Inaugural Speech

Reynaldo O. Joson, MD, MHA, MHPEd, MS Surg

January 30, 2001

As I embark on my chairmanship of the Department of Surgery of the Ospital ng Maynila, I like to give you first a background on my appointment and then

Share with you my management action plan - for the different chairpersons of the medical departments of OM

Present to you my management action plan - for the surgical staff (consultants and residents) of OM

BACKGROUND OF MY APPOINTMENT

I was connected with OM from 1989 to December, 1999. I have been out of OM for the entire year of 2000 because of my resignation. I resigned from OM to concentrate on the administration of the present Manila Doctors Hospital and on the preparation of the new Manila Doctors Hospital. I also resigned form OM to spend more time with my pet project to establish a more effective medical curriculum in the country, specifically, an integrated, problem-based learning medical curriculum.

Last December, 2000, in one of my clinic days in Manila Doctors Hospital, I received a call from a certain Dr. Christia Padolina, whom I don't know and have never met before, describing the dire need for improvement of the Department of Surgery of OM, requesting me to help, and in effect, offering the chairmanship of the Department of Surgery of OM. It was only on January 3, 2001, that Dr. Padolina and I met face-to-face for the first time.

I am presenting this backgrounder on my appointment to make it clear to everybody that

1. The position was offered to me by the present hospital director. I did not seek the position.

2. I was requested by the present hospital director to help improve the Department of Surgery of OM.

I want to tell everybody that when I accepted the position, the intention is merely to help improve the Department of Surgery of OM. If my help is NOT wanted anymore, I will, I can, and I am ready to resign anytime.

My appointment is on a part-time basis. I cannot go on a full-time basis primarily because I have another part-time appointment in the University of the Philippines, another government institution and secondarily because I cannot give up my other loves, like hospital administration and transformation of the medical curriculum in the country, windsurfing in Batangas every weekend, etc, etc.

MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN

Before I present and share with you the management action plan that I drafted for the department of Surgery of OM, I like to state categorically that before I finally accepted the position last January 3, 2001, I presented this management action plan to Dr. Christia Padolina, our Hospital Director. Since we really don 't know very much about each other and since we will be working together, I thought that she should at least have an idea of my management style and plans for the Department of Surgery. I wanted to make sure that we are compatible in management style. It was only after she gave a nod of approval on my management action plan that I finally accepted the offer.