Doctor in Guinness record one of RP's 10 outstanding physicians
A Filipino doctor who landed in the Guinness Book of Records was among the 10 awardees for The 2008 Outstanding Filipino Physicians (TOFP) honored Monday night at the Centennial Hall of Manila Hotel.
All the TOFP awardees displayed patriotism and contributed to the advancement of the medical profession, organizers said.
Thirty-eight nominees from various medical fields underwent a rigorous search and screening process, handled by the 2008 TOFP National Steering Committee, with Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senator Melandrew Velasco as national chairman.
This year's awardees are Doctors Elvira Henares-Esguerra, Mark R. Kho, Edward Wang, Victor Dumaguing, Rimando Saguin, Egidio P. Elio, Blesilda dela Rosa-Salvador, Leonor Cabral Lim, Anthony Leachon, and Lorenzo Rommel Cariño.
Esguerra landed in the Guinness Book of Records for gathering 3,541 mothers, the most number of women breastfeeding simultaneously in one site, in partnership with the City of Manila in 2006.
The feat was repeated in 2007, breaking the same world record for gathering 15,128 mothers breastfeeding in 295 sites in the country, in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
On the other hand, Kho, after five years of training abroad, came home and continued working at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) even without compensation. He went on to help establish and maintain the Philippines' first Surgical Oncology Division in the country at the Department of Surgery of the UPCM-PGH Medical Center, the first of only two training programs in this field.
Wang gathered doctors from different disciplines and set up the UP-Musculoskeletal Tumor Unit (UP-MuST Unit), also the first of its kind and a model of multidisciplinary medical cooperation. Wang traveled the country setting up similar units and training other doctors. He pioneered the training program at the PGH where doctors from around the country could come for intensive training.
Dumaguing joined the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus as a tenor to finance his pre-med studies. He established the MOM (Medics on Mission) Foundation composed of volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, and other allied health professionals whose main mission is to reach out to as many Filipinos and spread the value of preventive medicine to the poor.
Saguin also founded PROJECT: R.S.V.P (Reconstructive Surgery for Victims of Polio) in 1981, whose aim is to provide surgical treatment to post-polio disabilities and enable them to attain maximum function and become productive members of society.
Elio, a urologist, organized and led the Philippine Urologic Manpower Program (PUMP) from 1995-2000, after discovering the scarcity of urologic doctors in the country and continued to promote the advocacy of bringing urologic services to the unserved and underserved areas of the country.
Salvador, an obstetrician/gynecologist, has made her mark as a health educator through media wherein for more than 10 years, she continues to bring medical information to people from all walks of life through radio, TV, and the Internet via her Teleradyo program "Doctora Bles at Your Service."
Lim is a neurologist-epileptologist who has spent the last 25 years not only in clinical practice but also as an educator, leader, researcher and advocate of continuing health education.
Leachon is described as a hero for supporting universal and preventive health care, spelled out in Executive Order 595 or the Health Education Reform Order of 2006 (H.E.R.O. of 2006) President Arroyo approved and signed on Dec. 27, 2006.
Lastly, "Miracle Doctor" Cariño, who earned his moniker after leading a team of surgeons in successfully operating on First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo for 14 hours, had performed over 1,300 open-heart surgeries since he passed the cardio-vascular licensure test in 1992.
TOFP officials said a common thread that binds this year's awardees is the fact that they have chosen to practice their profession in the country, despite great and promising possibilities of attaining wealth and stature overseas.
Often, a number of this year's TOFP awardees even shared their expertise and medical services for free. - Eva Visperas and Sheila Crisostomo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
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