Doctors Forum

Agnes, the children and grandchildren of Dr. Abarquez, good evening.

So many people have spoken and written about Dr. Abarquez since he died, but those are nothing compared to how we listened and looked up to him, sometimes in awe, when he was alive. Images–of how he would stand up, approach the microphone, and ask those insightful questions or share those aha moments–are still fresh in our minds and will stay alive in the years to come in conference halls where traditional thinking creates so much noise. We remember how he’d chuckle when people mistook his wisdom for mischief, and how he’d walk back to his seat with that characteristic gait and a grin on his face, perhaps amused that he was disturbing the equanimity of lesser beings.

Dear Doctor Abarquez,

With sadness, I bid you farewell. A great teacher to many of us. Your words of wisdom and pearls of knowledge will never leave us: the heart beats with a twist; why did you give a beta-blocker; right ventricle or left ventricle—that is still myocardium; you have to get married, studies show that it will make you live longer; the ECG clearly shows acute cholecystitis; where is digitalis, why is it not in your drug list.

“NO WAY,” I thought to myself in utter disbelief. I was a lowly clinical clerk fresh into my Medicine rotation, learning the ropes of the grueling workload, when a colleague suddenly strode into the callroom bearing somewhat exuberant news: One particular consultant can apparently diagnose cholecystitis just by looking at the ECG alone.

“For his anger endures but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” – Psalms 30:5

The terse ringing of the phone, followed by an apologetic voice of the nurse at the other end of the line nudged me to a befuddled wakefulness, and I found myself grousing under my breath

EXEMPLARS. The 2017 PCP Exemplars with PCP President Nenita Avena-Collantes (leftmost) and PCP Vice President Kenneth Hartigan-Go (rightmost)

Essay by Joey A. Tabula Posted online 9:45 AM, November 19, 2017; First published in September 2017 Sa mga nagsasanay pa lamang sa Medisina, laging ipinaaalala, kung hindi ito nakasulat, hindi ito naganap. Hindi puwedeng ipalusot ng medical resident na nakita, naamoy, narinig, nasalat, naisip, o nagawa ang isang bagay kung hindi niya ito naisulat sa medical chart ng pasyente.