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Historical Perspective of Dr. Luis E.
Guerrero
Dr. Luis
E. Guerrero, who was the personification of sound scholarship, professional idealism and unselfish patriotism, was a venerable
product of an equally venerable institution - the University of Santo Tomas. He had the distinction of occupying the leadership
in two areas of specialization and probably the only doctor of his time who simultaneously served as professor and chairman
of two colleges of Medicine, the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Santo Tomas and the Department of Medicine
of the University of the Philippines.
An eminent medical practitioner
and illustrious professor, Dr. Guerrero serve as Dean of the Faculty from 1946 to his retirement in 1948. It is in his
honor that we are trying to immortalize the qualities and ideals he exemplified in his lifetime.
This historic memorial
lecture started on August 12, 1951, the first anniversary of his death. The organizer perhaps envisioned that it would soon
become a series of lectures whose boundaries have no limits.
The
first Dr. Luis E. Guerrero Memorial Lectures were delivered by Dr. Antonio Ejercito, Chief of Malaria Division of the Department
of Health. his lecture was entitled "Studies on the Treatment of Malaria". The subject matter was of extreme relevance and
importance soon after the end of the World War II, during which many soldiers of different nationalities died of malaria in
different areas of the global war.
The next five Memorial lectures were delivered by prominent physicians from the
two local medical colleges and the topics discussed reflected problems in Medicine in the Philippines. However, since Dr.
Mariano M. Alimurung, the organizer of this Memorial Lecture, frequently traveled abroad attending international conferences
in America, Australia, Europe and Asia, he cultivated the habit of meeting eminent physicians and scientists and inviting
them to deliver a Dr. Luis E. Guerrero Lecture. Increasingly then, the Memorial Lectures reflected international flavor and
expanded the scope to international problems and advances in both the basic and clinical sciences in Medicine. Some of the
lectures were delivered by clergymen dealing with medico-moral principles related to medical technology; or personalities
in the academe, public health or international organizations.
Some
of the Dr. Luis E. Guerrero Memorial Lectures were Dr. Robert Allan Moore, Professor of Pathology & Dean of the Washington
University School of Medicine; Dr. Paul Dudley White, the famous cardiologist of Harvard; Dr. Michael DeBackey, cardiovascular
surgeon of Houston; Dr. Henry Bockus, the eminent author of a book on gastroenterology; Dr. Waldo Nelson, senior editor of
our official textbook in Pediatrics. There were three Nobel Prize Awardees in Medicine in the persons of Drs. Severo Ochoa,
John Eccles & Andrew Schelley, Dr. Ochoa was credited with outstanding discoveries in the RNA & DNA. Sir John Eccles
was a winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology. Dr. Andrew Schelley shared the awards for researches on pituitary hormones.
Criteria for Selection of Lecturer
1. May or may not be a member of the academe
2. Must be at least Assistant
Professor (if in the academe)
3. Must have written and published articles in reputable journals or authored or co-authored
books pertaining to his specialty.
4. Highly regarded member of national, regional or international professional organization
5.
The lectureship is through invitation by the Continuing Medical Education (CME)
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Dr. Mariano M. Alimurung
The Moving Spirit
Dr. Alimurung had all the qualities gifted from above. He was a brilliant
physician, an excellent speaker, a dynamic leader, a dedicated teacher and a deeply religious-man, all the ingredients of
a man capable of changing the world for the better and creating a mark in history.
In
March, 1952, he organized the Philippine Heart Association and became its founding president. A year later, the first journal
of the Philippine Heart Association was launched with him as the editor. In 1962, it was his idea and it was mainly thru his
efforts and close association with the officers of the American College of Cardiology that the memorable First International
Circuit Course of the College was held for the first time in a foreign country and in our own campus in Manila. This was conducted
by renowned cardiologists and was attended by no less than 1,600 physicians. The success story of this course, pave the way
to subsequent circuit courses of the American College of Cardiology in the other countries.
Dr.
Alimurung was a firm believer of the concept that Medicine is life long study that unless medical education becomes a continuous
process, the high quality of medical care cannot and will not continue. It is because of his devotion to teach that the major
portion of his life was spent in imparting knowledge to his students. He was renowed figure, a much traveled man and as such
had established communication with all parts of the world. He organized the best postgraduate courses, conventions and scientific
meetings. Every time an eminent physician happened to be in town, he never missed the opportunity to bring him to different
institutions so that colleagues in the profession especially the young house staff will learn. The regular clinico pathological
conferences, the traditional residents' paper presentation and the perpetual Dr. Luis E. Guerrero Memorial Lecture, could
all be traced to his pioneering efforts. Convinced that the best way to learn medicine was thru preceptorship, he unselfishly
trained no less than 15 graduate physicians seeking further training in Cardiology. He endorsed most of them to his friends
abroad for further advancement.
Realizing
that many alumni physicians from abroad were coming home during the Christmas holidays, he thought of the month of December
as the best time to gather them together in a class reunion or a school homecoming spiced by scientific sessions to showcase
their multidisciplinary clinical practices. Thus, the UST Balikbayan Postgraduate Course was born. He nurtured this annual
event toward Christmas time and soon it became institutionalized, with the Silver Jubilarians forming the core faculty. It
was precisely for this purpose in 1980 that as he was traveling in the USA, in Miami, Florida inviting the Jubilarians when
Death came as an unwanted invitee. Thereafter this Postgraduate course was rightfully named after him - The Mariano M. Alimurung
Memorial Postgraduate Course.
Criteria for Selection of Lecturer
1. The Lecturer must come from the Silver Jubilarian Class.
2. The following criteria must also be fulfilled:
- University of Santo Tomas Alumni
- Active in the Academe, Professor
in rank preferably
- Given substantial recognition in
his/her field of expertise
- Chosen by the Dean among nominees
recommended by the Jubilarian Class
3. The subject of the lecture is left to the lecturer and largely expected to be related to
his/her field of specialization
Updated: January 5, 2016
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