Category: Medical Anthropology
The intersection of health and medicine with culture and society
A glimpse into a full teaching schedule
So this is how it feels to be a full-time teacher… for one day: January 21, 2026, Wednesday. No clinic, no research, no writing… just teaching! 8:00 to 10:00 AM: I typically designate Wednesdays as my “St. Luke’s Day”. The St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial has its General Faculty and […]
Slay and Sashay Away Part 2: We Held a Webinar on Drag Queen Health
Following our recent publication about the health of drag queens, we presented our findings and discussed their health and healthcare access in a webinar hosted by the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA). It featured three of our authors: If you missed it, the webinar was recorded and should be available on the PAMA website soon. […]
Slay and Sashay Away: We Wrote a Paper on Drag Queen Health
From data collection and analysis in 2017, to poster presentation in 2018 and oral presentation in 2023 at the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) Annual International Symposium… our paper on health issues in drag queens is finally published! What a long and winding road, but here we are. And a webinar is in the works […]
Graduation, again! Lukan Doctors this time.
Second graduation rites in less than a week, this time at the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial. Graduates shift their beret tassels from right to left to signify their new status, then ascend the stage to receive their hood and diplomas from school administration (in contrast – see previous post: […]
Dare to be XXV at Tanaw (Graduation)
University of the Philippines College of Medicine Recognition Rites (aka. the “college graduation” as opposed to the “university graduation” which happened earlier, for all the graduating students from University of the Philippines Manila campus). Faculty from all departments marched into the auditorium; my colleagues from Rehabilitation Medicine came in with the clinical departments. I got […]
The Society for Strategic Education Studies National Conference 2025 (S4SES: Ehs-for-sehs)
I enjoyed the last two days (Februrary 27-28, 2025) at the Society for Strategic Education Studies National Conference at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman, Quezon City. The theme for this year’s S4SES (prounounced “ehs-for-sehs”) was “Enhancing Cultural and Arts Education with Critical Discourse on the Interface of Ecological Issues, […]
Older Adults and the Built Environment
Mini-thesis from 2021, now finally an actual published journal article. This narrative review was written in my final semester at the Australian National University’s Master of Culture, Health and Medicine degree program. The draft was revised several times in preparation for publication. Very grateful! View the article here: https://doi.org/10.47895/amp.v58i20.8512Or here: https://actamedicaphilippina.upm.edu.ph/index.php/acta/article/view/8512This is part of a […]
Cross-cultural Healing and Ancestral Practices Panel at the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPMR) annual assembly
Cross-cultural healing and ancestral practices panel: We talked about bringing biomedicine + “other medicine” together = integrative medicine. 1 hr and 15 mins was not enough, people stayed for more discussion after we formally ended. Wow! Many thanks to colleagues on the panel: Drs. Glendaliz Bosques, Irene Estores, Deborah Bernal, Zainab Al Lawati, and Monica […]
On Physician Identity and Advocacy
Our Department of Professionalism, Medical Ethics and Humanities at the St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine – William H. Quasha Memorial had a double-header of a day today for the Introduction to the Medical Profession (IMP) subjects for first and second year medical students. IMP 1 (for first year students) focuses on identity formation […]
World Health Organization and Self-Care
From the World Health Organization (https://who.int/health-topics/self-care) Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker. WHO recommends self-care interventions for every country and economic setting, as a critical path to reach universal health […]
