THE GRADUATION OF A RESIDENT PHYSICIAN

January 11, 2007 was Noreen's graduation day from her Residency Training Program for Internal Medicine at The Medical City. It was especially significant because she was one of those who were awarded Most Outstanding Resident Physicians. And as luck would have it, it was she who was assigned to give the graduation address in behalf of her colleagues.

The presentation of graduates...

I am reproducing her speech in its entirety:

"Distinguished mentors, colleagues, dear guests, good evening. I would not wish to take the limelight from my fellow graduate, Dr. Paolo de Vera, who is truly deserving of the honor being given to him. To have even been considered for this award is a great honor and affirmation for me. As circumstances prevented him from being with us today, I welcome this opportunity to give this address on behalf of my fellow graduates.

Noreen speaking before her colleagues, mentors and parents....

"We are going off into the world in the most challenging of times; when defensive medicine threatens the idealism of medicine as an art; when patients are more well-informed and critical of their physicians; when we witness the exodus of doctors as nurses. These are different times indeed, in great contrast to the glory days of our profession – when being a doctor was a sign of prestige, and when the physician was always held in high esteem.

"What does it take to be physician during these times? I have always viewed Medicine as the science of love – it had been born out of, and always will be, molded in love. I figured that herein lies the simple answer: In this world, during these times, the challenge before us, as physicians, is to render service to others first and foremost as an act of the sincerest love. We are called to imbibe love until we become it. Everything will build from there.

"Training within the walls of The Medical City these past three years, I have gathered experience from and with my mentors, my teammates in the health-care team: the nurses and medical staff, my co-residents and my patients. These experiences – both glorious and sad, both enlightening and disheartening – have made it possible for me to come to this realization: In loving the art of Medicine, commitment, loyalty, dedication and excellence in our profession will follow.

Dr. Alran Bengzon, the Chairman of TMC

"In loving our associates, we bring about a sense of fellowship that affords respect and concern to present and future colleagues. We are very interested in inspiring and guiding the younger physicians, so that they may also dedicate themselves to loving the profession and promoting it to the highest level as pillars of society.

"In loving our patients, we have become solid guardians of their health in all aspects; we have been transformed into strong-willed physicians who take charge and fight for their patient’s welfare, no matter what it takes. In loving our patients, we dedicate ourselves to the endless pursuit of truth – even if we may need to learn, re-learn and/or un-learn knowledge for their benefit – even if our own egos should shatter in the process.

"Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, summarizes this ideal with these words: "Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity."

"Since earning my degree, I admit that I’ve achieved only a fraction of what I initially intended. Thus, there is still a long way to go and a lot of chiseling and shaping to be done. At this point I find what is essential is our struggle for excellence.

"We are not perfect now, but we must strive to become so. We must strive to help bring back that image of the highly-esteemed physician of days past, and to even exceed these expectations. We must strive to become outstanding Filipino physicians, each of us in our own way, not mainly for our own interests, but more so for the sake of others – our present and future colleagues, our patients and the people of the world. The challenge before us, is for us to give of ourselves until we have bled ourselves dry!"

I continue to pray that she will live up to her ideals and hopes as all parents do for their children's careers and professions. Remember, our children's achievements and successes in life are our own as well.