The path to modernity: a personal testimony to the restructuring of the Department of Dermatology, Vargas Hospital, Caracas, Venezuela.

In the late 1950s and early1960s, there was a concerted effort to modernize teaching, training, and patient care in the Vargas Hospital of Caracas, Venezuela. The above included the development of research in the frame of postgraduate training. This effort was to be helped by USA funds and institutions but could only be achieved by the work of Venezuelans, sharing a vision of progress. Dermatology spearheaded this initiative, and the fruit of this was the exponential development of Venezuelan Dermatology and the creation of the National Institute of Dermatology on the grounds of the Vargas Hospital. The purpose of this contribution is to review these events that happened more than half a century ago from my own perspective. I sincerely hope that these lines could serve as an inspiration to the younger generations that toil today under less-than-favorable conditions.

El proyecto sine lepra 2000 / The proyected sine leprosy 2000

Estamos en presencia de una verdadera "cruzada", liderizada por la máxima institución sanitaria internacional, la OMS, que le está dando todo su respaldo y credibilidad científica a este programa, y nos toca a nosotros, los dermatólogos, ejerciendo el mandato que nos da el reconocimiento y el papel que nos asigna la sociedad por nuestros conocimientos y experiencia, de darle a esta campaña todo el apoyo que merece, y tratar de colaborar con ella a través de la autoridad sanitaria nacional, de la manera más efectiva y constructiva posible. Si la campaña se cumple con el éxito esperado, estaremos presenciando uno de los grandes logros de la medicina de todos los tiempos y los dermatólogos podremos estar orgullosos y satisfechos de haber podido tomar parte en ella, del modo organizado en que era necesario