The Freudian Slip Of A Bacolodnon

The results of this year's USLS COM FCM-1 Cinemedicine2016 have been revealed today. I couldn't have been prouder of the outputs of the students. Since 2012, first year med students of USLS College of Medicine would produce minifilms as part of their requirements under my class in Family and Community Medicine, and the films usually highlight the illness experience of the family and the patient and the role of the health care professional along the illness trajectory. This year I would say the FCM-1 set the bar higher producing high quality films. Results: Best Actress - Erica Aragon of Recall Best Actor - Mark Senoron of Marked Best Screenplay - Marked Best Production - Marked Best Editing - Recall Best Film - Marked Marked also got the highest online poll votes. MOre than 10,000 votes were casted this year online and Marked got at least 33% of the votes. Like it? Share it. Get the Share on Facebook widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox ! Not se...

My work provides me with the opportunity to work with frontliners in the Philippine public health system. Being from the frontlines myself (former Doctor to the Barrios), a lot of lessons learned can be shared by those who are literally on the ground, insights which neither the academe can fully teach nor policy makers can fully understand. Lately I visited Looc, Romblon, the current Mayor and MUnicipal Health Officer were my former "students" under the Municipal Leadership and Governance Program of ZFF in collaboration with the University of Makati. They continued their partnership with ZFF under the "alumni program" which is officially known as the "Continuining Leadership in Health and Development Program". participants under the CLHDP discuss issues beyond health and would look at health challenges through different lenses of social determinants such as education and livelihood. Mayor Leila was generous enough with her time when I asked her if I could...

As per tradition, this year's First year med students of University of Saint La Salle College of Medicine have produced their own set of cinemedicine films highlighting various illnesses and telling the story of how family members and the patients undergo the illness experience. Here are the entries: (https://youtu.be/h_l14cP2_Nw) https://youtu.be/ZWrtoWQsfug (https://youtu.be/FTOw7Gdmljo) (https://youtu.be/VAJM08hidBU) Polls Closed: Best Film is Marked based on judges scores and online polls. Like it? Share it. Get the Share on Facebook widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox ! Not seeing a widget? ( More info )Like it.

UPDATE: China is the host for the FIBA World Cup 2019. In a few minutes, the Philippine delegation, led by sports patron, philanthropist and businessman Manny Pangilingan, will make its bid to host the FIBA World Cup this 2019. The country's main competitor in the bid is China. Here's why I think the Philippines should host (again) the World Cup of Basketball: 1. Filipinos are crazy for basketball No other race in the entire Universe is basketball-crazy more than the Filipinos. Since the Americans taught us how to play this sport, the Filipinos got hooked to the game. We never let go of it. 2. There is a basketball "court" in almost every street in the Philippines . Even in the most unexpected places you would see an improvised basketball ring with guys and even girls playing hoops.  3. Even in the worse of times, Filipinos never stop playing basketball . It is definitely a national past-time. Need I even dare to venture and say a "national...

This morning I got my facebook newsfeed swamped with links to what appears to be a column written by a Ms. Fely Villoria Sicam. The title of her article "Are resident doctors really doctors?" intrigued me so I had to read it for myself, but not before reading some of the comments made already by many who would share the link. Apparently, the article was yet another criticism to a certain sector of fellow health care practitioners. Further reading of the article would reveal that the criticism was directed more to the doctors and nurses working in government hospitals. At first glance I thought it was too stupid an article it has to be ignored. However, I tried to suspend my judgment and gave it another look. This article appeared to be inspired by a personal experience of an author's friend, narrating how this patient allegedly was not taken good care of while at an Emergency Room of a government-owned hospital. Apparently, the experience was not memorable and the interac...

I currently teach Family and Community Medicine for the University of Saint La Salle College of Medicine and I handle the lecture on "History of Public Health". After discussing the milestones in public health both from a global and national perspective, I asked my first year med students if they are aware of existing Public health programs of the government. It then gave me an idea for their first project. Divided into four groups, I asked them to come up with a video that would describe an existing Public Health Program of their choice. The idea is to have a one-shot video supposedly to highlight the process a patient would go through if they were to avail of the services under a specific health program. Here are the four videos they sent. Hope you enjoy them: Video on Family Planning Video on HIV/AIDS Video on Smoking Cessation Video on Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care Which of the four videos do you like? Like it? Share it. Get the Share on...

By the time Cardinal Bergoglio, or Father Jorge as he would like to be called, assumed the Papacy, becoming therefore the new successor to the seat of Saint Peter the first Pope, the whole Catholic Church and indeed the whole world was set ablaze. Pope Francis is indeed a breath of fresh air for modern-day society, a new role model for humility and openness. I was hoping then that he would eventually decide to visit the Philippines considering what we have been through in the past 2 years. When the good news came that he would finally make his first visit to the country, I was thrilled! Now here is a chance to see Pope Francis who definitely would invigorate the Catholic Christians in The Philippines with his meekness, straightforwardness and passion for the poor. After witnessing for 5 days his Apostolic Visit, Pope Francis did not disappoint.  Weeks before the visit, I was already calling for people at my workplace, trying to form a contingent of pilgrims who will attend the fina...