By: Kenneth Ross P. Javate, MD, DSBPP
Dr. Fareda Flores and the Board of Directors, Dr. Daisy Daquilanea and the Specialty Board, past PPA presidents, fellow psychiatrists, distinguished guests, families and friends, good afternoon.
Awesome.
Awesome is how it feelsto stand in front of you here today;and in the presence my proud father,Rey, himself a luminary in the field of ophthalmology.Like any father, he dreamt for me follow in his footsteps as an ophtha but as much as he inspires me every day to become a physician worthy of his example, he probably did not count on the influence of my mother, Malou, whose ever ready kindness to friends and family in crisis, early onmoved me to want tohelp people withproblems that go beyond the physical. Like many of your families, they found my decision initially puzzling, considering the stigma attendant to psychiatry, and yet they gave their unstinting support, understanding and resources so I may achieve my dream. And it is for this reason that the first thanks is for them, so I ask everyone to applaud all of our families here, in recognition of the many sacrifices they have made for all of us.
I also give thanks to my mentors.
Dr Lou Querubin, who like Freud dared to disrupt the status-quo thinking on Philippine medical education. Through hertireless efforts, I proudly wear this bright blue toga as a proud graduate of the pioneer batch of the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health, whose audacious curriculum fostered an audacious decision to go into the “last frontier” of medicine, thatis mental health.
My first training officer at The Medical City, DrMonicaCardinez-Tan, who like Winnicott’s proverbial good-enough mother, early on in my training and way before I did, assessed and acceptedmy True Self behind the facade of the False, insecurities and neuroses included, – thereby allowing me to discover the joy of being authentic in who I am andwhat I do.
My Chair, Dr. Imelda Batar, of whom Vygotsky would be proud, for her unceasing scaffolding of my potential for leadershipandher unwavering trust in my abilities, by unselfishly sharing opportunities to contribute in ways unusual of a mere-resident-in-training, in and outside of our hospital.
Dr Cornelio Banaag, who, in his perpetual stage of Eriksoniangenerativity,inspires me to be a become better child psychiatrist and human being by the sheer virtue of his own example- someone who can still dance through life full of thirst for knowledge and experiences, but above everything, generous and kind.
And whenever I doubt my capacity to live up to this (which is often), I am grateful to see myself in the Kohutian gleam of the motherly eyes of Dr. Jercyl Demeterio, who in my own personal therapy, has helped awaken that capacity to be kind to my own self, something I hope to pay forward to my own patients.
Honestly, were it not for time constraints, I could go on and onnamingeachof my mentors at The Medical City and how they have nurtured me with a perfect balance of love and limits, providing a secure base from which to explore the reaches of my aspirations.I would also be remiss if I did not give a shout outto my amazing co-residents and co-fellows, especially my batchmates,Shynney and Iso,no better pair of persons with whom to share each others’ triumphs, tribulations, and of course, travels. And knowing that none of us new diplomats would have reached this milestone without our mentors and colleagues, please join me in a warm round of applause, even as we bask in the love of their presence and their joy at our success.
Really, this is an awesome time to be a psychiatrist.This time though, I don’tjust use the wordcolloquially to express elation, but ratherits formal definition, of how one experiences apprehension, even fear,at the enormity of what lies before you. Last November, in the midst of celebrating my passing the boards on my Facebook feed, I was sobered by other posts demonstrating the unnerving new realities of the world that came about in 2016: increasing rates of suicide and self-injury especially in the young, a resurgent, vitriolic culture of intolerance and bigotry particularly on social media, a gradual erosion of the sanctity of life,what it means to be a true hero.
Being relatively young and naive, I feel the temptation to be daunted, todisengagebehind one’s clinic doors and the familiar comfort of one’s practice. However, a strong woman whom Iadmire, has said, “This is not the time for fear. It is a time for conviction…for courage.” Courage because, in a world where hate has seemed to trump love, now, I believe more than ever that Psychiatry is needed, especiallybecause of its emphasis on the primacy of Truth, that Truth must be uncovered and chosen, over cognitive distortions and comfortable lies, against the forces of repression and suppression, be theypersonal or social. Truth is a gift that we offer to our patients in psychotherapy, and in these uncertain times, perhaps we are called upon to offer it also as a gift, to our nation and society, not just as clinical experts, diagnosticians, researchers, or educators, but also as leaders, advocates, and social change agents.
This herculean task requires many of us, working together, and it is to the credit of the certifying committee that they have worked very very very hard this year to ensure we have a bumper crop of 47 psychiatrists ready to take on the challenge.To my batchmates, the new diplomates of 2017, let me say that I feel utterly proud to be amongst you, whose reach ranges from Pangasinan and Isabela in the north, south to Bicol, Aklan, Bacolod, Davao and Socsargen, and whose work ranges from clinical neuro-psycho-physiology to managing government agencies and facilities to serving the most marginalized in charities and prisons.
None of us enter Psychiatry without being a little broken- I know I am very much so- but how wonderful it is to be in a vocation that demands we recognize and celebrate our brokenness, because it is this which allows us to connect to the brokenness of each patient sitting across us, and ultimately uplift them, even as they uplift us.
Knowing this, knowing all of you,assuages my fears and assures me that we can rise up to the awesome challenges of days ahead.
May God bless us in work.
-Kenneth Ross P. Javate, MD, DSBPP
27 January 2017