Ponce School of Medicine
Coordinates: 17°59′36″N 66°37′11″W / 17.993406°N 66.619778°W
| Ponce School of Medicine & Health Sciences | |
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 Seal of the Ponce School of Medicine |
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| Motto | scientia, lux et Deus (Knowledge, Light and God) |
| Established | 1977 |
| Type | Private |
| Dean | Joxel García, President & Dean |
| Academic staff | 200 |
| Admin. staff | 325 |
| Students | 475 |
| Location | Ponce, Puerto Rico, USA |
| Campus | Urban, 100 acres |
| Colors | Green |
| Website | www.psm.edu |
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Ponce School of Medicine (incorporated as the Ponce Medical School Foundation) is a private medical school located in the city of Ponce in Puerto Rico, U.S. The school is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), and classified as a United States Medical School. The school was inaugurated in 1977.
Ponce School of Medicine holds nationally accredited graduate programs in the disciplines of Medicine, Clinical Psychology, and Biomedical Sciences, and Public Health. Ponce School of Medicine is also distinguished by its strong support of graduate medical education through several consortia agreements in south eastern Puerto Rico.
The current dean of the medical school, Joxel Garcia, is a former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He was appointed as dean of the institution in 2009 .
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[edit] History
In January 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 included a research building, a library, classrooms, a teaching laboratory, and the Gross Anatomy building.
During 1999-2000 academic year, PSM began its Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program (PsyD Program). Graduates from the program are awarded a doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree in Clinical Psychology as authorized by CHE-PR. In August 2002, PSM matriculated 30 students on a CHE-PR authorized Master Program in Public Health (MPH). The program has a length of two consecutive academic years organized in six trimesters.
In April 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Ponce School of Medicine was awarded a $19 million grant to establish Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs) serving Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This investment was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It is expected that this investment helps grow the emerging health information technology (health IT) industry which is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs ranging from nurses and pharmacy techs to IT technicians and trainers (REC Grant Information).[1]
[edit] Licenses and Accreditations
Ponce School of Medicine is accredited, on probation[2], by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). It is also accredited by the Council on Higher Education of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (CHE-PR). In June 1999, PSM was awarded candidacy status by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Higher Education (CHE-MSA).[3]
- Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
- Council on Higher Education of Puerto Rico (CHE-PR)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Board of Medical Examiners of Puerto Rico
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)
- APA American Psychological Association
[edit] Research
In 2002, Ponce School of Medicine established an academic partnership with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. The geographic proximity and large Hispanic populations in Florida and Puerto Rico drove a long-standing effort by the Ponce School of Medicine and the Moffitt Cancer Center to develop the education and research oriented "PSM-Moffitt Partnership". This partnership is based on a cooperative agreement between the Ponce School of Medicine, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and the National Cancer Institute.[4]
[edit] Leadership and Governance
The Ponce School of Medicine is led by Dr.Joxel Garcia, the president and dean of the institution.
[edit] Board of Trustees
Ponce Medical School Foundation, Inc. has been established as a non-profit corporation to operate the Ponce School of Medicine. The Board of Trustees of the Ponce Medical School Foundation, Inc., is the governing body of the PSM. The Board is authorized to exercise all necessary and incidental powers to carry on the purpose for which the Foundation was organized.
President Arturo Valldejuly, BS
Vice-President Lorenzo Dragoni, BSE
Secretary Efraín Vasallo, BSME
Sub-Secretary Vilma E. Colón Acosta, PhD
Treasurer Jorge Martin Jiménez, CPA
Trustee William Rosado, BS, PhD (HC)
Trustee Jeannette Vecchini Lugo, Esq.
Trustee César Hernández Colón, Esq.
Trustee Alberto Torruellas, Esq
Trustee Ramón Torres Morales, B.S.I.E., MS
Trustee Javier Cerra,MD
Trustee Luis Ghigliotti, MD
Trustee Jordi Bofill, BSCE
Ex-Officio Dr. Joxel Garcia, MD, MBA
Trustee Emeritus Charles Cuprill Oppenheimer
[edit] Student organizations
AMSA Chapter
AMA Chapter
Student Council
Student Tutoring Program
Social Medicine & Community Health
Emergency Medicine Interest Group
Surgery Interest Group
Internal Medicine Interest Group
Neurology Interest Group
Pediatrics Interest Group
OB/GYN Interest Group
Mental Health Interest Group
Family Medicine Interest Group
Anesthesiology Interest Group
Ponce Medicine
Oncology interest Group
Radiology Interest Group
Ophthalmology interest Group
[edit] Affiliated Institutions
Ponce School of Medicine is affiliated with several hospitals and health care facilities. The Institution also owns the PSM Outpatient Clinics located in its main campus and administrates various mental health facilities in Mayagüez, Aguadilla and Ponce. The affiliation network provides over 2,000 beds and several ambulatory facilities available for clinical teaching and training.
The following Practicum Sites are also available for the PsyD Program:
- Counseling Center- Colegio Universitario del Este – Carolina
- PSM Centros de Salud Conductual – Aguadilla, Mayagüez
- Federal Correctional Facility – Guaynabo
- Head Start Program – Ponce, Coamo, Juana Díaz
- La Guadalupe Hospice - Ponce
- Nueva Esperanza Center – Ponce
- Sister Isolina Ferre Centers – Ponce
- Sports Medicine Clinic – Salinas
- PSM Outpatient Clinics - Ponce
- Interamerican University of Puerto Rico – San German Campus
[edit] Notable Ponce School of Medicine Alumni
- Joxel Garcia - Admiral Joxel Garcia, USPHS, MD, MBA. Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (Rank above Surgeon General of the United States). Representative of the United States of America on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization.
- Rivka Colen - Harvard Radiologist
- Zulmarie Roig - Harvard Neuroradiologist, Harvard Professor
- Dr. Carlos Lugo - Johns Hopkins Radiologist
- Dr. Bernardo Fernandez - Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cleveland Clinic Florida
- Dr. Jose Ginel Rodriguez - President and Dean of Medicine Universidad Central del Caribe, UCC School of Medicine.
[edit] Notable Ponce School of Medicine Faculty
Department Chairmen
Juan Fernández, PhD Anatomy
José Torres Ruiz, PhD - Chair of the Biochemistry department at Ponce School of Medicine, and author of various books.
Marta Febo, MD Family & Community Medicine - founder of the Standardized Patients simulation center for medical students in Ponce.
Miguel Magraner, MD Internal Medicine (Acting) - Internal Medicine Residency Program Director at Damas Hospital in Ponce, PR.
Nilda Zapata, MD Microbiology - Medical Director at Damas Hospital in Ponce, PR.
Joaquín A. Laboy Torres, MD Obstetrics – Gynecology
Adalberto Mendoza, MD Pathology
Olga Rodríguez, MD Pediatrics
Jaime Matta, PhD Pharmacology - internationally renowned for cancer research studies.
Angel Isidro, MD Physiology
Luis Franco, MD Psychiatry
Aníbal Torres, MD Surgery
Interdepartments Programs
Rafael Iriarte, MD Bioethics & Preventative Medicine - former Alpha Omega Alpha Chancellor.
Ivonne Galarza, MD Introduction to Clinical Medicine
Roberto León, MD Pathophysiology
Inés Hernández, MD Problem – Based Learning
Others:
Manuel Martinez Maldonado, MD - former Ponce School of Medicine President & Dean, former University of Louisville Vice-President.
Gregory Quirk, PhD - world-renowned neuroscientist for developments in Extinction of Fear theory.
[edit] References
- ^ "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Ponce School of Medicine". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/recawardees.html. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
- ^ Directory of Accredited Medical Education Programs October 3, 2011. Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). Retrieved: 2011-10-5.
- ^ AAMC List of Accredited Medical Schools of the U.S. and Canada, http://www.qeeg.npi.ucla.edu/abc/us-medschls.html#PR, Retrieved May 11, 2010
- ^ "Ponce School of Medicine-Moffitt Cancer Center Partnership". Moffitt Cancer Center. http://www.moffitt.org/Site.aspx?spid=1E47B590EC7A46C9A07DAF17FD9ABBB3. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
