Occasionally in life, there are moments that cannot be completely expressed in words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.

Coming from a profession we have served long and loved so well. The true spirit is that we should be the visible, so-called distinguished face of such a noble ideal, and it gives us tremendous pride; and yet we are also humbled because we know that our profession today faces tremendous challenges and that we as a community are yet to make a full impact in confronting the issues and addressing the health challenges that beset our profession and our country.

The DOCTOR IS IN:

As a young child, I always dreamt of becoming a doctor. In my hometown in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro , there were very few doctors as I was growing up. My father was a brilliant lawyer ( UP LAW 1957 ) and my mother was a simple but hardworking businesswoman selling ” palay ” – both great role models to emulate but somehow the lure of wanting to be a doctor was more compelling. I was particularly captivated by an artifact that was unmistakably always part of a physician’s clinic. This wasn’t the stethoscope nor the white gown — it was the signage: “THE DOCTOR IS IN”.

For those of you who remember what the signage looked like, it was in white plastic with a sliding part that covers half of the signage. It made its way to the state whether the doctor is IN or OUT. As a child, I used to be thrilled sliding that IN & OUT signage.

As I was contemplating what to say today, this imagery of my childhood was so vivid that my thoughts seemed to be framed in these four words: The DOCTOR IS IN – words that reverently dictate what I ought to be as a doctor, what I can be as a doctor, what I hope to leave behind as a legacy as a doctor.

(“THE DOCTOR IS IN”: what I ought to be as a doctor)

I remember the comfort and assurance I felt when we had to seek a doctor’s care and that signage was declaring he is in. Everyone in my small town rested with the assurance that the doctor is in.

He is IN. He is available. He is accessible. And both the patient and the family are reassured that a healer is on hand.

The DOCTOR IS IN. Healer. Comforter. Lifesaver.

The DOCTOR IS IN. Hope-giver. Cheerleader. A reassuring Friend.

I guess these were the underlying meanings of why we all wanted to be doctors in our childhood. In our blissful innocence, we thought we could bring magic to the lives of people. A mere word about a doctor’s being around is reassuring enough. The centrality of the role of a doctor in a community’s sense of security, sense of stability, and sense of completeness were deeply embedded in my psyche.

Every single day I ask myself as a doctor, am I always in? Accessible. Available. Do I provide a magical reassuring presence to those who are dependent on me? Do I make the world around me a little more secure, a little more stable, a little more complete?

(“THE DOCTOR IS IN”: What I can be as a doctor)

As we move on in our personal and professional journeys, we realize that our “blissful dreams” of becoming a doctor require more than just becoming a doctor. It requires us to be a distinguished practitioners. It requires us to be IN.

Committing to our dream of becoming a physician healer, comforter, and hope-giver –means committing to continuous learning and constant evolution. The doctor is called upon to be an expert, a teacher, an advocate, a hero, and a leader.

Today, ask yourself – As a doctor, am I IN? Am I more capable, and more ready to face more complex challenges in my practice? AM I IN? Am I constantly COMING CLOSER to the underlying meaning of why I chose this profession? What is my real purpose in life and career path as a doctor?

Should you take the path of caring and service, should you choose to take up one of these causes as your own, know that you’ll experience the occasional frustrations and the occasional failures.

Even your successes will be marked by imperfections and unintended consequences. I guarantee you, that there will be times when friends or family will urge you to pursue more sensible endeavors with more tangible rewards. And there will be times when you will be tempted to take their advice.

But I hope you’ll remember, during those times of doubt and frustration, that there is nothing naïve about your impulse to change the world. Because all it takes is one act of service — to send forth what Robert Kennedy called that “tiny ripple of hope.”

But then again, IS THE DOCTOR really IN?

I ask myself, am I in the fabric of building a better, healthier Philippines – building a better future for my children and their children?

I go back to my childhood and that ever-compelling artifact of signage – THE DOCTOR IS IN – But, is he really?

· Is he concerned with the future of our healthcare?

· Is he fearless and passionate about making stands on policies that affect his profession? His country?

· Is he a central shaper of building a healthier and better Philippines?

· Is he making a difference?

There are 70,000 doctors in the country today. We have at least 50 professional medical societies. Every year, our medical schools graduate about 3000 new doctors and roughly 60 % of them pass the board. Every year without fail, we induct the board passers to our Hippocratic Oath and make them serve our country and our people through their being doctors.

There are 1,500 towns and 35,000 barangays in the country. We have a population of 110 million and 50 % of this population has not seen a doctor. Since 40 years ago, we have been losing Filipino doctors annually to other countries and to other professions for reasons we can only empathize with but not necessarily agree with. The medical practice is indeed challenged. We are losing the grip of many of our good and dedicated doctors.

Yet there are also countless doctors who have toiled without the benefit of recognition, to make our country a better place for all of us Filipinos. Doctors who have chosen to stay in the country, stay in the countryside, and serve our people and decided to forego greater economic gains & opportunities elsewhere.

Today, we accept this challenge to serve in the community inspired by the renewed dedication to our Hippocratic covenant and promise to be healers, comforters, hope-givers, God’s helpers, and country builders.

I dare to ask a complex question and provide an almost simplistic and naive answer.

What does it mean to be a Filipino physician today?

Simply, it means, to make the phrase “ THE DOCTOR IS IN”, in its deepest meaning, become true, resonant, and relevant to all Filipinos.

Simply, it means, to be available and accessible to our countrymen.

Simply, it means, to be constantly becoming better to serve others better.

Simply, it means, to be passionately involved in creating and building a healthier and happier Philippines.

Imagine what we can do, if we collectively proclaim “THE DOCTOR IS IN”.

Imagine if every Filipino professional, every politician, every student, every government executive, every worker, and every man on the street proclaims, “I AM IN!”

What a real difference we can make, together, indeed. And what a beautiful country we can build. And all other blissful childhood dreams of weaving magic into our world would have been realized.

In closing, in behalf of all those dedicated unrecognized men and women in the medical field, all our senior physicians who mentored and trained us; all the families that make great sacrifices to produce a doctor in their clan, and all the parents who nurtured the childhood dreams of their sons and daughters; all our families, children and spouses alike, who have supported us in our quest to be faithful to our Hippocratic promise even if it took time away from them; and, all the patients, who rely on us, who have become our focus and inspiration in our pursuit of the betterment of our profession,

I dare and boldly declare: the Doctor is in. By Anthony C. Leachon , M.D