The Professional Excellence Awards 2023, presented each year by the Medical Association of Barcelona (Col·legi Oficial de Metges de Barcelona), were given out last night at the AXA Auditorium in Barcelona. The winners included three professionals from the Hospital Clínic: Dr. Francisco Carmona in the biomedical research category, Dr. Manel Castellà in the hospital care medicine category, and Dr. Ricard Valero in the medical education category. The Hospital Clínic Diabetes Unit, led by Dr. Marga Giménez, was presented an award in the healthcare team category.
Dr. Francisco Carmona Herrera is the head of the Hospital Clínic Gynaecology Service. He specializes in endometriosis, benign pathology and also laparoscopy and highly complex gynaecological surgery, being a pioneer in techniques and interventions. Over the course of his career, he has authored over 250 national and international scientific publications and more than 50 book chapters. In the field of education, he is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona. In the field of research, he has led over 10 funded research projects and is a member of the IDIBAPS “Gynaecological endocrinology and human reproduction” group.
Dr. Manuel Castellà Pericàs is head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Service at the Hospital Clínic Cardiovascular Institute. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery, coronary revascularization, valve repair, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and thoracoscopic surgery for atrial fibrillation. He leads the Cardiovascular Surgery Service with the most surgical activity in Spain, with results comparable to the best centres in the world. He is also associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, Chairman of the Arrhythmia Task Force de la European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and has chaired the Catalan Cardiac Surgery Society. . He has published 109 articles indexed in PubMed, including the ESC/EACTS European Clinical Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation in 2016 and 2020, the EACTS preoperative medication guidelines 2017, and several randomized studies as principal investigator.
Dr. Ricard Valero Castell is a specialist in anaesthesiology, resuscitation and pain treatment and is currently the head of the Anaesthesiology Service, which he has been a member of for 37 years. He is also a researcher in the IDIBAPS "Cerebrovascular Diseases" group. Over the course of his career, he has specialized in neuroanaesthesiology, airway management and organ donation for transplantation. He is a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, coordinator of a core degree subject, director of a master's degree and coordinator of several specialities, co-director of the clinical skills laboratory, and coordinator of a teaching innovation group. He has over 150 publications in indexed journals, is a collaborating or principal investigator in over 30 projects with competitive funding, and has participated in over 80 chapters of informative and educational books and articles. He is a trustee of the Donation and Transplantation Institute Foundation, has been member of the boards of several scientific societies in his speciality and is the deputy editor of the Revista Española de Anestesiología (Spanish Journal of Anaesthesiology).
Finally, the work of the Hospital Clínic Diabetes Unit was recognized in the healthcare team category. This unit coordinates the care, teaching and research activities in the field of diabetes within the hospital and its area of influence. It is a cross-cutting structure in which around 50 specialists from 14 different services collaborate. It is made up of 13 working groups that monitor approximately 8,000 patients. It has programmes with a long history, such as pancreas transplantation, the diabetes and pregnancy programme and the programmes aimed at the application of technology in the field of diabetes. The award was collected by Dr. Marga Giménez, head of the unit.
