EVOLUTION DEVOLUTION IN NEUROLOGIC CARE: The 17th Neurology in Your Practice and UPFANS Annual Meeti

Last 4-5 April 2019, the University of the Philippines Faculty and Alumni of the Neurosciences held its 17th Neurology in Your Practice and Annual Meeting entitled, “Evolution Devolution in Neurologic Care: Shifting Paradigms to the Community” at the Oriental in Legazpi, Albay. As if to mirror the theme of the conference, the UPFANS once again shifted settings eastward from the capital to the shores of Bicol and under the shadow of the great Mayon Volcano, made famous by its perfect cone, allowing its members to reconvene and explore the state of community neurology and neurosurgery in the country at present.

Over these two days, the members of the UPFANS and the UP-PGH Department of Neurosciences, as well as other registered guests, participated in a series of plenary lectures and symposia on community neurology and neurosurgery, with special notes on advancements in different fields such as epilepsy, headache, neurodevelopmental disorders, stroke, movement disorders, and dementia - and, as per tradition, the keynote address for this year’s conference was delivered by none other than the present chair of the UP-PGH Department of Neurosciences, Dr. Leonor I. Cabral-Lim. The two-day conference was drawn to a close via the annual Fellowship Night held at the Balay Cena Una, during which the members of the UPFANS, clad in traditional Filipino garb, were treated to a night of celebration and revelry with exciting performances from the alumni, consultants and residents.

While the conference itself closed on 5 April 2019, the members of the UPFANS also had the opportunity to further explore the region via ATV rides along the slopes of Mt. Mayon, boat rides with fireflies, and swimming sessions with schools of butanding in Donsol, Sorsogon, among other activities.

The entire experience was, in the simplest of words, richly informative, deeply immersive, and definitely one for the books.