Well, it's out. So, obviously, it can be done. And may I say it was a wonderful experience. I have never worked in the company of a more delightful and efficient group of professional practitioners. Thank you, DMSFI.
More used to working under conditions of medical emergency perhaps, the editorial team constituted by DMSFI President Jonathan A. Alegre, MD took to their new tasks like they were pros. Dr. Rodolfo B. Mariano II was a hands-on editor-in-chief who stayed on top of things. As managing editor, Dr. Vicky T. Lupase ably fielded the flow of edits at their various stages and generally kept the work on schedule. Two days before press, the entire team pitched in to do copy edit. Seeing the team at work made me wonder why they thought they needed an editorial consultant in the first place.
The DMSFI envisioned the journal to provide a venue for the dissemination of research findings from studies done in the various units in the school. The maiden issue includes two studies from the College of Medicine, one from the College of Dentistry, and two from the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research.
Research topics included new directions in health professions education, community health concerns, and reproductive health. Dr. Ma. Lourdes A. Doce explored the applications of computer-assisted instruction in teaching restorative dentistry. Proactive DMSFI Registrar Mila O. Maruya studied the effects of what the school could do as early reinforcement on low-performing students. Dr. Erwin Rommel N. Hontiveros evaluated the effectiveness of the school's community immersion program in enhancing the interpersonal skills of medical clerks. Dr. Marlina C. Lacuesta tracked over a five-year period the sustainability of quality of care in reproductive health services in 10 municipalities. And Ms. Geraldine J. Arendain did seminal documentation of the war experiences and psychological symptoms of children.
Three abstracts of students' community health researches were also included (two on TB treatment outcomes and one on the acceptability of no-scalpel vasectomy), as well as three abstracts on researches with international partners undertaken by DMSFI entities (fluoride rinsing for Japanese kindergarten pupils, a five-year tracking of behavioral patterns of high risk groups to HIV transmission, and community-based advocacy for adolescent reproductive health).
The second volume of the research journal is due out in the first quarter of next year. Meanwhile, the editorial team would like to send out a call to DMSFI alumni to send in papers for inclusion in the forthcoming issues. For submission details and inquiries on volume 1, please call Dr. Lupase at (082)2262344 loc 211.
(Wayward and Fanciful is Gail Ilagan's column for MindaViews, the opinion section of MindaNews. Ilagan teaches Social Justice, Family Sociology, Theories of Socialization and Psychology at the Ateneo de Davao University where she is also the associate editor of Tambara. You may send comments to gail.ilagan@gmail.com.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it "Send at the risk of a reply," she says.)
