Manifesting its commitment to enhancing medical education, West Visayas State University, with the support of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), unveiled the WVSU Simulation-Based Education Laboratory Marker at the College of Medicine on August 30, 2024.
ย
CHED Chairman J. Prospero De Vera III and WVSU President Dr. Joselito Villaruz led the activity, which is part of the LAKAS (Leading the Advancement of Knowledge in Agriculture and Sciences) Program. This program focuses on improving educational and training methodologies through advancements in simulation technology.
ย
The program has enabled the university to invest in and procure high-quality manikins and task trainers, which serve as essential tools for simulation-based education.
ย
โIt provides a safe and secure training environment for students and patients before they enter clinical areas or gain actual experience,โ Villaruz said in an interview.
ย
The university president also noted that WVSU has received a grant from CHED amounting to approximately Php86 million for simulation-based education, as well as an additional Php24 million from the Seed Fund Project, also known as the โProgramang Punla para sa Medisina.โ
ย
CHED Chairman De Vera III shared the programโs direction in employing technology in education, slowly adopting it to public universities and selected private schools in the country starting with WVSU.
ย
โWe selected the top medical schools to be the anchor of our use of technology-mediated learning and simulation-based kasi sila yung magaling. I donโt think you will question the competence of West Visayasโฆ sa passing rate pa lang, wala nang debate,โ De Vera said.
ย
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
ย
During the interview, Dr. Villaruz also underscored WVSUโs stride towards implementing the WVSU Expedited Select Track for Medicine or WESTMed program, akin to the accelerated medical program that would allow students to graduate medical school within just seven years which contrasts with the current 9-year program.
ย
The university will implement the program in academic year 2025-2026, expanding its number of enrollees from 120 students to 160. The accepted students will โjoin the program straight from Senior High School.โ
ย
According to Chairman De Vera, the said accelerated program has already been established in other universities and has made successful outcomes, prompting the said program to also be applied in WVSU.
ย
โI think this is a breakthrough in the medical program because we will be able to produce quality doctors faster,โ De Vera said.
ย
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ
ย
In its ongoing effort to modernize instruction, Dr. Villaruz announced that West Visayas State University (WVSU) will be establishing an augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) Laboratory for the College of Medicine. This new facility will allow students to explore procedures such as dissection using virtual reality technology.
ย
Additionally, WVSU has received a four-million peso grant to modernize the communications equipment for the College of Communication in which Dr. Villaruz shared that the administration is settling the โfinal homeโ of the said college.
ย
Dr. Villaruz also highlighted that WVSU is a recipient of the Sustainable Tourism Education Program Upgrading Project (STEP UP) from CHED, which will support the enhancement of equipment for the Hospitality Management program.
ย
Furthermore, he revealed that in the coming years, WVSU will introduce new programs in allied health sciences like Medical Technology and Psychology.
ย
Text by Keven Rizzo Sitjar, PAMCO
Photos by Wina May Dela Cruz, PAMCO
