In January
of 1980 a group of lay and professional leaders in southern Puerto
Rico established the Ponce School of Medicine Foundation, a non-profit
organization, for the purpose of providing continuity to the Medical
Education Program (MD Program), originally developed by the Pontifical
Catholic University of Puerto Rico in 1977.
In July 1980, the
Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico (CHE-PR) authorized
the Foundation to operate the Ponce School of Medicine. In 1981,
the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited the
school to grant the MD degree. The new administration, governed
by a Board of Trustees, successfully handled the change and challenge
and the new free-standing School of Medicine graduated its first
class of 23 students.
In 1983, recognizing
the need to establish a research program, the School applied for
funds under the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program (MBRS)
and the Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program.
The award of both grants permitted the faculty to undertake expanded
research activities.
A Graduate Program
in Biomedical Sciences (PhD Program) was also initiated in 1988,
and in 1992 the Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico (CHE-PR)
accredited the PhD Program and authorized PSM to award a Doctor
of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Biomedical Sciences to those students
who completed program.
A new campus for Ponce
School of Medicine was inaugurated in January 1995. The new facilities
include a research building, a library, classrooms, a teaching
laboratory, and the Gross Anatomy building.
During academic year
1999-2000 PSM implemented the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program
(PsyD Program). The first graduating class will be awarded a
doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree in Clinical Psychology as authorized
by CHE-PR.
Recently (August 2002)
PSM matriculated 30 students on a CHE-PR authorized Master Program
in Public Health (MPH). The program is to be completed in two
consecutive academic years organized on six trimesters.
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