By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
BATAC CITY—Ilocanos need not
to go far from their families to study medicine or for treatment as the
state-run Mariano Marcos State University announced the opening of its College
of Medicine this June, expected to provide quality medical and healthcare
education to aspiring Ilocano doctors.
Living to its long-time
tradition of producing topnotchers in the fields of nursing, pharmacy and
education among others, MMSU President Miriam E. Pascua said the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) has officially approved the operation of the medical
college with limited 25 slots to compose the first batch of enrollees.
“First, it would address the
need for medical practitioners in our province because at present, we lack
doctors who will attend to the needs of our patients. Imagine transporting our
patients to Manila or Baguio for treatment which would be too expensive on the
part of our provincemates,” Ms. Pascua said.
In 1996, MMSU proposed the
opening of a medical school in the province but it was only last year that the
university underwent rigid evaluation through members of the Regional
Quality Assessment Team (RQAT).
The application was then
submitted to the CHED for approval early this year for its operation on the
first semester of Academic Year 2014-2015 this June.
Situated on a 2,635
square meters lot at the former site of the university motor pool near the
College of Health and Sciences, the P40-million new building which is expected
to be completed by October has six classrooms, six laboratory rooms, six
comfort rooms, and a faculty room.
For the meantime, the COM
will occupy the University Training Center (UTC) as its temporary building.
A modern laboratory has been
in placed in the UTC for the use of the students.
According to Ms. Pascua, most
of the faculty members are medical practitioners from the Mariano Marcos
Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City.
Veteran physicians Joven
Cuanang and Marietta Baccay will serve as administrative consultants prior to
the appointment of a full time dean. Dr. Cuanang is now the chairperson of the
board of St. Luke’s College of Medicine after he retired as medical director of
the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City and Makati Global City. He is one
of the country’s top neurologists. Dr. Baccay, a pathologist, is chair of the
Board of Medical Technology of the Professional Regulation Commission.
In preparation for the
opening, chairpersons were identified earlier to lead the 17 departments which
are grouped into two—the Basic Sciences Department (BSD) and the Clinical
Sciences Department (CSD). The chairmen are either medical doctors or organic
personnel of CHS.
The departments in the Basic
Sciences are Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Pathology, Research, Microbiology and Parasitology, and Preventive Medicine. In
the Clinical Science, on the other hand, are Medicine, Surgery,
Obstetrics-Gynecology, Pediatrics, Neurological Sciences, Ophthalmology,
Psychiatry, and Legal Medicine.
Backed by the Mariano Marcos
Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, the new medical college is a dream come
true for Ilocano residents as statistical data shows the actual shortage of
doctors in the rural areas, which shed light on the need for a fourth medical
school in the Ilocos Region.
Data reveals a shortage of
about four million jobs in the health industry worldwide. Hence, MMSU officials
and a coalition of community supporters in Ilocos Norte have long been pushing
for a medical school in the province to deal with an increasing shortage of
doctors and specialists in the country.
To date, Region I has only
three medical schools: Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation and Lyceum
Northwestern University, both private schools in Pangasinan; and the University
of Northern Philippines, a state university in Vigan City.
To fill in the first batch of
medical students with a tuition fee pegged at P28,000 per semester,
student-applicants shall undergo strict admission and only the best of 25
applicants will be admitted.
Admission requirements are
the following: (1) National Medical Admission Test score of 50 and above; (2)
Transcript of Records (original); (3) Diploma (original); (5) 4 2"x2"
ID picture (with white background); (6) Certificate of Good Moral Character.
Application form can be obtained
at the College of Medicine located at the UTC, MMSU in Batac Campus.
Applicants will also have to
undergo interview which schedule is set to be announced by the university
later.
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