Welcome Remarks: Medicine Week Research Contests
Distinguished members of the Executive Committee and Management Committee, respected department and section heads, esteemed guest judges, research officers, participants, and fellow healthcare professionals—a warm welcome to our Medicine Week Research Contests!
Today, as we gather to celebrate scientific inquiry, clinical excellence, and administrative innovation, we are witnessing the dynamic evolution of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) Research Institute. Research at VSMMC is no longer just an academic requirement—it is the bedrock of our clinical advancement, our institutional branding, and our commitment to public health.
As we kick off today’s competitions, I want to emphasize seven core pillars that define where we are, where we are going, and why your work matters so deeply to the future of our institution:
1. Clinical Research: Grounded in Rigorous Epidemiology
In our Research Podium, we continue to uphold the clinical and epidemiological foundations in which we were trained. From detailed case reports and cross-sectional designs to prospective cohorts and experimental studies, our researchers continue to build the evidence base needed to advance medicine.
2. Case Reports: Showcasing Specialty Care & Modern Healthcare Infrastructure
Our patient population provides a wealth of learning. Aligned with the Department of Health’s “UNA sa KALUSUGAN” branding, leading 18 Specialty Centers is no small task.
- We see remarkable advances in Neurosurgery—like seeing Lolo Zammy, once severely impaired by Parkinson’s, walk again.
- We take pride in our recognized Lung Center, Heart Center, Stroke Center, GI Center, Trauma Center, and Burn Unit.
- Today, during Medicine Week, we celebrate major leaps forward: the inauguration of our world-class Dental Department Clinic, advanced imaging modalities like our new MRI, and the historical first-ever inaugural Robotic Surgery led by our Cancer Center Head, Dr. Pherdes Galbo.
3. Best Practices: Documenting Innovations and Lived Experiences
We must learn to celebrate our wins. What feels like routine practice to us inside VSMMC is groundbreaking to others. Health facilities across the country frequently visit us to benchmark our practices—so much so that we half-jest about charging registration fees for "benchmarking tourism!"
However, informal visits are not enough. These best practices must be formally documented, researched, and published to elevate VSMMC’s credibility as an apex end-referral tertiary hospital. To support this, last August we invited Dr. Enrique Oracion to guide 28 participants across all hospital units through qualitative and mixed-methods research. All 28 submitted compelling concept notes on crucial topics:
- Infection prevention and control compliance
- The lived experiences of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
- The frontline experiences of VSMMC employees during disaster response
- Dental caries and orthodontic evaluations in pediatric patients
4. Pitch to Policy: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice
For three years, the Research Institute lamented our unmet target of five adopted policies. While we could create an enabling environment for research, policy development remained beyond our control. When we appealed to our research officers, they candidly shared that they simply didn't know how to draft policy.
We took action. Following an initial workshop with the DOH Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau—which yielded successes like presenting Dr. Jane Gargaritano’s Nutrition Risk Screening Policy to the EXECOM to prevent refeeding syndrome—we escalated our training this year. We invited Dr. Ana Cuizon from UP Cebu to train 35 participants on the policy cycle, policy brief preparation, and advocacy paper drafting.
"We start where we are, we do what we can, and we use what we have."
Today, 5 of those 35 trainees will present their 3-minute policy pitches directly to members of our EXECOM and ManCom.
5. Health Policy Systems Research (HPSRI) & "Reverse Research"
Just yesterday, I was at the 21st National Health Research Forum for Action in Manila, where the VSMMC Research Institute was officially recognized as a member of the Philippine Network for Health Policy and Systems Research (PN4HPSR).
This marks our evolution from Translation of Research into Policy (TRIP)—where we try to turn existing studies into policies—toward Reverse Research Pitching. In this model, policymakers, department heads, and stakeholders pitch the actual operational gaps and problems they face, commissioning our researchers to find evidence-based solutions that have an immediate policy impact.
6. The V-HIVE Hub: Catalyzing Innovation
We also highlight our VSMMC Innovation Hub—V-HIVE—which supports our hospital innovators across six flagship research programs:
- Nutrition Research Program
- Disaster Risk Reduction Management Research Program
- HIV Research
- Digital Health
- Biomedical Devices
- Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR)
7. Looking Ahead: Host of the 12th CVHRC in May
All of today's efforts serve as crucial preparation. VSMMC will serve as the host hospital for the 12th Central Visayas Health Research and Innovation Conference this coming May. The case reports, research papers, policy pitches, and best practice documentations we refine today will showcase to the entire region how VSMMC leads in health research and innovation.
Closing
Behind every study, paper, and policy pitch today is a dedicated support system. The VSMMC Research Institute remains committed to providing an enabling environment—offering technical assistance for protocol development, statistical and technical reviews, grant application guidance, and full implementation support.
To our presenters and researchers competing today: thank you for your passion, your hard work, and your dedication to transforming patient care into institutional knowledge.
Good luck to all contestants, and I officially welcome you to the Medicine Week Research Contests!
