Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Maria Gracia M. Pulido Tan was the guest speaker and conferring officer at the Fourth Conferment of the Philippine Board of Pain Medicine (PBPM) held at the G Hotel Manila on February 7, 2014.

“Thank you for choosing pain management as your specialty, and establishing the Philippine Board of Pain Medicine to promote, enhance and professionalize this practice area,” said Chairperson Pulido Tan to the PBPM board officers, diplomats, and candidates.

Chairperson Pulido Tan, who once dreamt of becoming a doctor, recognized how “medicine and medical care has expanded to include not only curing and healing, but the promotion of the over-all quality of life as well – a life that is either free from pain (if there is such a condition), or a life well lived in spite of pain. The pseudo-doctor that I am, I think the latter is the real challenge for all of you. For to be free from pain is simply not to exist; to live well in spite of pain is to grow and become and prevail.”

“To me, you are a very special breed of doctors. You carry so much more responsibility in bringing about both health of mind and body. In a very concrete way, you bring forth the divine in every patient, his or her sense of gratitude for the dignity of life…Thank you once again for being here for us, for truly giving yourself, for deeply caring. May God grant you all the strength to carry on, and reward you richly for your work,” she added.