadership in Family Medicine education. DFCM was the first to offer Family Medicine residency training, Family and Community Health courses for medical students, Master of Science in Clinical Medicine-Family Medicine Track and Fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. DFCM also introduced many innovations such as formal courses on Caring Skills and Biopsycosocial Approach to Care, Evidence-Based Family Practice, Quality Assurance in Family Medicine, learning portfolio and mentoring. DFCM has produced 19 chairs of 18 departments of family medicine, 4 deans of medical schools, 6 Presidents of the PAFP, 5 Presidents of Foundation for Family Medicine Educators, 5 Chairs of the Specialty Board in Family Medicine and 5 Presidents of PAFP Residents Organization.
For the individual awards, Dr. Zorayda Leopando, UP Manila Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development and former Department Chair, was conferred Lifetime Achievement Award, a singular citation given to only five personalities, tow of whom were posthumous. The award was given in recognition for her various contributions to the development of Family Medicine not only in the Philippines but in other parts of the world. Dr. Leopando introduced the Strategic Planning Workshop in the PAFP. She is one of the prime movers of the Orientation Course in Family Medicine, Quality Assurance instruction, learning portfolio and mentoring and the Integrated Family and Community Medicine course for medical students. She is currently one of the Editors-in-Chief of Asia Pacific Family Medicine Journal, Chair-elect of Wonca Working Party for Women and Family Medicine. Likewise, she was Wonca Regional President for Asia Pacific. During her term, she paved the way for the Family Medicine Education workshop in the region, the Wes Fabb Oration and the Asia Pacific Family Medicine journal. She assisted in the development of the discipline in Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia and Thailand.
The PAFP also gave an award for the Most Promising Leader in Family Medicine and this was given to Dr. Leilanie Apostol-Nicodemus, Clinical Associate Professor and current Training Officer of the Residency Program. She was a recipient of Outstanding Teacher in Learning Unit 5 on two occasions. She was also a FAIMER scholar in Philadelphia. In addition, she is Chair of the Specialty Board of Family Medicine and was Secretary of the Foundation of Family Medicine Educators. She organized the training program at the Seamen’s Hospital and helped establish the innovative practiced-based family medicine training at St. Jude Hospital.
*The article was published in the March/Aoril 2011 issue of the UP Manila Newsletter
The conference was also the venue of the Silver Anniversary Celebration of the Foundation for Family Medicine Education (formerly the Philippine Society of Teachers in Family Medicine). A highlight of the program was the awarding of the Most Outstanding Family Medicine Educator. This was given to Dr. Allan Dionisio, Clinical Associate Professor and Head of the Counseling Service of the Department. He was recognized for his contribution to the promotion of the biopsychosocial approach to care and Caring Skills for Family Physicians. He has handled quite a number of courses in both the Undergraduate and residency training curriculum.
Dr. Leopando also received a plaque of distinction for being the Founding President of the PSTFM, the forerunner of the present Foundation. This was by virtue of her organizing a link program between PSTFM and the Royal College of General Practitioners which lasted for 4 years. Through the link, 13 consultant-trainers of Family Medicine from various parts of the country were able to get fellowships in the UK. In addition, during her chairmanship of DFCM, she organized a link with the Department of Primary Care and Population Science of the University College London. This link enabled 14 faculty members of DFCM to visit UK and all workshops of visiting experts from the UK to the Philippines were shared with PAFP.
Not to be outdone, recent family medicine resident graduates, made the Department proud. Dr. Avegeille Panganiban bested other entries from both the Philippines and abroad by placing first in the Oral Research Presentation Competition. Her paper “Testing the Association of Family Resources with Caregiver Strain and Family Function Among Pediatric Cancer Patients using a Novel SCREEM Questionnaire” earned for her a cash award of Five Hundred US Dollars and a certificate of recognition from the same Wonca conference. Moreover, Dr. Tricia Mercado placed second in the Research Poster Category for her work :Implementation of the Five-Star Paradigm in the Family Medicine Training Program” enough for a cash prize of Three Hundred dollars and the coveted certificate. All in all, it was a worthy accomplishment that DFCM can brag about for the next fifty years.
