Fe del Mundo
Fe del Mundo GCGH | |
---|---|
Born | Fé Primitiva del Mundo y Villanueva 27 November 1911[1] |
Died | 6 August 2011 | (aged 99)
Nationality | Filipino |
Alma mater | University of the Philippines Manila Boston University |
Occupation | Pediatrician |
Known for | National Scientist of the Philippines |
Fe Villanueva del Mundo,
Early life and education
Del Mundo was born at 120 Cabildo Street in the district of
In 1926, del Mundo enrolled at the UP College of Medicine, at the original campus of the University of the Philippines in Manila. She earned her medical degree in 1933, graduating as class valedictorian. She passed the medical board exam that same year, placing third among the examinees. Her exposure while in medical school to various health conditions afflicting children in the provinces, particularly in Marinduque, led her to choose pediatrics as her specialization.[citation needed]
Postgraduate studies
After del Mundo graduated from UPM, President Manuel Quezon offered to pay for her further training, in a medical field of her choice, at any school in the United States.[5] Del Mundo has sometimes been said to have been Harvard Medical School's first woman student,[6][4] the first woman enrolled in pediatrics at the school,[7] or its first Asian student.[3] However, according to an archivist at Harvard's Center for the History of Medicine,
While Dr. Del Mundo was remarkable in many ways, the evidence that she was a medical student at Harvard Medical School is largely anecdotal and not well sourced. As far as my research using Harvard Medical School catalogs and records shows, she earned her Medical Degree from the University of the Philippines Manila in 1933, and in 1936, came to Boston to further her studies in pediatrics. The fact that Harvard Medical School did not admit women students and Dr. Del Mundo already earned her medical degree suggests that she was not admitted as a student, even in error, and I cannot find proof that she graduated from Harvard Medical School ... Instead, it seems more likely that she completed graduate work at Harvard Medical School through an appointment at Boston Children’s Hospital ... del Mundo is listed as an Assistant Physician at Boston Children’s Hospital, and a Research Fellow in Pediatrics in 1940. Further suggesting that she was a graduate student and not a medical student, in her autobiographical statement in Women Physicians of the World (1977), Dr. Del Mundo explains "I spent three years of my postgraduate studies at the Children’s Hospital in Boston and at Harvard Medical School, one year at the University of Chicago, six months at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and short terms in various pediatric institutions, all to round out my training."[8]
Harvard had had thousands of Asian students by the time Del Mundo arrived there.[9][10]
Del Mundo returned to Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in 1939 for a two-year research fellowship.
Medical practice
Del Mundo returned to the Philippines in 1941, shortly before the
Del Mundo joined the faculty of the University of Santo Tomas, then the
Establishment of the Children's Medical Center
Frustrated by the bureaucratic constraints in working for a government hospital, del Mundo desired to establish her own pediatric hospital.[13] Towards that end, she sold her home and most of her personal effects,[12][13] and obtained a sizable loan from the GSIS (the Government Service Insurance System) in order to finance the construction of her own hospital. The Children's Medical Center, a 107-bed hospital located in Quezon City, was inaugurated in 1957 as the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines. The hospital was expanded in 1966 through the establishment of an Institute of Maternal and Child Health, the first institution of its kind in Asia.[11][14]
In 1958, del Mundo conveyed her personal ownership of the hospital to a board of trustees.[12]
Dr. Fe del Mundo lived on the second floor of the Children's Medical Center in Quezon City and continued making early morning rounds until she was 99 years old.[citation needed]
Establishment of the Children's Medical Center Foundation
When she founded the Children's Medical Center Foundation in 1957, she was able to bring medical care Filipinos in the rural areas of the Philippines who had little to no access to health care. This foundation saved thousands of children through establishment of family planning clinics and treatment of preventable health issues such as poor nutrition and dehydration.[citation needed]
Later life and death
Del Mundo was still active in her practice of pediatrics into her 90s. She died of cardiac arrest on August 6, 2011, and was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.[15]
Medicine in the Philippines was revolutionized by Dr. Fe del Mundo. She made numerous breakthroughs in the field of pediatrics from immunization, treatment of jaundice, and providing accessible health care to countless families living in poverty.[citation needed]
Research and innovations
Del Mundo was noted for her pioneering work on
Del Mundo was active in the field of
Del Mundo was also known for having devised an incubator made out of bamboo,[17] designed for use in rural communities without electrical power.[12]
Awards and recognition
In 1980, del Mundo was declared as a National Scientist of the Philippines, the first Filipino woman to be so named.[18]
Among the international honors bestowed on del Mundo was the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for Outstanding Service to Mankind, handed in 1966 by Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the citation as Outstanding Pediatrician and Humanitarian by the International Pediatric Association in 1977. Also in 1977, del Mundo was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service.[citation needed]
Dr. Fe del Mundo was an honorary member of the American Pediatric Society and a consultant of the World Health Organization.[citation needed]
In 2008, she received the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Award of the AY Foundation.[19]
On April 22, 2010, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded del Mundo the
Posthumously, she was conferred the Grand Collar of the
On November 27, 2018, a Google Doodle was displayed to celebrate del Mundo's 107th birthday.[22][23]
References
- ^ a b "Del Mundo, Fe – The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation". Retrieved March 4, 2018.
- ^ S2CID 149454689.
- ^ a b Lim, Fides (August 9, 2007). "Woman of Many Firsts". Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Contreras, Volt (November 25, 2007). "Fe del Mundo: Her children's hospital is 50 as she turns 96". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 26, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- The Sunday Times Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ Joan Ilacqua (November 27, 2018). "Dr. Fe del Mundo". Center for the History of Medicine at Countway Library.
- ^ https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/4/23/harvard-china-scrutiny/
- ^ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2004/02/history-of-the-japanese-at-harvard/
- ^ a b c d e "The 1977 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service: Fe del Mundo". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lim, Fides (August 28, 2007). "Dr Fe del Mundo: Frail but feisty still at 95". Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ "Legacy & History". Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ "Beautiful life as doctor to generations of kids, 99". Philippine Daily Inquirer. August 7, 2011.
- ^ "National Scientist".
- ^ "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Award". AY Foundation. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ "PGMA confers the Lakandula award with the rank of Bayani to Dr. Fe Del Mundo, national scientist". Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "PNoy confers Order of the Golden Heart to del Mundo, National Scientist". News, Department of Science and Technology. August 13, 2011. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ "Fe del Mundo's 107th Birthday". google.com. November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Kiona N. "Tuesday's Google Doodle Honors Pediatrician Fe del Mundo". Forbes. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
Sources
- Chua, Philip S. (April 27, 2003). "Fe del Mundo, M.D.: At 94, Still in the Practice of Pediatrics". The Sunday Times Magazine. Manila. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- Contreras, Volt (November 25, 2007). "Fe del Mundo: Her children's hospital is 50 as she turns 96". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Metro Manila. pp. 1, A19. Retrieved December 26, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- Engel, Keri (August 9, 2013). "Fe del Mundo, first female student at Harvard Medical School". Amazing Women In History. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- Fe Del Mundo Medical Center. Legacy & History https://www.fedelmundo.com.ph/history-legacy/ Archived January 5, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- Harvard Medical School (1940). "Announcement of Courses : Roentgenology : Pediatrics". Announcement of the Harvard Medical School. Boston: Harvard University: 66.
- "HWS: Fe del Mundo". Hobart and William Smith Colleges. January 22, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- Lim, Fides (August 28, 2007). "Dr Fe del Mundo: Frail But Feisty Still at 95". Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- Navarro, Mariechel J. (2000). National Scientists of the Philippines (1978–1998). Pasig, Philippines: Anvil Publishing. pp. 131–140. OCLC 46475493.
- Pirani, Fiza (November 27, 2018). "Who was Fe del Mundo? Google honors Filipina doctor, first woman admitted to Harvard Medical School". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- The Children's Hospital (1940). "Annual report of the Children's Hospital". Internet Archive. Boston: 5. OCLC 787862264.