Curriculum

(Government Recognition No. 153 Series of 1961)

Historical Background

The pioneering spirit and dynamism of the academic leaders of the College is reflected in the curriculum which has been continuously reviewed and upgraded to reflect the changing needs of Philippine society, the advances in educational strategies and technology, and the internationalization of medical education.

The original curriculum of the College, although traditional, was described by the Board of Medical Examiners as “not the usual conventional medical curriculum since it offers more”.  Among the features were the integrated courses in Psychiatry and Neurology.  The school spearheaded the reformation in the teaching of Preventive and Community Medicine in 1964, rural internship (apprenticeship) in 1965, the teaching of population and family planning in 1967, and exposure to rural reconstruction in 1968.

In 1971 the curriculum was restructured, shortened from five to four years as mandated by the amendment to the Medical Act, graduating its first batch of the 4-year curriculum in 1973.  At the same time the lectures in the clinical subjects were integrated in the “correlated lecture series.”

To promote independent study, class hours were cut and more study periods were scheduled.  In the third year, lecture hours were likewise cut to give way to more practicum.  Problem-based learning was introduced in pathology, pharmacology and preventive and community medicine in the early 1980’s.

The College of Medicine shifted to the so-called innovative integrated organ systems-based curriculum beginning school year 1998-1999.

The old curriculum (traditional) is organized based on generally accepted subjects which are grouped into preclinical and clinical, plus preventive and community medicine.  The learning activities are based on the contents of the subjects, which has been rapidly expanding.  Most of them are held in classrooms, basic laboratories and the teaching hospital; community exposure come late and short in the fourth year.  Lecture is the principal method of teaching.

Learning in this curriculum is fragmented and in the basic sciences, unrelated to the clinical implication.  Previously learned topics are easily
forgotten.  The rapid expansion of biomedical science and technology overloads the curriculum and overburdens the students.

The pure traditional curriculum is no longer considered appropriate nor adequate today.  The World Federation for Medical Education recommends a shift to the innovative curriculum which had been pioneered, found effective and appropriate in several medical schools in western developed countries.  The Commission on Higher Education and the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges have been promoting its adoption by Philippine schools.

The innovative curriculum had these characteristics:

• integrated horizontally and vertically with little departmental barrier using the organ system based approach
• community-oriented with a variety of educational settings
• student-centered with self-directed learning activities

The teaching-learning activities fall under three (3) categories:

• tutorial and correlates  which cover the main course content;
• selectives which cover important topics that are not included in the tutorials and correlates; and
• patient-doctor which deals with development of communication and clinical skills and humanistic attributes for medical practice.

The principal method of teaching in the innovative curriculum is Problem-Based Learning (PBL).