In 1952, the Institute of Medicine was born, a medical school manned and staffed by some of the biggest names in the Philippine medicine, each one highly skilled in his line. The high expectations generated then have since been fulfilled dramatically by the top-rated graduates turned out by the Institute.

The Institute of Medicine, in fact, was an idea already conceived as early as the incorporation of the Far Eastern University in 1934. Dr. Nicanor Reyes Sr., founder and first president of FEU, had conceived of an Institute of Medicine in line with his vision of building up FEU, already a pioneer in progressive non-sectarian education, into a school dedicated to help in the nation-building in as many areas of service possible, When the Institute was founded in 1952, it was the realization of another of the dreams of the founder.

The Institute of Medicine was placed directly under a Medical Committee composed of Dr. Lauro H. Panganiban, Chairman, Dr. Aureo F. Gutierrez and Dr. Ricardo L. Alfonso, members. In 1952, Dr. Panganiban was named Dean of the Institute, Dr. Gutierrez, Director of the FEU Medical Clinic and Dr. Alfonso, Director of the Far Eastern University Hospital. To formulate policies and to supervise the operation of the university hospital, a Hospital Committee was created with Dean Lauro Panganiban as Chairman and the following as members: President Teodoro Evangelista of the Far Eastern University, Executive Vice President Nicanor Reyes Jr., Don Angel Palanca, Mr. Hector del Rosario and Dr. Ricardo Alfonso.

In 1956, the internship program for the first graduating class of the Institute was started. In March, 1957, the class was graduated by the Institute, making the Institute of Medicine a full-fledged medical school. Since then its graduates have topped or placed in the top ten positions of the government medical board examination, Remarkable too, has been the consistency of the high passing average they have logged in the government tests. Capping these successes, graduates of the Foundation have worked their way to important staff, research and teaching positions, not only in the Institute itself, but in other medical establishment in the country and abroad.

In 1960, the Institute started another branch of training in medical science when it admitted the first batch of students in the new Medical Technology course. Thus, in March 1963, the Institute turned out the first medical technology graduates after an intensive 12 months in-service training as intems in the laboratories of the FEU Hospital and other recognized training hospital in Manila.

The seventh day of August, 1970, marks a milestone in the history of the Institute of Medicine of the Far Eastern University. Aware of modem trends in medical education, the Board of Trustees, Far Eastern University, upon ratification by its stockholders, announced the conversion of the Institute of Medicine, the School of Medical Technology under it, the Hospital and the Student Health Service into a non-stock non-profit educational foundation, now known as the Far Eastern University-Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation. This act realizes and fulfills the hopes and objectives of years of negotiations and planning: The Medical School and Hospital, severing its ties with the corporate body of the Far Eastern University, now stands as an independent institution with its own board under the chairmanship of Dr. Nicanor Reyes Jr. concerned solely with the dispensing of its educational duties. As a result during this transition period, the Medical Foundation has to stand on its own activities and generates its own funds by way of soliciting grants, donations and endowments particularly from the alumni. About the same year, the 4-year curriculum has been implemented. So that in 1973, both under the old and the new curricula, there was a combined graduation.

In 1982, the Medical Foundation acquired its own physical plants for its medical school and hospital. It purchased the hospital building it was renting and two school buildings adjacent to it from Far Eastern University and renovated them to satisfy the needs of a modern medical institution of learning. On June 14, 1983, the medical school opened its classes at the start of the new academic year in its own new facility. In 1996, the Institute accepted about 120 Physical therapy students in the third year. Now, the Foundation is again in the stage of planning for the relocation of the Foundation in its new property at Fairview, Quezon City.

The Institute of Medicine is committed to the maintenance of the highest academic standards possible. Only competent medical educators are appointed to its faculty. Most faculty members, especially in the basic sciences, are fulltime professors, to insure undivided loyalty and devotion to the Institute and its student body, All medical students are encouraged to take advantage of all the facilities and opportunities afforded them for their self-advancement.

Instruction Is so arranged that there is close correlation in the subject matter presented to the students by the various departments of instruction. Lectures are ordinarily handled by the professorial staff. Known national medical educators are invited for special topics that are relevant and of interest to the students and faculty. There is continuous faculty training and development to keep up with new medical developments.

There is continuous evaluation of the curriculum to make it more relevant with the goals of the nation for medical care. For closer correlation between lecture and laboratory classes, lecturers exercise supervision over the laboratory experiments. In every laboratory class, at least one instructor is assigned to every 20-25 students, and for purposes of clinical instructions, one faculty member is assigned to each of five to fifteen students.

Students are encouraged to grow intellectually largely through their own efforts. At all times, however, they have available faculty members for counselling and guidance. Students who fall to cope with the standards of the Institute are asked to withdraw.

The Institute of Medicine is under the administrative responsibility of the Dean, assisted by the Assistant Dean. It has thirteen departments of instruction as follows:

• Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition
• Department of Child Health
• Department of Community and Family Medicine
• Department of Human Structural Biology
• Department of Medicine
• Department of Microbiology and Parasitology
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Department of Ophthalmology
• Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
• Department of Pathology and Laboratory Diagnosis
• Department of Pharmacology
• Department of Physiology
• Department of Surgery

Each department has a chairman. The chairman of the clinical department is also the chairman of corresponding services in the FEU-NRMF Hospital. The chairman of the Department of Community and Family Medicine is also chairman of Department of Community and Family Medicine of the hospital.

The members of the teaching staff in the department supervise the conduct of laboratory experiments, while in the clinical departments, they give bedside conferences during the students’ ward work.

The academic year in all departments consists of two semesters except in the second year, which is 12 months. Normally the first semester lasts from the first week of June to the first half of October, while the second semester starts in November and ends in March the following year.

Each semester consists of 18 weeks of normal classroom instructions and examinations, as prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education.

Classes in the Institute are held Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and then from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Students of the senior classes spend their clinical clerkship in the hospitals where they are assigned every day from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and then from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and also they rotate on 24-hour duty.

Since school year, 1972-1973, clinical clerkship is a fulltime clinical experience. And from school year, 1973-1974, internship is no longer required for the awarding of the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

The standard system of rating college student performance is as follows:

• 1.00……..95 – 100%)-.Excellent
• 1.25………92 – 94% )
• 1.50………90 – 91% )-.Very Good
• 1.75………88 – 89% )
• 2.00………85 – 87% )-.Good
• 2.25………82 – 84% )
• 2.75………78 – 79% )-.Satisfactory
• 3.00………75 – 77% )-.Lowest Passing
• 5.00 ……Below 75%)-.Failure

The different departments may devise their onvn evaluation system, depending on the competencies required. However, the reporting of grades are uniform, with 75% or 3.0 as the lowest passing mark.

The Institute of Medicine is housed in the five-story building adjacent to the FEU-NRMF Hospital.

The Department of Community and Family Medicine is on the lower ground. The Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Diagnosis are located in the upper ground. The Department of Pharmacology, Department of Microbiology and Parasiltology, and Department of Physiology are all on the second floor. For microscope during each period. Fifty sets of over 100 different parasitology slides are available for the use of the students. The departments exensively use projection slides, microscopic slides, ovehead transparencies and movie projections for instructions. The human Structural Biology, Parasitology and Pathology laboratories are equipped with TV monitors for viewing demonstrations and VHS tapes. Animal experiments provide part of the work in experimental pathology, pharmacology and microbiology. For the laboratory work, each instructors supervises not more than 25 students.

The Physiology laboratory is equipped with low voltage circuits, time circuits and compressed air and gas connection for each table. Physiology apparatus like polygraphs are issued to groups of 14 to 18 students in large animal experiments. Special equipments, like the audiometer polygraph, electrocardiograph, the flouroscope and moving pictures of experiments, are available for instruction of the students.

The Biomedical laboratory is equipped with spectroscope, polariscopes, pH meter, centrifuges, chromatographic and electrophoretic apparatus, besides the complete assortment of the usual chemical apparatus. In addition, a refrigerated semi-ultracentrifuge and other modern and state of the art equipments are available for research work of the department.

The offices and laboratories of the Department of Human Structural Biology are located on the fourth floor. Compound, Binocular microscopes and microsections are provided to students for their work in Microscopic HSB. Research and Diagnostic binocular microscopes are available for advance works; Cadavers, models, ad charts are used in Gross HSB. Gross specimens of brain and models are used in neuro-anatomy.

The FEU-NRMF Hospital is the main teaching hospital. Its construction ws supervised by specialist in hospital administration. It is modern in every respect, including the most recent innovations in hospital construction, with the biggest consideration during its planning given to the incorporation of facilities for teaching. The hospital laboratory is now situated in a bigger and more modern area in the upper ground floor of the Hospital. The different clinical departments have their own offices and conference room in the Hospital. All of these changes and improvements were accomplished to cope with the increasing number of patients seeking admission and dispensary services in the hospital.

The entire hospital is organized and conducted primarily for teaching purposes. Service patients are cared for and treated without any, or with only nominal fees. They are provided with same facilities as paying patients, a policy which has earned for the hospital the appelation: “Hospital With A Heart.”

Library, Cybermed, airconditioned classroom and laboratories, Ricardo Alfonso Multi-purpose Hall, Guidance and medical council offices, chapel, canteen, security office, medical and dental clinics and car park.