Filipino gets US award for excellence in medicine

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya  – Another Filipino has made it in the international scene and brought honor to the country.

America’s biggest group of health professionals bestowed on Dr. Christopher Guerrero the prestigious leadership award for excellence in the medical profession, the first such award given to an Asian-American.

Guerrero, who hails from this capital town, was among the 50 recipients of the Excellence in Medicine Awards  from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation in partnership with Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative last March 31 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC. 

Guerrero, now a US-based medical practitioner, was the first Filipino-American recipient of the award, equivalent to the US medical excellence award, whose recipients are medical practitioners worldwide.

The award, Guerrero said, is one more proof to Filipinos overseas that the Filipino is at par with the rest of the world in terms of excellence in any field of endeavor.

“Mabuhay ang Pilipino (Long live the Filipino),” Guerrero, an alumnus of the University of the East’s Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center, said in an e-mail to The STAR yesterday.

The most-sought-after award for personalities or individuals in the field of medicine in the US, is given yearly to medical practitioners “who exemplify the highest values of altruism, compassion, leadership and dedication to patient care.”

All the awardees received the AMA’s highest honor in formal recognition rites during the second day of the AMA National Advocacy Conference attended by renowned medical practitioners worldwide held from March 30 to April 2. – Charlie Lagasca