San Juan Bautista School of Medicine
Encyclopedia
The San Juan Bautista School of Medicine (SJBSOM) is a private
U.S. medical school
, located within the San Juan Bautista Medical Center in Caguas
, Puerto Rico
. It formally opened its doors in 1978.
The school offers a four-year Doctor of Medicine Degree Program
(M.D.) and a local Transitional Year Program. The first two years of the curriculum are Basic Sciences Courses within the school campus and the last two years Clinical Sciences at the hospitals. Mostly, Spanish
is spoken, but medicine is taught in both Spanish and English
. The faculty is composed of experienced medical doctors and professors that integrate knowledge with practice. The school also offers programs in Nursing and Master in Public Health.
. It's a non profit corporation, incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. On June 22 of 1979, it was authorized by the Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico to offer studies pertinent to the M.D. degree. The Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico is the governmental agency with the responsibility to coordinate the efforts related to the higher education in Puerto Rico.
The Institution has continued to develop through the years, and it moved its facilities to the city of Caguas in 1988, one of the most important urban centers in Puerto Rico. Nearly 150,000 people live in this progressive city of Puerto Rico. Caguas is located in the East-Central region of the island, 18 miles (29 km) south of San Juan the Capital City of Puerto Rico. Due to the short distance between Caguas and San Juan, it is accessible to ports and airport facilities, thus permitting the fast movement of people and merchandise. This element facilitates commercial, industrial and tourism expansion activities. The commercial development effect of urban growth during the last twenty years has allowed the construction of shopping centers with modern amenities and installations. Around the periphery of the city, arise modern, recreational, sports and cultural facilities which have been developed in recent years.
On February 1998, the Middle States Association (MSA), granted Candidacy for Accreditation Status to the School. The self-study design was accepted and the School was authorized to start its self-study process in April 2001. Thanks to this Candidacy, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine was certified on November 1998 to participate in the Title IV Program of the Department of Federal Education
, specifically in the Federal Family Education Loan Program
. Through the Puerto Rico Health Reform
, there was the opportunity of buying hospitals from the government. The School of Medicine saw the possibility of growth and presented a proposal to buy Caguas' Regional Hospital, Dr. Eduardo Garrido Morales, and on July 1, 1999 took control over its operations under the name of San Juan Bautista Medical Center. On June 2004, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for the Higher Education Accreditation
. The school is also member of the Board of Medical Examiners of Puerto Rico.
In 2006, the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its Legislative Assembly approved the act that creates the Regional Academic Medical Centers. This act establish that the four medical schools in Puerto Rico will lead and coordinates the health services of a determined area of the island under an environment of health education and the integration of the community in the academic development of the medical students interns and residents. The San Juan Bautista School of Medicine and its hospital the San Juan Bautista Medical Center, is part of these Academic Medical Center, serving the Central Region of Puerto Rico. (Regional Academic Medical Centers of Puerto Rico Act: Act 136 of 2006).
Up to June 2009, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine has graduated more than 1,000 medical doctors that have been integrated successfully to provide health care in Puerto Rico and abroad. Many students have also been able to continue graduate medical education or residencies
in Puerto Rico and in the United States.
in Puerto Rico. She attended a meeting of the Hospital Association of Puerto Rico
about the Universal Health Plan Insurance. A couple of months later, the SJBMC had the Third Year White Coat Ceremony
(Class of 2010) at its facilities.
The San Juan Bautista Medical Center is the principal clinical training facility for third and fourth year students of San Juan Bautista Medical Center who complete clerkships in each of the following disciplines: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, Anesthesiology and Sub specialties. Likewise, many students do clinical electives at this center. In fourth year, students can complete elective cleckships in any hospital of Puerto Rico or the United States. Clinical training at the San Juan Bautista Medical Center brings the student into contact with a patient population drawn from many different socio-economic groups whose health problems represent all categories of medical conditions requiring complex tertiary care to routine and preventive care. It offers possibilities for experience in public practice outreach clinics and rural medicine, through the Community Medicine approach.
and by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America
. The actual hospital departments are: Anesthesiology, Clinical Sciences Associate, Cardiovascular Laboratory, Emergency Medicine, Epidemiology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Internal Medicine, Neonatology, Orthopedic Surgery, Outpatient Service, Pathology, Pediatric and Pediatric Intensive Care, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Radiology, General and Ambulatory Surgery. SJBMC also serves as the main district hospital in the Southeastern part of the island.
(LCME) team visit as a final step in the program accreditation process. As part of the accreditation procedure, a process of reconsideration was held with a final decision of accreditation by the LCME, on June 15, 2007. This made San Juan Bautista the fourth LCME accredited medical school in Puerto Rico. LCME public announcement was: "At its June 5–7, 2007 meeting, the LCME granted accreditation to the medical education program leading to the M.D. degree at the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The decision to grant accreditation will take effect at the beginning of academic year 2007-2008, and apply to all students enrolled in the M.D. program and taking coursework leading to the completion of the M.D. degree at that time."
On October 3, 2011, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
(LCME) withdrew its accreditation
of the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine. It can no longer accept new students via the AMCAS applicaton process and its current fourth year medical students cannot participate in the National Resident Matching Program
(NRMP). On October 12, 2011, the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine filed a federal lawsuit
against the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
, American Medical Association
and the Association of American Medical Colleges
in the District Court of Puerto Rico
. On November 18, 2011, The LCME Appeals Panel affirmed each of the areas of non-compliance originally cited by the LCME. The panel placed the medical education program on probationary status pending the LCME's consideration of the results of a full survey visit to take place as previously scheduled on January 29 - February 1, 2012.
Private university
Private universities are universities not operated by governments, although many receive public subsidies, especially in the form of tax breaks and public student loans and grants. Depending on their location, private universities may be subject to government regulation. Private universities are...
U.S. medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
, located within the San Juan Bautista Medical Center in Caguas
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Caguas , founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey....
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. It formally opened its doors in 1978.
The school offers a four-year Doctor of Medicine Degree Program
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(M.D.) and a local Transitional Year Program. The first two years of the curriculum are Basic Sciences Courses within the school campus and the last two years Clinical Sciences at the hospitals. Mostly, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
is spoken, but medicine is taught in both Spanish and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The faculty is composed of experienced medical doctors and professors that integrate knowledge with practice. The school also offers programs in Nursing and Master in Public Health.
History
The San Juan Bautista School of Medicine (SJBSOM) was founded in 1978 in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. It's a non profit corporation, incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. On June 22 of 1979, it was authorized by the Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico to offer studies pertinent to the M.D. degree. The Council of Higher Education of Puerto Rico is the governmental agency with the responsibility to coordinate the efforts related to the higher education in Puerto Rico.
The Institution has continued to develop through the years, and it moved its facilities to the city of Caguas in 1988, one of the most important urban centers in Puerto Rico. Nearly 150,000 people live in this progressive city of Puerto Rico. Caguas is located in the East-Central region of the island, 18 miles (29 km) south of San Juan the Capital City of Puerto Rico. Due to the short distance between Caguas and San Juan, it is accessible to ports and airport facilities, thus permitting the fast movement of people and merchandise. This element facilitates commercial, industrial and tourism expansion activities. The commercial development effect of urban growth during the last twenty years has allowed the construction of shopping centers with modern amenities and installations. Around the periphery of the city, arise modern, recreational, sports and cultural facilities which have been developed in recent years.
On February 1998, the Middle States Association (MSA), granted Candidacy for Accreditation Status to the School. The self-study design was accepted and the School was authorized to start its self-study process in April 2001. Thanks to this Candidacy, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine was certified on November 1998 to participate in the Title IV Program of the Department of Federal Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, specifically in the Federal Family Education Loan Program
Federal Family Education Loan Program
The Federal Family Education Loan Program was the second largest of the U.S. higher education loan programs . The FFEL was initiated by the Higher Education Act of 1965 and was funded through a public/private partnership administered at the state and local level...
. Through the Puerto Rico Health Reform
Puerto Rico Health Reform
The Puerto Rico Health Reform , locally referred to simply as the Reform is a government-run program which provides medical and healthcare services to indigent and impoverished citizens of Puerto Rico by means of contracting private health insurance companies, as opposed to the traditional system of...
, there was the opportunity of buying hospitals from the government. The School of Medicine saw the possibility of growth and presented a proposal to buy Caguas' Regional Hospital, Dr. Eduardo Garrido Morales, and on July 1, 1999 took control over its operations under the name of San Juan Bautista Medical Center. On June 2004, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for the Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
. The school is also member of the Board of Medical Examiners of Puerto Rico.
In 2006, the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its Legislative Assembly approved the act that creates the Regional Academic Medical Centers. This act establish that the four medical schools in Puerto Rico will lead and coordinates the health services of a determined area of the island under an environment of health education and the integration of the community in the academic development of the medical students interns and residents. The San Juan Bautista School of Medicine and its hospital the San Juan Bautista Medical Center, is part of these Academic Medical Center, serving the Central Region of Puerto Rico. (Regional Academic Medical Centers of Puerto Rico Act: Act 136 of 2006).
Up to June 2009, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine has graduated more than 1,000 medical doctors that have been integrated successfully to provide health care in Puerto Rico and abroad. Many students have also been able to continue graduate medical education or residencies
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in Puerto Rico and in the United States.
Events
On May 31, 2008, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton visited the SBJMC facilities as part of her Presidential primaries campaignHillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
New York junior Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had expressed interest in the 2008 United States presidential election since at least October 2002, drawing media speculation on whether she would become a candidate. No woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the...
in Puerto Rico. She attended a meeting of the Hospital Association of Puerto Rico
American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association is an organization that promotes the quality provision of health care by hospitals and health care networks through such efforts as promoting effective public policy and providing information related to health care and health administration to health care...
about the Universal Health Plan Insurance. A couple of months later, the SJBMC had the Third Year White Coat Ceremony
White coat ceremony
The white coat ceremony is a relatively new ritual in some medical , optometry, dental, chiropractic, occupational therapy, physical therapy, podiatric, pharmacy, physician assistant, and veterinary medical schools that marks the student's transition from the study of preclinical to clinical...
(Class of 2010) at its facilities.
Campus
The School facilities are located on the spacious grounds of the San Juan Bautista Medical Center, previously known as the Dr. Eduardo Garrido Morales Caguas Regional Hospital; between State Highways 52 and 172 in an urban development known as Turabo Gardens. This is a tertiary hospital facility constructed in a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) ground. The 52 acres (210,436.7 m²) hold the Hospital and the School, which houses the administrative offices, the basic sciences dependencies of the medical school; the administrative offices, basic sciences faculty offices, Library/Learning Resources Center, teaching and research laboratories, development clinical skills program infrastructure (e.g. standardized patient), and community-based medicine offices. Also, it provides space for student council organizations as well as meeting room for the students, student lounge, basketball court, recreational areas; and at the medical center, the cafeteria and gymnasium. The experimental surgery and clinical trials facilities are located in an adjacent structure. The SJB library is one of the most complete medical libraries in the Caribbean, and ir offers online resources and a quiet environment for the students to study. The San Juan Bautista Medical Center has approximately 481527 square feet (44,735 m²) of construction, and has 375 approved beds for hospitalization, with the following clinical departments: Emergency Medicine, Radiology, Ob/Gyn, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, Primary Medicine and Clinical and Pathology labs. Primary, secondary and tertiary health care services are provided to the Caguas Health Region which encompasses 13 surrounding towns and cities.The San Juan Bautista Medical Center is the principal clinical training facility for third and fourth year students of San Juan Bautista Medical Center who complete clerkships in each of the following disciplines: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Radiology, Anesthesiology and Sub specialties. Likewise, many students do clinical electives at this center. In fourth year, students can complete elective cleckships in any hospital of Puerto Rico or the United States. Clinical training at the San Juan Bautista Medical Center brings the student into contact with a patient population drawn from many different socio-economic groups whose health problems represent all categories of medical conditions requiring complex tertiary care to routine and preventive care. It offers possibilities for experience in public practice outreach clinics and rural medicine, through the Community Medicine approach.
San Juan Bautista Medical Center
The San Juan Bautista Medical Center (SJBMC) has been part of the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine since 1999. The Institution is recognized for taking the lead in educating primary care physicians, and had demonstrated a strong commitment to the community. The San Juan Bautista Medical Center is accredited by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO). The Hospital is recognized as a non profit organization by the Treasury Department of the Commonwealth of Puerto RicoUnited States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
and by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
. The actual hospital departments are: Anesthesiology, Clinical Sciences Associate, Cardiovascular Laboratory, Emergency Medicine, Epidemiology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Internal Medicine, Neonatology, Orthopedic Surgery, Outpatient Service, Pathology, Pediatric and Pediatric Intensive Care, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Radiology, General and Ambulatory Surgery. SJBMC also serves as the main district hospital in the Southeastern part of the island.
Licenses and Accreditations
- Provisional LCMELiaison Committee on Medical EducationThe Liaison Committee on Medical Education is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME accredits only the schools that grant a doctor of medicine degree; osteopathic medical schools are accredited by the Commission on...
accreditation - Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Council on Higher Education of Puerto RicoCouncil on Higher Education of Puerto RicoThe Council on Higher Education of Puerto Rico is an agency of the government of Puerto Rico in charge of coordinating all efforts related to higher education in Puerto Rico...
(CHE-PR) - Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)
- Board of Medical Examiners of Puerto Rico
LCME accreditation and loss of LCME accreditation
In November 2006, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine received the Liaison Committee on Medical EducationLiaison Committee on Medical Education
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME accredits only the schools that grant a doctor of medicine degree; osteopathic medical schools are accredited by the Commission on...
(LCME) team visit as a final step in the program accreditation process. As part of the accreditation procedure, a process of reconsideration was held with a final decision of accreditation by the LCME, on June 15, 2007. This made San Juan Bautista the fourth LCME accredited medical school in Puerto Rico. LCME public announcement was: "At its June 5–7, 2007 meeting, the LCME granted accreditation to the medical education program leading to the M.D. degree at the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas, Puerto Rico. The decision to grant accreditation will take effect at the beginning of academic year 2007-2008, and apply to all students enrolled in the M.D. program and taking coursework leading to the completion of the M.D. degree at that time."
On October 3, 2011, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
Liaison Committee on Medical Education
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME accredits only the schools that grant a doctor of medicine degree; osteopathic medical schools are accredited by the Commission on...
(LCME) withdrew its accreditation
Accreditation
Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies ; hence they are sometimes known as "accredited...
of the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine. It can no longer accept new students via the AMCAS applicaton process and its current fourth year medical students cannot participate in the National Resident Matching Program
National Resident Matching Program
The National Resident Matching Program is a United States-based non-profit non-governmental organization created in 1952 to help match medical school students with residency programs...
(NRMP). On October 12, 2011, the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine filed a federal lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
Liaison Committee on Medical Education
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education is an accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada. The LCME accredits only the schools that grant a doctor of medicine degree; osteopathic medical schools are accredited by the Commission on...
, American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
and the Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Medical Colleges
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC and established in 1876. It administers the Medical College Admission Test...
in the District Court of Puerto Rico
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The court is based in San Juan. The main building is the Clemente Ruiz Nazario U.S. Courthouse located in the Hato Rey district of San Juan...
. On November 18, 2011, The LCME Appeals Panel affirmed each of the areas of non-compliance originally cited by the LCME. The panel placed the medical education program on probationary status pending the LCME's consideration of the results of a full survey visit to take place as previously scheduled on January 29 - February 1, 2012.
Student organizations
- General Student Council (CGE)
- San Juan Bautista Alumni Association
- Alpha Kappa Pi Fraternity, Dr. Luis Izquierdo Mora Chapter - 2006
- Medicine Student Association of Puerto Rico (AEMPR)
- Medical Student Association for Community Health Improvement (MSACHI)
- American Medical Student AssociationAmerican Medical Student AssociationThe American Medical Student Association , founded in 1950 and based in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. AMSA is a student-governed, national organization...
(AMSA) - American Medical AssociationAmerican Medical AssociationThe American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
- Medical School Section (AMA-MSS) - Christian Medical Students Society
- Emergency Medicine Students Association (EMSA)
- Pediatrics Interest Group (PIG)
- Anesthesiology Interest Group (AIG)
- Plastic Surgery Interest Group (PSIG)
- Student Tutoring Program
- Student Counseling, Orientation & Guidance and School Promotions Committees
- Middle State Commission and LCME Accreditation Student Committee
Notable Faculty Members
- Yocasta Brugal Mena, M.D - (School of Medicine, President) Clinical Pathology, Former Deputy Director of Institute of Forensic Medicine of Puerto Rico
- Edgardo Cartagena, M.D - (Internal Medicine, Department Director, Faculty Director) Pneumology
- Rolance Chavier, M.D - Family Medicine (Puerto Rico Medical Association-AMPR, President)
- Walmor De Mello, M.D, Ph.D - Cardiology and Physiology, Nobel Prize in Medicine nominee, International Mentor of the American Heart Association
- Raul Garcia Rinaldi, M.D - Thoracic Surgery and General Vascular Surgery
- Luis Izquierdo Mora, M.D - Family Medicine, Former Puerto Rico Secretary of Health, Former Senator of Puerto Rico, Doctor of the Year 1983 of the American Academy of Family PhysiciansAmerican Academy of Family PhysiciansThe American Academy of Family Physicians was founded in 1947 to promote the science and art of family medicine. It is one of the largest medical organizations in the United States, with over 100,000 members...
- Luis Mejia Rivera, M.D, Ph.D - Pharmacology and Biochemistry. Pfizer adviser and spokesman.
- Nelson Montanez, M.D, J.D, Ph.D - Hematology-Oncology
- Edwin Rodriguez Cruz, M.D - Interventional Pediatric Cardiology
- Luis Sanchez-Longo, Ph.D - Neuropsychology
- Luis Soltero Harrington, M.D - Cardiothoracic Surgery