Seven lecturers receive the Professional Excellent Award from the Official Association of Physicians of Barcelona (CoMB). The winners are Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine lecturers Esther Calbo and Rafael Azagra, in the field of medical education; Rafael Fernández, in Biomedical Research; and Maria Victòria Farré, in other healthcare areas, as well teachers of the Master’s Degree in Healthcare Management Mireia Sans, Josep Comín and Josep Antoni Ramos.

In the ceremony held on 28 November in the AXA Auditorium in Barcelona under the slogan “100 years of insulin,” the CoMB recognised the task of 51 doctors and four healthcare teams who have been outstanding in their professional activity, excellence, honesty, commitment, altruism and integrity. CoMB’s president and vice-president, Jaume Padrós and Elvira Bisbe, respectively, participated in the institutional event.

The awards included the categories of hospital medicine, primary care, public and mental health, social and health care, biomedical research, medical education and medical humanities.

UIC Barcelona School of Medicine lecturer since 2009 and head of the Infectious Diseases Unit of Mútua Terrassa, Dr Esther Calbo Sebastián excels among the award-winning lecturers. Calbo took position as chair on 21 June at the Sant Cugat Campus and titled her master speech “Antibiotic resistances: a hospital view.” She’s holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery and a PhD in Medicine from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and has focused her research on managing healthcare-associated infections, multidrug-resistant bacteria, antimicrobial-use optimisation programmes, infections with bacteremia and respiratory infections. She is author of over 100 indexed publications.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Esther Calbo stood out for her role in the interconnection of all services, primary care, hospital care, home care and social health care, as well as in the adaptation of all services to meet the needs as they emerged. In addition, she was part of the committee of experts for the transformation of the Public Health System of Catalonia, promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the aim of reforming the health care system and including a series of essential actions in health policies.

Winners also included three professors from the University Master's Degree in Health Management, which celebrated its eleventh anniversary this year and has become a benchmark in the sector. The master's degree programme, directed by Boi Ruiz, provides students with a global and applied view of the healthcare sector that enables them to assume responsibilities in clinical management, management of functional areas and services, as well as leadership of professional teams in healthcare and patient care centres