By Dhel Nazario Two Filipino physicians, who were earlier nominated by the country’s premiere recognition and advisory body on matters related to science and technology, recently joined the annual InterAcademy Partnership's (IAP) Young Physician Leaders (YPL) Programme in Berlin, Germany known globally for providing knowledge in health and leadership. Dr. Jaifred Christian Lopez (L) and Dr. Raymond Francis Sarmiento
(College of Public Health, University of the Philippines) The program, which has been ongoing for nine years, is internationally-known for its tailored workshop on leadership that has provided 191 outstanding young health professionals with the skills and knowledge they will be needing to promote health and strengthen health systems around the world. It is focused on analyzing models of leadership in the hope of developing an individual action plan for personal leadership growth. Dr. Jaifred Christian Lopez and Dr. Raymond Francis Sarmiento made the cut after they were nominated by the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL). The participants in the programme were chosen by a committee of medical and scientific professionals, which reviewed the nominations received by the global network of the IAP that included 140 national and regional member academies collaborating to provide independent expert advice on scientific, technological and health issues, and the ‘M8 Alliance’, a unique network of 25 leading international academic health centers, universities and research institutions. Lopez is currently a health policy research and faculty member of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila. Some of his notable works were his service in the Doctors to the Barrios (DTTB) rural physician deployment program of the Department of Health for over two years. Sarmiento serves as Director of the National Telehealth Center, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila. His current research projects include health data science, health information exchange for genetic diseases, standards and interoperability, clinical decision support, telemedicine, and public health surveillance. During the program, the Filipinos engaged with a diverse group of outstanding early career physicians (ages 40 and below) coming from multiple specialties and career interests such as education, clinical practice, public health, health policy, and research, who are committed to be the agents of change for health in their countries. They also participated in peer-to-peer learning, matchmaking mentorship scheme and in the events of the World Health Summit, and be exposed in interactive websites that can post real-time professional information and gain visibility both nationally and internationally. According to Dr. Peggy Hamburg, the IAP Health Co-chair, effective health care and health policy need effective leaders and that more countries should provide necessary training for young professionals to hone their leadership skills.