The Virtual Museum:
A Glimpse of the Storied History of UPCM

Featured Paintings and Gallery Calderon Hall Medical Science Building

HONORIA ACOSTA-SISON, MD

Often considered as the first female Filipino Physician, Honoria Acosta-Sison was born in Calasiao, Pangasinan on 1888. Born at a time when the privilege of education was limited among women, she applied as a pensionado to pursue her studies overseas. In 1909, she graduated from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and afterwards returned to the country to become a resident physician in Obstetrics at the Philippine General Hospital. From 1941 to 1953, she served as the chairman of the Department. Her contributions to obstetrics and gynecology, both as a practitioner and researcher, established her as a pioneer in her field. She served as a faculty member for the Philippine General Hospital in the field of obstetrics. A staunch academician, she authored over 200 papers on topics such as chorioepithelioma, and choriocarcinoma,which led to her rise to prominence both in the local and international medical community. At one point, the doctors used the Acosta Sison sign when diagnosing hydatidiform mole in the clinics. She also published a book in 1936 titled Obstetrics for Nurses. She and her colleagues organized the Philippine College of Surgeons in 1939. She left an indelible mark in the practice of obstetrics and gynecology in the country by serving as a founding member, as well as the first president of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS). She was awarded many accolades in her time, being awarded the Presidential Medal in 1955, A Gold Medal from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, and was also awarded as the Most Outstanding Woman Physician from the Philippine Women’s Medical Association in the aforementioned year.

Disclaimer:

Due to lack of sources for some paintings, the content of the virtual museum may not always be accurate ,and this will be continually revised as needed. If you have any feedback about the content of the writeups and its accuracy, please email of the Office of the Dean through Lorelie Alcazar (lmalcazar@up.edu.ph)

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