[Masters of Chilean Internal Medicine]

Master of internal Medicine is the highest award granted by the Chilean Society of Internal Medicine (Sociedad Médica de Santiago) to its members. This article outlines the sense and transcendence of this award and provides an abridged, certainly incomplete, data of the recipients since 1981 when this award was first given. Those who have received it are not the only ones that have the attributes to deserve such distinction. There are many members with similar or even better merits, and therefore the Directory of the Society is usually exposed to a very hard decision when facing each new nomination. When a member is awarded, he becomes a model to be emulated or surpassed by the future generations; thus assumes the great responsibility of maintaining the spirit, the prestige and the projection of Internal Medicine into the future.