To address the shortage of doctors in the Philippines’ underserved areas, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has allowed Cebu Normal University (CNU) to offer a 4-year Doctor of Medicine Program.

 

Last year, the Regional Development Council (RDC) – 7 endorsed the proposal to CHED, intending to establish the first state-funded medical school in the region, which gained proper authorization to commence A.Y. 2021-2022.

 

Dr. Filomena Dayagbil, CESE Officer-in-Charge – Office of the University President, expressed her gratitude to the people who supported and made the endeavor possible.

 

“And the dream becomes a reality for Cebu Normal University and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (CNU-VSMMC) taking the lead in developing competent, ethical and community oriented doctors para sa bayan,” she said in a Facebook post.

Dayagbil urged aspiring doctors to join the search for deserving students who will serve the underserved through the newly offered program.

 

According to CHED Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III, DPA, CNU shall follow a combination of the Cuban and Canadian model curriculum which balances clinical and population/­community-based practice.

 

CNU’s Doctor of Medicine Program is expected to aid the scarcity of doctors in underserved areas, equally benefitting aspiring doctors through scholarship support under RA 11509 or the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act.

 

Meanwhile, RDC-7’s Social Development Council (SDC) asserts to call this institution Cebu Normal University-Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (CNU-VSMMC) College of Medicine.

 

Words by Jhonazel Kiskis and Lorille Antoinette Mata