Madayaw!

UP Mindanao will hold a forum on BRIDGING THE HEALTHCARE GAPS IN MINDANAO THRU MEDICAL EDUCATION on 16 December 2020 @ 1:30 pm via Zoom. This is an offshoot of the forum that we conducted last 14 October 2020. That forum was about the healthcare gaps and needs in Mindanao and it was participated by the healthcare workers of Region XI and Region XII. It was highlighted during the forum that despite the advances in medicine and public health and the medical interventions done by the regional offices of DOH, glaring inequalities in access to health care and health outcomes persist in Mindanao. It also highlighted that a significant number of Filipinos die without seeing a doctor, and the Philippines has a shortage of trained doctors. Furthermore, doctors in the Philippines are distributed unevenly (more practicing medical doctors in urban centers than in rural communities) and emigration is high. It also highlighted the need for more healthcare workers that are differentiated and equipped to address the specific health needs of the population and the medical graduates we produce are crucial as health human resources in achieving UHC (Universal Health Care). Aside from the important role of medical schools in advancing medicine by providing competencies to medical doctors in terms of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, the importance to develop “the heart of the medical Doctors” to serve and work for the community also surfaced. The crucial role of medical education to address these gaps were also recognized.

In the upcoming forum, we invited the deans of UP Manila CM, Ateneo de Manila CM, UP Manila SHS, and MSU-IIT CM (CM with distinct curricula) to share the following:

1. the general direction of their medical curriculum/programs and how it addresses the gaps between the competencies of health professionals and the health needs of the Filipino population;

2. the distinct characteristics of their medical curriculum/programs that address the issue of the dispersion of doctors, the shortage of doctors in remote areas, and the access of rural communities to the health care system.

3. their insights about the present situation and future direction of medical education in The Philippines.

We wish to invite you to this forum and share with us during the Q and A interaction your opinion on whether the existing medical curricula had addressed the medical issues in the primary and community health care system. Your participation will help us identify medical issues in the community that are not addressed yet by the existing medical curricula and has to be addressed by the proposed UP Mindanao college of medicine. With these, we will be guided on how the curriculum of the planned UPMin College of Medicine will contribute to the strengthening of the primary and community health care system and makes the tertiary hospitals the last line of health defense.  

Should you have any questions regarding the Zoom forum, please email me at   or through 09177051258. We are looking forward to your confirmation in this forum. Your presence in the forum will be much appreciated. Please find the link below for registration. It also serves as the zoom invitation link to the forum. Thank you.

https://up-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BjfMGpOtTsS6j7Pj2oXDig

Sincerely,

Nilo Oponda, Ph.D.

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs