Premier healthcare institution Asian Hospital and Medical Center is preparing for the future of healthcare in the country with the recent conduct of the 8th Residents’ and Fellows’ commencement exercises and the launch of “Heartthrobs.”
Graduation rites
A total of 21 physician graduates from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Adult Critical Care Medicine, Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery and Breast Surgery participated in the 8th Residents’ and Fellows’ commencement exercises together with their parents at The Palms Country Club last March 14, 2024.
The commencement speaker was Muntinlupa Mayor Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” B. Biazon who lauded the graduates for their “dedicated years of hard work, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the noble pursuit of healing and caring for others.”
“While your residency at Asian Hospital may be coming to an end, your journey as medical professionals is only just beginning. The road ahead may be challenging, filled with obstacles and uncertainties but I have no doubt that each and every one of you possesses the resilience, determination and compassion needed to overcome any obstacle that may come your way,” he said.
Dr. Beaver Tamesis, Asian Hospital President and CEO, commended the graduates for their determination and dedication to achieve their goals, noting that they started their residency and fellowship “during the depths of the pandemic.”
“The hospital did well during this time. You helped patients during this difficult time and we were lucky to have you. We are eternally grateful that all of you went through that period with us,” Dr. Tamesis said.
Dr. Madeleine Grace Sosa, Chair of the Medical Training Program Committee, pointed out that it was in 2014 that the Asian Hospital management decided to the take the lead in the “formation of training programs as the launching point for the new generation of medical professionals, to teach and train graduates of medicine to continue the legacy of excellence in healthcare.”
“Medicine is a stressful career field but the opportunity to pass on what you know to new doctors can be an extremely rewarding experience. In the near future, we look forward to more training programs in our hospital. As we reach the third decade of Asian Hospital, we will be prepared to see our trainees coming back to serve our community. We will continue to build an academic environment where culture of learning and teaching continue to predominate,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Dr. Rachelle Anne Cruz said she and her fellow graduates did not expect to be in the midst of a pandemic but said the experience made them resilient, strong and adaptable.
“I would like to believe that the past three years were a breeze, but it was not. Yet, through it all, we’ve persevered, come out stronger, wiser and more resilient. We are usually called the generation of millennial doctors but as I reflect, I believe that we are also a generation characterized by our deep sense of empathy and social consciousness,” she said.
“We understand that healthcare is not just about treating disease but it’s also about caring for the whole person and addressing the social element of health that impact their well-being. We are a generation full of empathy and compassion for our patients and recognizing our ability to connect on a human level is just as important as our medical knowledge,” Dr. Cruz added.
For his closing remarks, Dr. Jose Acuin, Asian Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, shared a wise Japanese saying which said the reason to live consists of four things. The first thing is that you need to do something that you love doing. Secondly, you should be good at that something that you love doing.
Third, that something should be something the world needs. Lastly, that something you are good at, that you love doing and what the world needs, is something you should get paid for.
“It is important that you find your way and I hope that seeing your parents, seeing the joyful lives that they live, your significant other, will give you the inspiration as well to do the same,” Dr. Acuin said.
Heartthrobs launch
To encourage the older population to have their heart health checked, Asian Hospital and Medical Center recently launched a campaign called YourHearthrobs@AsianHospital. The intended audience of this social media campaign is the younger generation who can convince their parents and grandparents to have their hearts checked.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority indicated that in 2023, heart disease is the leading cause of death among Filipinos with ischemic heart disease topping the cause of death. This is followed by cancer and cerebrovascular diseases.
“People nowadays rely heavily on social media to know more about certain diseases and the tests to get. However, the disadvantage is not all information on social media is correct so we, as experts in this field, want to help in bridging gaps and prevent misinformation,” stated Hennesy Lou Miranda, Director for Marketing and Patient Experience at Asian Hospital.
To bridge this information gap, Asian Hospital will tap “Heartthrobs” or heart experts to seed heart health information on various social media platforms. They will also be tapped to give Wellness Talks at community and corporate events; convention speaking engagements as well as media engagements. The Corporate Affairs Team will provide the heartthrobs with the necessary media training.
Three heartthrobs have so far been recruited for this task: Dr. Lauren Kay Evangelista, Dr. Jaime Alfonso Manalo Aherrera, and Dr. Michael Joseph Reyes. Dr. Evangelista’s advocacy is to improve heart failure care and outcomes in the Philippines through multiprofessional and collaborative care. An active consultant of Asian Hospital, she is one of the five heart failure specialists of the Philippine Core Member of the Council of Heart Failure in the Philippine Heart Association.
Dr. Aherrera is an interventional cardiologist at Asian Hospital. He was recognized as the Most Outstanding Fellow in Training by the Philippine Hospital Association and was awarded as Outstanding Young Scientist by the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines.
Dr. Reyes got his interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital and is an active consultant of Asian Hospital. He is presently the Training Officer of the Asian Cardiovascular Institute Fellowship Program.
“We are very optimistic that with the help of our three heartthrobs and the younger generation, parents and grandparents will realize the need to have their hearts checked on a regular basis,” Miranda said.