University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center

The University of the East - Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMMC or UERM) is a university in Quezon City, Philippines. Founded in 1956, the university is one of the two extension campus of the University of the East. UERMMMC is a non-stock, non-profit foundation and a memorial to President Ramon Magsaysay since 1957. UERM is the first and only private medical institution with a PAASCU accredited program, with level II. The College of Nursing BSN Program has been granted Level III by PAASCU. UERM has four departments, namely College of Medicine, Nursing, Physical Therapy and Graduate School.

History


The Philippines was still emerging from the ruins of the Second World War. Morbidity and mortality rates were high. Many places in the country were without adequate health services. People were dying without medical attendance. There was a crying need for more doctors. There were only five medical schools graduating a little over a thousand physicians annually. There were less than 10,000 physicians in the whole country with twenty million people – a ratio of one for every 2,000 individuals.

The Filipino youth was ready to meet the challenge and were demanding admission to medical school. But the system could admit no more than 1,200 students.

The opening of the UE College of Medicine was President Francisco Dalupan’s answer to the needs of the youth and the country. It was part of his grand vision for the university.

The University of the East began as a college of commerce known as the Philippine College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1946. Four new colleges were added in 1948: the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Education, Dentistry, and the Graduate School. With the addition of the College of Law in 1950, the group of colleges became a university. And in 1954 the UE Technical School opened in Caloocan, which is now known as UE Caloocan. In 1956 the College of Medicine was born.

In 1956, the UE College of Medicine was established on a 10,000 sq. meter lot originally owned by the Instituto de Mujeres. The College was established as a non-stock, non-profit corporation, affiliated with, but independent of the University of the East. Founded under the principle of “complete dedication to medical education, research and the alleviation of human sufferings”, it was the first philanthropic institution in the Philippines. In 1957, the UE College of Medicine was renamed the “University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center” or UERMMMC as a tribute to the late President Ramon Magsaysay who died in a plane crash in Cebu. The Medical School had its first graduates in 1961.

Dr. Juan S. Salcedo, Jr., former Secretary of Health and Dean of the Graduate School of the University of the Philippines, was tapped to be the first dean of the College of Medicine. He, however, still had commitments to UP and recommended Dr. Jose M. Cuyegkeng to be the acting dean until 1958.

President Dalupan was a scrupulous planner; he left nothing to chance. He would consult experts and visit universities all over the world in preparation for the opening of a college. He corresponded with Dr. Harold H. Louchs, director of the China Medical Board of New York, Inc. on medical education. The advice of the latter had lasting effects on President Dalupan’s thinking.

Great was the concern for the quality of medical education in the country. The heads of medical schools and two government officials went to the USA on a travel grant in early 1957 to study medical education.

The former President Carlos P. Garcia described the founding of UERMMMC as a “great adventure, marking the advent in the Philippines of educational philanthropy”

Through the efforts of then UE President Isidro D. Carino, the plan to establish the College of Physical Therapy was initiated in 1987. It was realized with the endorsement of a feasibility study diligently prepared by a dedicated team composed of Dr. Juan A. Alcazaren, head of the UERMMC Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dr. Arnel V. Malaya, a Rehabilitation Medicine specialist and Mrs. Serafina Maxino. In June 1988, the College first operated under the headship of Dr. Alcazaren. Dr. Malaya was then appointed Dean on 1991 when the College was granted full recognition by DECS. He continues to serve as such to the present.

At present, the Medical Center is composed of six (6) major units namely: University Hospital, (which has both pay and teaching/clinical divisions & the University Health Service), the four (4) academic units, namely: Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Physical Therapy and the Graduate School for Nursing, which gained CHED recognition last June 2003. The sixth unit is the Research Institute.

Dean Carmelita Divinagracia, of the College of Nursing, is concurrently the Dean of the Graduate School while the Research Institute for Health Sciences is chaired by Dr. Fernando S. Sanchez, Jr., a former Dean of the College of Medicine.

To maintain academic excellence, the Medical Center have sought voluntary accreditation in all it’s program offerings, with PAASCU. The College of Medicine is Level 2 accredited, the College of Nursing has been recertified Level 3 and the College of Physical Therapy was granted Level 1 accreditation all in 2004. The Medical Center is presently classified as one of the 24 deregulated schools in the country and is set to pursue an “autonomous” status in the near future.

A Memorial to President Ramon Magsaysay
The conversion of the UE College of Medicine to a non-stock, non-profit foundation in 1957 was both a memorial to one of our most beloved citizens and a pioneering advance towards a new and great goal in Philippine education.

Ramon Magsaysay was the third president of the Republic of the Philippines who died in a plane crash in Mt. Manunggal in Cebu. The first Board of Trustees of the new foundation decided to name the institution after this most respected and loved Philippine president.

It was the first non-profit, non-government, non-sectarian educational institution in the country. It was designed not to depend entirely on students’ fee for its existence but to receive philanthropic donations and gifts which were rare and modest in the country at the time. It was to have a limited enrollment as were the educational institutions abroad. And it was to offer an education of the highest standard and founded on “a broad base of culture”.

UERMMMC Hospital
The UERM Memorial Hospital is a health facility, which opened in 1957 to serve as the clinical laboratory for the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing and subsequently the College of Physical Therapy.

The UERMMMC hospital has earned the same high reputation and prestige that the UERM medical professors and the UERM College of Medicine graduates have earned in the field of medical practice and in the government medical board examinations. The UERM hospital is the entity where UERM students "practice" (Teaching Hospital) and where the College of Medicine professors treat their own patients (Pay Hospital). The hospital also provides rich clinical experience to interns on the basis of the diversity of clinical case, the competence of the health care professionals and the modern facilities. As a top-notch hospital, it is well-known not only locally but also internationally.

The UERMMMC Hospital provides quality patient care by practicing rational medical economics to tailor its medical services to the needs of individual patients. In this way, patients are spared the discomfort of undergoing unnecessary procedures and gain the dual benefits of quality care and value for money. The UERMMMC Hospital community believes that its brand of quality patient care and personalized service represents the height of medical practice.

It renders clinical services that include: medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, neurology, psychiatry, neuro-surgery, opthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, ambulatory medicine (OPC), rehabilitation medicine, and emergency medicine. Ancillary services are: pathology(clinical, surgical and cytology), radiology, pharmacy, blood bank, cardiopulmonary laboratory, respiratory therapy, GIT-liver study unit, endoscopy unit, neurophysiology laboratory (EEG), audiology and industrial medicine

Education
The center has four academic units, the College of Medicine, Nursing, Physical Therapy and Graduate Program, in the order they were founded - each of which has carved a great name for itself in the Philippines educational landscape.

Built on solid foundation of academic excellence, it envisions itself to become the leading university offering baccalaureate and graduate program in medicine and nursing. It aims to hone students who will become scholars, thinkers and leaders of the nation with strong intellectual flexibility combined with refined skills and strong moral foundation.



College of Medicine
The centerpiece of the UERM Memorial Medical Center is the College of Medicine. Recognized as a Center of Excellence in Research by the Department of Science and Technology and has Level II Accreditation by PAASCU, Innovative Curriculum. The first and only private Medical School with a PAASCU Accredited Program, Level II. From the time the UERM College of Medicine produced its first graduates, it immediately established itself as one of the finest medical schools in the country. Soon, it was acknowledged as one of the best three schools of medicine, mentioned in the same breath as University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas.

All the Medicine graduates of 1996 passed the Medical Licensure Examination given last February 1997. The Professional Regulation Commission awarded the Center a plaque in recognition of the feat, the fifth time for the center since 1993.



College of Nursing
The UERMMMC College of Nursing is one of the leading Higher Education Institutions in the country today. Its tradition of excellence has been acknowledged by its peers having been granted the Level III accreditation for its nursing program. The College of Nursing is one of the few nursing schools in the country with the highest accreditation status conferred by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU).

The College is included in the list of 20 top performing Nursing schools released by the Commission on Higher Education covering a 5-year period. For the five year covered in the ranking, the CHED listed the UERM College of Nursing with a the rating of 93.08% passing percentage.

Imbued with the traditions of producing health practitioners who are “Gentlemen of Culture and Ladies of Poise,” students are trained to become competent, compassionate, committed and ethical nurse practitioner with strong Filipino values adaptive to Transcultural challenges.

College of Physical Therapy
The youngest of the colleges in the Center, the College of Physical Therapy. And yet, it has already established itself as on of the best schools of Physical Therapy in the country, the two others being the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas.

The main objective of Physical therapy education is to provide the country with physical therapists who are scientifically competent to deliver the full spectrum of physical therapy services required in modern health care. It has gained such respect and prestige that other schools of Physical Therapy are now asking to be allowed to observe its setup and methodology.



UERMMMC Graduate School

 * Master of Science in Nursing


 * Master of Science in Public Health


 * Master of Science in Clinical Medicine


 * Master of Science in Internal Medicine


 * Diploma Course in Diabetes Studies

UERMMMC and HCMI Joint Program
The University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMMC) has signed an educational partnership Agreement with HCMI for Indian students, to promote the University's MBBS Program. The program is designed to prepare Indian students who want to pursue a career in medicine.

The MBBS Program is a collaborative effort between HCMI and the UERMMMC to give more individuals the opportunity to pursue their dreams of becoming a Physician.

This program has been specifically developed to meet the requirements of the Medical Council of India and is approved by the Philippines Commission on Higher Education. The program is designed to ensure Indian students graduating from the course will qualify for the Screening Test conducted by the Medical Council of India.

The MBBS course will be conducted at the UERMMMC campus in the Philippines. It comprises four and a half years, followed by a one year compulsory internship at the UERM Memorial Medical Center.

Research Institute for Health Sciences
The Research Institute for Health Sciences was initially put up to support the research activities of students, faculty members and medical staff. The Research Institute has since been expanded to coordinate and establish relevant basic, clinical, educational and administrative researches—inclusive of planning and management of the research programs of all units except student research—that will catapult the Medical Center into the world of global quality researches.

An Executive Council established the Institute’s policies and guidelines for research; a separate Hospital Research Review Board was created, while student researches are supervised by the respective faculty of the Colleges.

Research is one of the three general functions of an academic institution. The Research Institute is the unit of the Medical Center that is responsible for carrying out this function. It promotes, manages and supports research and development in the fields of health sciences, service and education.

The Research Institute is directly under the president of the Medical Center. It has an office headed by a research director. All research activities in the Medical Center, except those of the students of the different colleges, are under the supervision of the Research Institute.

The Research Institute is linked with units with research functions through the research coordinators of the units. The coordinators are administratively under the unit heads and functionally under the director of research.

Campus
The UERMMMC School campus and UERMM Hospital complex is located along Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City. From Cubao, the Administrative building is at the right side of Aurora Boulevard while the UERMM Hospital is at the left side.

Located in the heart of the metro, it is relatively close to the majority of the city and since it is located along a major thoroughfare, various public transport vehicles pass directly in front of the medical Center. The University is near V. Mapa LRT Station and SM City Santa Mesa, Manila.

The medical center is composed of a number of infrastructures located in two separate lots on opposite sides of Aurora Blvd- North and South. rewrettretertert
 * Old Administration Building - Which houses several classrooms of the College of Medicines, clinical retertreter* Gymnasium - Used to support the physical education needs of the students.

Library and Research
Further information: University of the East Library

The UERM Memorial Medical Center Library provides for the needs of all activities requiring library services in the Medical Center. It maintains over 30,000 volumes total and subscribes to local and international journals for use by the students and faculty members.
 * University Library

The Library maintains a carefully selected collection of books, periodicals, audio-visual materials and other printed materials, on medicine, nursing, physical therapy and allied field.

On-line Public Access Catalog (OPAC) system is available in the library to facilitate browsing and maximize time spent for research.

The Library Occupies the entire third floor of the Dr. Jose Cuyegkeng Building. It is rectangular in shape and has an area of 10,000 square feet. It is adequately furnished, fully air-conditioned and has a reading room with accommodations of 240 readers.

The library also occupies the northwest wing of the second floor of the same building that houses the Audiovisual Library and the stack room for periodicals dated prior to 1971. The Audiovisual library is well-equipped and fully air-conditioned.


 * Information Technology and Cyber Library

The Medical Center is equipped to service the needs of students for vast sources of data for learning. A number of computers with effective connections to the information superhighway are installed in the internet rooms managed by the staff of Management Information System Department. Interactive learning with the use of CD-ROM is installed in the cyber library.

Publications

 * Mediscope— an official publication of the Administration containing news items and articles on the Medical Center in general. It is published quarterly.


 * The Aesculapian — the official publication of the students run by students and contains news items mainly coming from student correspondents.


 * The Journal of Health Sciences — published by the school and contains various research articles and communication materials from the medical staff and students. It is published at least once a year.