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.
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.
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.
“It provides a safe and secure training environment for students and patients before they enter clinical areas or gain actual experience,” Villaruz said in an interview.
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 “Programang Punla para sa Medisina.”
CHED Chairman De Vera III shared the program’s direction in employing technology in education, slowly adopting it to public universities and selected private schools in the country starting with WVSU.
“We selected the top medical schools to be the anchor of our use of technology-mediated learning and simulation-based kasi sila yung magaling. I don’t think you will question the competence of West Visayas… sa passing rate pa lang, wala nang debate,” De Vera said.
During the interview, Dr. Villaruz also underscored WVSU’s 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.
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 “join the program straight from Senior High School.”
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.
“I think this is a breakthrough in the medical program because we will be able to produce quality doctors faster,” De Vera said.
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬
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.
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 “final home” of the said college.
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.
Furthermore, he revealed that in the coming years, WVSU will introduce new programs in allied health sciences like Medical Technology and Psychology.
Text by Keven Rizzo Sitjar, PAMCO
Photos by Wina May Dela Cruz, PAMCO
