History of Latin American Dermatology

Historical outline of the Bolivian Dermatological Societyapproved in 1985, after complying with the numerous prerequisites established by theNational Commission on Graduate Studies: adequate infrastructure, library, faculty, andprograms based on their usefulness for the country. Finally, on February 3, 1986, we receivedthe first three Dermatology residents: Dr. W. Magariños, S. Calderón y M. Loredo.With regard to the infrastructure of the Hospital Area (Hospital de Clínicas), its enlargementand remodeling was made possible thanks to the work of a young Bolivian dermatologistliving in Caracas, Dr. Ana G. Miranda. At the present time, the Residency Systemis managed by Drs. Fernando Cárdenas and Luis Valda; next year all the members of theBolivian Dermatological Society will participate in the faculty. In broad terms, the specializationis three years long, the first one corresponding to internal medicine. A unique featureof this graduate program is that the courses are given not only in La Paz, but thespecialization in Tropical Dermatology is also required. For this, we again have the supportof the city of Santa Cruz, which hosts two treatment and research centers of internationalprestige: Jorochito and CENOTROP (National Centre for Tropical Diseases). Thesecenters have an outstanding team of professionals as well as regularly issued publications.Lastly, we insist that the above account is a very succinct outline of what the BolivianDermatological Society is and has been, with the inevitable omission of various detailsand names of people who have cooperated with the country through the Society.There are many projects for the future, and these projects will be carried out if wecontinue to form a tight-knit group, promoting teamwork and opening the doors to theyoung, with constant motivation and encouragement. ■November 2004