Featured Doctor

LEON, Prof Edgar

Ecuador - V Cumbre President

The situation in Ecuador

Ecuador`s government is at present dealing to reform the health’s system. There are no more that 300 family physicians in Ecuador today, the government hope there will be three thousand in few years. This will be a interesting and complex transition and, for this, the Ecuadorian Family Medicine Association has taken the advice of other local associations.

The Ecuadorian Family Doctors Society (SEMF in Spanish) has existed for thirty five years, but just four years ago it became possible that Family Medicine be recognized as speciality in the public health system. It was a big change in the priorities of the SEMF, and this drove a change in its relation with WONCA and as a result we requested to host the next Iberoamerican summit.

What is your work at present?

At this moment I am working for the Public Health Ministry as the coordinator of the National Family Medicine Postgraduate Course. This course is developing with the participation of eight universities in our country, and there are 500 students who are receiving dual formation, meaning that the Family Medicine students are undertaking clinic service in the community , and at the same time university tutors are with them developing the training system.

I was the president of the Ecuadorian Family Medicine Society (Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Medicina Familiar, SEMF) from December 2012 until December 2014. Now our team is leading the Fifth Family Medicine Summit of the Iberoamerica Region, that will be in Quito Ecuador, South America, in April 2014.

Photo: Dr Leon with patient and students.

Previously, I was Secretary and Scientific coordinator in the Executive committee of SEMF for two years. I was Director of a suburban medical center in the Ecuadorian Social Insurance System in Quito for eight years - this family medicine clinic was seen as a pioneer community health unit in the country for the last eight years. This family medicine clinic was visited by Prof Richard Roberts (immediate past Wonca President)in his visit to Ecuador three years ago.

I think that the Family Medicine doctor is able to give an integral and integrative attention to the patient, the family and the community, for this reason I work with students of the Family Medicine Postgraduate course at Pontifical Catholic University, It is a great experience as a tutor work at classroom, but also in the hospital, the clinic and the community.

Now I am the president of the meeting of a new amazing project called “V Cumbre Iberoamericana de Medicina Familiar”. It´s a honor to work in the organization and in the development of political issues, such as universal health coverage, social participative decisions, educational programs, publications teams and certification system and accreditation.

More about the Fifth Family Medicine Summit of the Iberoamerica Region, that will be in Quito Ecuador, South America, in April 2014.

Para mayor información sobre la cumbre Iberoamericana de click aqui