Dr. Carmencita David-Padilla Professor, UP College of Medicine Chancellor, UP Manila National Program Adviser of VYLH-Philippines |
10 Life Lessons from Dr. Carmencita Padilla
The following is the transcript of the speech delivered by Dr. Carmencita David-Padilla, Professor and Chancellor of UP Manila, during the Commencement Exercises for Residents and Fellows of the Department of Pediatrics, UP-Philippine General Hospital last December 12, 2014.
Our dear faculty led by our Department Chair Juliet Sio-Aguilar, parents and guests and our dear graduating residents and fellows, good morning.
The graduating residents were my first year residents in my last year as Chair of the Department. I am very proud of what you have become. My son Patrick, who is a clinical clerk has voted our Department as one of the best and has become his benchmark when he rotates in other departments. He does not really want to become a pediatrician but because of the faculty and the residents he worked with, he has considered Pediatrics as an option.
Your invitation today gave me the opportunity to reflect on my life. It is good to stop and reflect on one’s past.
I have many stories to tell but today, I would like to share 3 short stories with 10 life lessons.
The first story is on how I became a geneticist.
Early on, I wanted to become a doctor and to be specific, a pediatrician. Nursery was my first rotation and I fell in love with the field. I decided that I wanted to become a neonatologist. By my third year in residency, I had a collection of books in Neonatology. I was ready.
Everything was clear and set for my training in London when the lone geneticist in the Department unexpectedly died of cancer leaving a vacuum in our department.