08/05/2024
Ars longa, vita brevis.
- - - Hippocrates of Kros, Aphorisms Book 1
Dr. Noel P. Pingoy spoke on Medical Humanities for the Filipino Internists as part of IM Human lecture series of the 2024 P*P Convention.
I sought him out after his talk to thank him for a very great and timely (in the light Bell-Kenz Pharma news) topic and to have our photo taken. I introduced myself as someone from Di**le, Iloilo.
Despite tracing their roots to Pototan and Santa Barbara, Iloilo, and based at Marbel, their family considers Di**le particularly Barangay Matangharon their hometown. The Pingoy Family has been generous to the community with their philanthropy including regular medical missions.
He is among like-minded internists who are at the forefront of emphasizing the foundation of humanities, art and literature in the medical curriculum and in post graduate continuing medical education. Their efforts are starting to bear fruits as the P*P invited speakers like Drs. Pingoy and John Natter, an endocrinologist, cartoonist, humanist and author of NYU for the IM Human series.
His topic delved on the factors that are dehumanizing the art of medicine. He lamented the most the “corporation of the practice of medicine” and “increasing role of business and finance role of business and finance in medicine”. We now have programs combining MD with MBA.
And there is increasing reliance on technology as a substitute for human interaction which results in the de-emphasis on the humanities in the education of physicians.
I can still recall my conversations with Mama over the choice of curriculum between a laboratory oriented Med-Tech and a Liberal Education in the BS Biology program. In her own words, she wondered how could a full year of examining urine and f***s during internship be considered superior to our senior year with Latin, Human Anthropology, Introduction to Humanities, and Filipino Literature in English among other classical courses we had at LA. Let others be “better” prepared for med school, she wanted her children to prepare for life with a better and more comprehensive view of whatever it brings. As I told Dr. Pingoy, the love for reading, art appreciation, and, lessons from literature of Antiquity (Man has not changed since written history.) give me a fuller life.
Dr. Pingoy is also a multi-awarded author, a teacher and community leader, which are the hallmarks of a learned man.
A graduate of Davao Medical School, Dr. Pingoy mentioned about my aunt, Dr. Luchi Aportadera as among her professors there.
