I recently had the opportunity to share more of my research on Filipino sleep health, this time at CYFAM’s third annual and first in-person conference at the Dynamico Space in San Francisco. CYFAM stands for Council of Young Filipinx-Americans in Medicine.
CYFAM
It is the mission of CYFAM to promote the leadership development of young Filipinx American physicians and trainees, reinforce the educational pipeline, and address structural inequities in health through advocacy, scholarship, and community partnership.
MAGKASAMA MATTERS
The theme of the conference was “Magkasama: Stories of Healing, Resilience, and Fortitude.”
Beyond my poster presentation, what I most looked forward to was simply being in the same space as other Filipinx-Americans in medicine, in other words...
magkasama tayo (we’re together).
Just seeing Fil-Am medical students and physicians walking around, welcoming others, and connecting with others was an indescribable feeling for me. This is the community I want to belong to so to be able to physically attend this conference was a privilege, one I thank my supervisor, Dr. Gabriel Garcia, wholeheartedly for. For supporting this important part of my career development.
In fact, I wouldn’t be involved with Dr. Garcia’s research if it were not for CYFAM. I joined CYFAM during the pandemic and with one job posting by Dr. Melissa Palma, I landed my current position as a research assistant for Dr. Garcia’s study on Filipino sleep health. A project I don’t even consider a job, but a passion project.
MAGKASAMA: HEALING, RESILIENCE, AND FORTITUDE
Throughout the weekend, healing, resilience, and fortitude manifested in a multitude of ways. Whether through keynote speakers or in workshops or even in offshoot conversations in between workshops, there was a shared experience of the struggles and successes on this medical journey and being able to share those vulnerabilities with others who have been in my position was a healing in and of itself.
That collective sense of healing, resilience, and fortitude throughout the weekend looked like…
DR. VANIA MANIPOD’S POWERFUL KEYNOTE SPEECH ON MENTAL HEALTH
Dr. Vania Manipod, a #proudDO and psychiatrist, kicked off the conference with her vulnerabilities throughout her professional and personal journey and that set the tone for the rest of the conference. For me, it opened some floodgates because of the struggles I have encountered on this often lonesome and long endeavor.
One thing she said that resonated with me was that, "going to therapy is a strength, not a weakness.”
LITTLE MANILA RISING’S MISSION TO REIMAGINE INCLUSIVE MEDICINE AND CULTURALLY-ROOTED HEALING
Little Manila Rising is a non-profit organization based in Stockton, CA doing collective and grassroots work around health equity, mental health, and liberation of marginalized communities. One piece of their presentation focused on the duality of medicine. For those of us exploring our ancestral roots where traditional modalities of medicine are used and as we move forward into careers in Western medicine, we face this duality not only in identity but in how we want to practice the art of medicine. That is something I am currently exploring so attending this workshop hit home for me. This whole “duality in identity” can and should be its own post BTW. Another important point from their discussion was the emphasis on inclusive medicine.
According to one of their presenters and health educators, Graschelle, medicine becomes inclusive "when there is not only a diversity in recruitment but also in retention by systems to maintain that diversity."
DR. JULIETA GABIOLA’S KEYNOTE SPEECH ON RESILIENCE
From her humble beginnings as the youngest of ten children growing up in the Philippines and being picked on by her older brothers, Dr. Gabiola paved her way through nursing school, medical school, and raising two kids on her own after losing her husband to cancer, to becoming a clinical professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. In so many ways, Dr. Gabiola reminds me a lot of my own mother and her tenacity to never take no for an answer.
In Dr. Gabiola’s words, “people who are resilient see the good in tragedy.”
DR. ALOYSIUS DOMINGO’S CAREER TRAJECTORY FROM CLINICIAN TO SCIENTIST
Dr. Aloysius Domingo, MD, PhD, shared his career path from medical doctor and clinician to bench scientist and academic.
Of the takeaways and reflections he shared, there is one that resonates with me the most,
“Stand by your poster.”
While it can be interpreted literally as standing by your poster, it can also be interpreted as a metaphor for not giving up. You never know what opportunities arise if you don’t stick to your journey, no matter how long you have to stand by your poster for. For him, standing by his poster led him to meeting his current mentor and principal investigator who gave him a chance to do the clinical research he is leading now.
I cannot express how grateful and appreciative I am of all the incredible Fil-Ams I connected with throughout this conference from fellow premeds to current medical students to attending physicians. Having a dedicated physical space for this to happen allowed me to be vulnerable with my struggles and challenges and to be seen, heard, reassured and validated by others in positions I dream to be in. Needless to say I spent the entire weekend in process and in absorbance of every speech, workshop, discussion, etc. In that space alone, I felt the spirit of magkasama.
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