About us

HISTORY

 

In 1956, three practicing physicians felt an urgent need for a strong and progressive school of medicine in the city of Cebu to provide opportunity to deserving students who would not be able to pursue a medical education elsewhere. This feeling was transformed into an idea that was enthusiastically received and sustained by Dr. Jacinto Velez. In a series of brainstorming meetings among the core group of physicians and Dr. Velez, an organization plan was established and a corporation was formed with the following incorporators: Dr. and Mrs. Jacinto Velez, Dr. Eugenio Alonso, Dr. Benito Antigua, Dr. Uldarico Bacay, Dr. Nicolas Escario, Dr. Renato Espinosa and Dr. Jose Tolentino.

With the need for the new school to be affiliated to a college or a university, an affiliation to the Cebu Institute of Technology was made with the approval of its president, Dr. Nicolas Escario, a friend and classmate of Dr. Velez. Hence, an application for the opening of the future Cebu Institute of Technology, College of Medicine was submitted on January 31, 1957 with the Bureau of Private Education.

After the application, Dr. and Mrs. Jacinto Velez, Dr. Benito Antigua, Dr. UldaricoBacay, and Dr. Renato Espinosa made a concerted effort and worked hard to prepare for its inspection and approval of a permit to open by the school year 1957.Construction for classrooms, laboratories and offices was started at the back of the then Velez Clinic, which was within the hospital complex. Laboratory and library facilities were acquired and cadavers were obtained. Local physicians were recruited for medical faculty and with the help of Dr. Virgilio Ramos, the then dean of UST College of Medicine and former classmate of Dr. Velez; two members of the UST faculty were convinced to migrate to Cebu.Dr. Fernando Santos (Biochemistry) and Dr. Manuel Alvarez (Physiology and Pharmacology) along with their technicians were among the first faculty and staff of the CIT College of Medicine.

On June 5, 1957, permit to offer the first year of the medical course was officially granted. On June 10, 1957, the CIT College of Medicine opened its doors to forty-seven first year students and 1962 graduated its pioneer class of thirty-three (33) graduates in the 5 year curriculum.

In 1966, Velez College was established and the College of Medicine terminated its affiliation with the Cebu Institute of Technology; it was converted into a non-stock, non-profit corporation and became the Cebu Institue of Medicine (CIM), a sister institution of Velez College. From its original beginnings at the back of the Cebu (Velez) General Hospital, then Velez Clinic, the Cebu Institute of Medicine was transferred to and is now housed in a 5-story edifice at the corner of F. Ramos and V. Ranudo Streets.

In school year 1968-69, the school shifted from the 5-year medical curriculum to a 4-year curriculum. Then in school year 1996-97, CIM began to introduce the Problem Based methodology in some of its classes. Finally in school year 2001-02, CIM fully implemented the Problem Based Learning (PBL) curriculum starting with its first year class.

The first graduates of the new curriculum (PBL) performed very well in the Physician Licensure Examinations. In the February and August 2007, and February and August 2008 examinations CIM had 100% board passing with topnotchers, the only medical school with >50 examinees with a 100% board pass rating.

CIM was classified as Level IV (the highest category) by Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports based on the findings of the Commission of Medical Education in 1987. In 1996 Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognized CIM as one of the three Centers of Excellence in Medicine. In September 2001, the Commission on Higher Education granted the institution an Autonomy Status. On December 12, 2015, CIM was accredited by PAASCU as Level 2 for five years until 2016.

Fifty years after its founding in 1957, CIM has maintained its high standards of excellence in medical education as envisioned by its founders.

From its 33 graduates in 1962, CIM has produced 5,530 graduates as of April 2015, around 42 of whom graduated with honors. Some129 of its graduates have placed among the top 10 of the Physicians Licensure Examinations. From 2007 to August 2013, its graduates obtained an over-all passing percentage of 99.59% in the Medical Licensure Examinations making CIM as the top medical school in the country.

The first graduates of the new curriculum (PBL) have performed very well in the Physician Licensure Examinations. In the February and August 2007, and February and August 2008 examinations CIM had 100% board passing with topnotchers, the only medical school with >50 examinees with a 100% board pass rating. Thereafter, its graduates from the PBL curriculum have over the past eight years (2007 to 2015) obtained an over-all passing percentage of 100% and CIM obtained the number one rank among the topnotchers in the Physicians Licensure Examination of August 2013, 2014 and 2015.

CIM was classified as Level IV (the highest category) by Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports based on the findings of the Commission of Medical Education in 1987. In 1996 Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognized CIM as one of the three Centers of Excellence in Medicine. In September 2001, the Commission on Higher Education granted the institution an Autonomy Status. On December 12, 2011, CIM was accredited by PAASCU as Level 2 for five years until 2016.

In 1987, the institution was classified as Level IV, the highest category based on the findings of the then Bureau of Higher Education, Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS-BHE). And in April 1996, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognized CIM as one of the three Center of Excellence for Medicine. In September 2001, CHED granted the institution Autonomy Status and in February 2008, the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines under the standards of the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) granted CIM Level I Accredited Status. Currently the school is PAASCU Level II.