“See one, Do one, Teach one” was coined by William Halstead, one of the 4 founders of Johns Hopkins when he was conferred the first Professor of Surgery in the same institution in 1892. It was also the same year when this visionary surgeon innovated the residency program which the whole world accepted and which up to date is the gold standard of training specialist all over the world.
Many of us lived in the era of See one, Do one and Teach One, which was inevitably questioned in the early 1990s as the main cause of many morbidities and mortalities. As we shifted to the dictum of “Patient Safety” so did medical education slowly shifted to simulation-based training, where practitioners see one, then simulate several times before doing it for the safety of patients.
The UPCM Department of Anatomy has been providing the facility for clinical cadaveric simulation over the last decade. Requests for simulation have been steadily growing from medical and surgical specialties and the need for a more upgraded facility is necessary. Cognizant of the need, UP Manila has provided the funds to provide the department of Anatomy a world class facility for clinical cadaveric simulation. But the journey of equipping the facility with the basic tools of modern medicine like endoscopic towers, ultrasound machines, and Imaging/navigational equipment is still a tall order.
Every medical students’ quest in the long journey of becoming a doctor starts with Anatomy- the mother of all sciences. For many of us event experts in our own fields already, we will have to go back to anatomy to review, master and hone our skills- simply to provide our patients the best treatment they need to delay or stop the inevitable- mortality.
Truly, Anatomy is the Alpha and Omega of Medicine!
Brod Rafael “Pipo” Bundoc MD