THE Commission on Higher Education said it has opened two new Doctor of Medicine programs in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera said the Commission recently approved the application for government authority to operate the Doctor of Medicine program of the Bohol Island State University (BISU) in Tagbilaran, Bohol and the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) in Cagayan de Oro City.
“CHED has increased the number of higher education institutions or HEIs offering medical programs from eight to 17 over the past year. The expansion of medical education will facilitate the implementation of Republic Act No. 11509 or An Act Establishing a Medical Scholarship and Return Service program for Deserving Students,” De Vera said.
RA 11509, more popularly known as the “Doktor Para sa Bayan Law,” aims to increase the number of doctors who will serve in far-flung areas by establishing a Medical Scholarship and Return Service (MSRS) program for deserving students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) or in partner private HEIs in regions where no SUCs offer a medical course.
Aside from authorizing the opening of new medical programs, the Doktor Para sa Bayan Law also led to the lifting of the 11- year-old moratorium on the offering of new nursing programs in HEIs.
“The approval to operate the Doctor of Medicine program in BISU and USTP expands the opportunities for the poor but deserving students through scholarship support under the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act. Now we can produce more doctors through our top SUCs, who will go to underserved areas and local governments in need of health personnel,” De Vera added.
CHED Technical Panel for Medicine Chairperson Joselito Villaruz said the approval came after the Technical Evaluators and Technical Panel for Medicine determined that BISU and USTP have complied with all the requirements to operate the Doctor of Medicine program.
