(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Monday, 04 November 2024) Easterlies affecting the eastern sections of Luzon and Visayas. 𝗙𝗒π—₯π—˜π—–π—”π—¦π—§ π—ͺπ—˜π—”π—§π—›π—˜π—₯ π—–π—’π—‘π——π—œπ—§π—œπ—’π—‘: Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms. 𝗙𝗒π—₯π—˜π—–π—”π—¦π—§ π—ͺπ—œπ—‘π—— 𝗔𝗑𝗗 π—–π—’π—”π—¦π—§π—”π—Ÿ π—ͺπ—”π—§π—˜π—₯ π—–π—’π—‘π——π—œπ—§π—œπ—’π—‘: Light to Moderate winds coming from Northeast to North will prevail with slight to moderate seas / (0.6 to 2.1 meters).


Monday, 25 March 2024

Caraga unveils 1st school of medicine

By Renelle Escuadro

BUTUAN CITY (PIA) – House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez inaugurated the School of Medicine (SoM) academic building at Caraga State University (CSU) main campus in Butuan City on March 22.

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson J. Prospero E. De Vera III, First District Representative Joboy S. Aquino II, CSU officials led by President Dr. Rolyn C. Daguil, faculty of SoM led by Dr. Teresita Cadiz-Brion, dignitaries, and other key officials of the government witnessed the ceremony that coincided with the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair in Agusan del Norte from March 22 to 23, where the university was selected as the venue.

The facility will pioneer the medical school in the Caraga Region offering a curriculum adaptive on community-based instruction described as innovative, integrated, spiritual, and outcome-based, shifting from traditional approaches to medical education.

According to CHED Chairperson J. Prospero E. De Vera III, the unveiling of the Caraga State University School of Medicine building design is one of the steps to ensure the institutionalization of the Doctor of Medicine Program in CSU. Photo courtesy of CSU.

According to CSU, once the School of Medicine receives the go signal from CHED, they may start to hire faculty members  and accept 50 medical students to pioneer the program for the school year 2024 - 2025.

This milestone will finally put an end to the prolonged agony in the region over the lack of healthcare professionals. With this, Caraganons will no longer spend expensive and tedious travel to other key cities of the country to receive quality healthcare services from caliber medical practitioners.

For Dr. Daguil, “The Caraga State University demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the implementation of its Doctor of Medicine Program through streamlined engagements and series of collaboration activities with stakeholders to bring this journey to fruition.”

A historic signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between CSU and Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) happened at the House of Representatives, Batasan Hills, Quezon City, on Sept. 25, 2023.

On Oct. 10, 2023, CSU and the Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) formalized their collaboration, which designated DRMC as the training hospital for future medical students of CSU's proposed School of Medicine.

As outlined in the MOA, CSU is responsible for the curriculum and instruction of its Doctor of Medicine Program, which encompasses the development of guidelines, policies, manuals, and the establishment of learning objectives, target competencies, and clinical training assessments. DRMC, in return, shall provide the required clinical clerkship, learning, and development to the CSU's future medical students during their clinical clerkship stage and render the necessary individual assessment and evaluation.

The university also formalized a pioneering partnership with the barangay local government unit of Abilan and Gawad Kalinga-Abilan (GK Abilan) through the ceremonial signing of the MOA on Oct. 19, 2023. This signified a collaborative effort to provide essential medical and clinical training for the university's School of Medicine program through community engagement.

CHED Caraga recently deliberated the specifics of the proposed program to ensure that the Doctor of Medicine is aligned with national standards and benchmarks.

Gov. Nilo P. Demerey Jr. of the Province of Dinagat Islands and chairperson of the Caraga Regional Development Council (RDC) visited the school on March 1 and discussed the future direction of the SoM.

The partnership between Caraga State University and Gawad Kalinga Abilan will play a crucial role of highlighting the potential of healthcare accessibility not only in the Caraga Region but also in the underserved areas nearby. Photo courtesy of CSU.

As a way forward, the Caraga RDC Full Council, through Social Development Committee Resolution No. 13, series of 2024, approved the budget requirement for fiscal year 2025 of the SoM academic building of over P349 million, while the construction of the CSU Medical Training Hospital cost another P612,900,000.

Caraga State University is the only state university in the country that has leapfrogged from state universities and colleges (SUC) level 2 to SUC level 4 status. It is the only level 4 SUC in Caraga Region, one of the only five Level 4 SUCs in Mindanao, and the first SUC in the region to have been ISO 9001:2015 certified. It is also one of the 20 level 4SUCs in the Philippines, one of the SUCs in the country that has been granted three QS stars by Quacquarelli Symonds, and the first SUC in the region that received the Recognition for Proficiency in Quality Management (Level II) under the Philippine Quality Award (PQA) assessment cycle.

Soon to be the first medical school in the region, this will set forth as Caraga State University’s response to the challenge of establishing a future-proof academic institution. (RLE/PIA-Caraga)