A LONGTIME Thomasian educator and physician was conferred the Doña Victoria Ty Tan Professorial Chair in Medical Education on July 19 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building.
Prof. Maria Minerva Calimag, who has been teaching at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery for almost four decades, received the professorial chair endowed by Metrobank Foundation, Inc., and named after the mother of Metrobank founder Dr. George S.K. Ty.
In her lecture, Calimag underscored the importance of relentless learning and aiming beyond attaining professional titles.
“We sharpen the saw–study, study, study because that will be value-added. It is not just the letter after our names; we take risks and tread new career paths,” she said in her lecture titled “Knowing Oneself Inside and Out: Success Formula for Teachers/Students in Caring Professions.”
Calimag also emphasized how sound socio-emotional skills could help the new generation of medical students thrive in their studies.
“Our next challenge in education is about teaching Gen Z medical students with the right attitudes and values,” Calimag said. “What skill should we develop among our students? We have socio-emotional skills and competencies.”
She also advised Thomasians to have role models to look up to, saying mentors could “help us see what we may not otherwise see in ourselves.”
“Mentors help you determine your strengths, and bring to light what sets you apart from those around you,” she said. “Mentorship in medicine can occur at any stage of one’s career, but is particularly important as it pertains to medical students and trainees.”
Calimag was presented with the professorial chair recognition by Fr. Maximo Gatela O.P., the director of the UST Office of Grants, Endowments, and Partnerships in Higher Education.
The Metrobank Foundation Inc. recognized Calimag as one of the Outstanding Filipino Teachers in Higher Education in 2021.
Calimag is a decorated doctor who has been awarded the Eric Nubla Award for Excellence by the Professional Regulation Commission and the “Most Outstanding Filipino Anesthesiologist” by the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists, among many other distinctions.
She earned her doctorate in medicine in 1981 and her doctorate in educational management in 2011, both at UST. In 2022, she was given The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni Award for Medicine.
Calimag has been an instructor at UST since 1986. She has eight children, all of whom went on to become Thomasian doctors.
She is an internationally published scholar at the UST Research Center for Health Sciences and the UST Research Center for Social Sciences and Education.
Established in 2019, the Doña Victoria Ty Tan Professorial Chair in Medical Education is given by the Metrobank Foundation, Inc. in partnership with the UST Research and Endowment Foundation, Inc. Amador Denzel M. Teston
