Jorge Motta, MD,FACP is a graduate of Yale University, where he not only obtained his medical degree but also a public health degree. He then went to Stanford University where he completed his internal medicine and cardiology training and furthered his studies in nuclear medicine. Dr. Motta later returned to Panama, where he was appointed cardiologist at Gorgas Hospital, an AMA-approved hospital in the Canal Zone. He had a very succesful career here and was promoted to Chief Cardiologist. He held this position until the hospital ceased operating in 1999, due to the U.S. military withdrawal from Panama.
Dr. Motta was Governor of the ACP Central America Chapter from 1992-1996. During his tenure, he created what is now the norm for all regional meetings in Panama. He brought the conference out of the local Social Security Hospital and moved it to a hotel, which enabled the conference to grow by making it available to more physicians in the area. By the end of his term, the attendance rate of the conference had doubled. Due to the larger space for the conference, he was able to have more speakers, simultaneous translations in Spanish, and for the first time, all participants were given a complete handout of session topics. All of these changes brought an increase in the chapter's revenue, which increased the chapter's reserves. Dr. Motta received the Laureate Award in 2003.