About SOM
In 1990, Fr. William H. Kreutz, SJ, president of the Ateneo de Zamboanga, institutionalized the Medical school by gathering together members of the medical profession and some civic leaders for a series of consultations to determine if there was a need to establish a medical school for the region.
The consensus of these consultations was that there was indeed a need to establish a medical school and that this school should be in Zamboanga City. It was also decided that a corporate body should be formed that will affiliate with the Ateneo de Zamboanga. Thus the Zamboanga Medical School Foundation Incorporated, a non-stock, non-profit corporation was established with a 15-man Board of Trustees composed of 7 doctors, 5 civic leaders, and 3 educators.
The leadership of the Zamboanga Medical School Foundation believed that the curriculum should be one that expresses the school’s vision and mission. After months of study and consultations with the College of Medicine in the University of New Mexico, and the University of Calgary in Canada, a curriculum evolved, unique and suitable to the Philippine setting. The curriculum involved learning structure along the concept of solving clinical problems (problem-based). It further involved the teaching of medicine around the functions and competencies required to practice medicine in a specific setting (competency-based). As early as the first year, students were exposed to patients both in clinics and communities where the focus on the practice of medicine as applied to a group of population is emphasized (community-based). The would-be-graduates were expected to be competent professionals who could practice medicine at a level of a defined proficiency in accord with national health needs.
After careful evaluation, the ZMSF’s program was approved by the Technical Panel for Medical Education of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) last February 1994. With that, the College of Medicine of the ZMSF was officially established and was committed to provide a medical training which met the requirements for the medical board examination and licensing by the Professional Regulation Commission.
The early years of the ZMSF proved to be tedious and difficult for three reasons:
- First, there was a need to design and develop an innovative and effective curriculum that would provide the medical graduates of the school the competency needed to be doctors of medicine relevant to the health needs of the population it seeks to serve.
- Second, considering that all members of the faculty were trained in the traditional medical education, it was imperative that a change in their mindset be done for them to be effective in this new and emerging medical education. The members of the faculty had to acquire and develop new competencies and for this, the faculty development program in collaboration with the University of Calgary in Canada was established. This eventually led to a masteral degree in medical education which all members of the faculty were required to attend. To date, this program exist for both old and new members of the faculty.
- Third, cognizant of its vision and mission, it was critical for the leadership of the school to embody and advocate its philosophy to its student, faculty and the communities of Western Mindanao. There was a time that the ZMSF was almost like a voice in the wilderness for there were many detractors both from the medical community and the general population as a whole. Many times its only source of solace was the divine providence and its firm belief in this philosophy. With all these difficulties and problems, the ZMSF with fire in its belly and passion in its heart sets forth to meet the challenges head on.
In 1997, the ZMSF convened a national symposium on Problem Based Learning (PBL) in Zamboanga City. This was attended by the deans and associate deans of the different medical schools all over the country. PBL is now a globally accepted alternative mode medical education and many medical schools in our country have cautiously incorporated PBL into the curriculum.
In 1998, the ZMSF graduated 26 medical students, and in keeping with the schools thrust of experiential learning in the rural communities, an internship program for the ZMSF graduates consisting of 6 months exposure in the hospital and 6 months of exposure in the rural communities, as opposed to the traditional program of 1 year exposure in the hospital, was approved by the Commission on Higher Education.
In 2000, external evaluators were brought in from Ateneo de Manila University, Department of Health, and DECS, to assess the school. Recommendations regarding the curriculum, the students, the faculty, its community exposure and even its leadership were duly noted with modifications and adjustments instituted.
In 2001, ZMSF was noted by a foreign publication as one of the ten leading schools with an innovated medical education program in the entire world.
In 2003, the Professional Regulation Commission awarded the ZMSF a certificate of merit of having been ranked as the 4th among the 27 medical schools in the country based on its passing average of 86% as compared to the national average of 55.70%. Also in 2003, the ZMSF officially launched the MD-MPH program wherein graduates of this school after internship will also have a masteral degree in Public Health. The only medical school in the entire country offering such a program.
In keeping with the school’s commitment of supporting and enhancing the competence of its doctors long after their graduation, the ZMSF is set to institutionalize in collaboration with the Family Medicine Society of the Philippines, a fellowship program in Family Medicine for its graduates while they serve in their respective rural communities. Also the ZMSF is committed to continually provide the leadership and direction for its graduates and to the medical education as a whole.
Ten years of success stories have passed then came another crossroad. The decision had to be made if the ZMSF should be integrated into the Ateneo de Zamboanga University system. The ZMSF’s identity meant much to its Board of Trustees, but to continue the vision and mission of the school, it was clear that integration of the medical school into the Ateneo system was the next logical step to take. There was sadness about having to release the Foundation and it was like letting go ten years of investment of time, effort and money. But the medical school can only have a sustainable future if it were integrated into the ADZU system. But the Board of Trustees and Administrators knew what they wanted, they want the vision and mission of the foundation to live on for generations to come.
So the ZMSF after having survived for a decade was eventually absorbed into the Ateneo University system to become the Ateneo de Zamboanga University School of Medicine (AdZU SOM).
Ten years has passed and another decade will be coming soon. The vision and mission of the ZMSF and the AdZU SOM continues to live on.
The challenge of the future is for the institution and its graduates to continually strive for excellence while adopting and remaining relevant to the changing health needs and health patterns of Western Mindanao and beyond.
