Stories of a vocation. A family at the service of health

Abstract

This article is based on a compilation of the long and esteemed career of doctors from the Quevedo family, all descendants of their main precursor, Dr. José Ignacio Quevedo Amaya. There are seven, and now it can be said eight, generations of family representatives motivated by the same vocation of service, whose results have extended almost worldwide. They have stood out for their intellectual abilities, their commitment to staying updated, and their broad and generous approach to serving human beings who suffer from pain, illness, and physical and/or spiritual suffering. While it is true that modern medicine is not the same as it was in the 19th century, the essence of being a doctor will always be related to an individual vocation and a profound ethics that must be fulfilled completely, despite the passing of time and the emergence of new generations or changes. There are three keywords that all doctors descended from Dr. Quevedo inherit, in order to perform successfully, with competence and dedication to our patients, who are and will always be our reason for being: kindness, wisdom, and respect. With these guidelines, principles, and life examples, the path traced from the beginning by the one whom his peers and contemporaries did not hesitate to call the “priest of charity” and the “father of medicine in Antioquia” will never be lost.