The Philippine Medical Society of Northern California is a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization run by volunteer Filipino medical practitioners from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Founded in 1972, it started as a social organization to encourage fellowship and philanthropy amongst Filipino physicians.

Today, the society is composed of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, technologists, technicians and individuals with non-medical occupations. The organization is represented by the four "regions" of the Bay Area--San Francisco/San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda/Contra Costa, and Napa/Solano/Monterey. There are twenty officers that are elected biennially.

The specific and primary purposes of this organization are:

1. To unite and promote closer personal and professional relationships and better understanding among the members and other medical societies.
2. To encourage continued professional growth and development of the members through continuing medical education (CME) activities.
3. To encourage qualified Filipino and Filipino-American students to pursue the medical profession and to provide financial assistance and other scholarship support to such students.
4. To provide medical assistance to the elderly and indigent Filipino-Americans as well as other minority groups in the US and support medical-surgical missions.

The organization holds monthly meetings that include an educational lecture followed by general membership and board business meetings. There are eight standing committees: executive, membership, by-laws, continuing education, scholarship, medical missions, and inter-society relations.

PMSNC is run entirely by members and volunteers and operates purely on donations and the generosity of its supporters.

Source: Lourdes Olivares-Agcaoili, MD