October 27, 2008 marked the beginning of a new series of interactive conferences. It was a bright, sunny Monday when UMED Board of Advisers and Unilab representatives gathered at the Magellan Room of Discovery Suites to witness the much-awaited event —the launching of new workbooks.

Unilab Medical Affairs Vice President Dr. Alexander O. Tuazon with UMED Executive Director Dr. Edgardo E. Ortiz welcomed the UMED Board of Advisers as they arrived. Those present during the launching included Drs. Valorie Chan, Gerardo Cornelio, Lillian Lee, Lourdes Ledesma, Leonor Cabral-Lim, Antonio Villalon, Ma. Teresa Chan-Castillo, Bernardino Vicente, Manuel Francisco Roxas, Esperanza Rivera, Frederick Dy, Ruby Manalastas, Lilia Luna, Luis Mabilangan, Catherine Teh, Enrico Ragaza, Elizabeth Arcellana-Nuqui, Rudy Pagcatipunan, Mon Mariano, Zenaida Antonio, Robert Chang, Cecil Tady and Ester Bitanga. Three of the Medication Safety Board of Advisers attended the affair – Normita Leyesa, Leonila Ocampo and Marilyn Tiu.

In his welcome remarks, Dr. Alex Tuazon pointed out that the launching of the new workbooks was a happy and meaningful event for UMED because it had at its midst the country’s experts of various specialties. He looked forward with optimism when he mentioned that UMED will soon venture into other fields. Also, he thanked all the guests, both doctors and Unilab representatives for working with UMED. Dr. Tuazon even placed a different meaning to the acronym U-M-E-D. U stands for y-o-u (referring to doctors, pharmacists and to all those people who worked with UMED); M stands for multidisciplinary; E for essence; and D for dedication of the UMED team.

After thanking the members of the UMED board of advisers and the representatives of the Unilab marketing divisions for attending the launching, Dr. Edgardo E. Ortiz presented the highlights of UMED. He showed statistics, particularly the number of learning modules developed, state-of-the-art conferences, basic medical science training, conferences and workshops held in 2008.

Dr. Percival Punzal, the master of ceremonies, proceeded with the presentation of the new workbooks. Dr. Valerie Fullon Chan presented the Lung Cancer Workbook. This workbook discusses the approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with cancer in the Philippine setting. Dr. Gerardo Cornelio introduced the workbook his team developed, the Multidisciplinary Management of Colorectal Cancer. This workbook provides healthcare providers an overview of a multidisciplinary approach to the management of colorectal cancer. Dr. Percival Punzal took his turn in discussing about the workbook he and Dr. Cecil Z Tady developed – the Respiratory Failure Workbook. This workbook discusses the appropriate management of patients in respiratory failure arising from various conditions. Dr. Cecil Tady developed another workbook, the Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults. Dr. Tady presented this workbook that discusses the approach to the diagnosis and management of patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Dr. Punzal, on behalf of the authors who were not able to attend the affair, presented three workbooks – Immunization in Special Clinical Circumstances, Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, and Prenatal Care. The Immunization in Special Clinical Circumstances Workbook was developed by Drs. Cynthia Aguirre, Maria Rosario Capeding, Margaret Lu-Fong and May Montellano. This workbook discusses the principles of vaccination as applied in clinical practice. Dr. Regta Pichay developed the Abnormal Uterine Bleeding Workbook. It discusses important aspects of abnormal uterine bleeding during the different milestones in a woman’s life. The Prenatal Care Workbook was written by Dr. Raul M. Quillamor. The workbook discusses the appropriate prenatal management of Filipino pregnant women.

The event ended with a spark because it marked the start of a series of more meaningful interactive sessions.