| Universidad de Ciencias Medicas (UCIMED) | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Excelencia Académica por Tradición |
| Established | 1979 |
| Type | Private Medical Sciences School |
| Location | San José, Costa Rica |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | http://www.ucimed.com |
Universidad de Ciencias Medicas (UCIMED) is a non profit medical school located in San José, Costa Rica. The school is known for teaching medicine and is recognized in the field nationally.[1] UCIMED was originally founded in 1976 by surgeon and investigator Dr. Andres Vesalio Guzman Calleja by the name of Escuela Autónoma de Ciencias Médicas. In 1999 the medical school decided to become independent and thus changed its name to UCIMED. Three years after its name change in March 2003 the National System of Accreditation for Superior Education (SINAES) accredited the university for its teaching in medicine.[2]
In 1998 UCIMED introduced pharmacology as a major.[1]
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Medicine, Pharmacy, Nutrition and Physiotherapy at UCIMED are all five-year programs. Those programs are semester based and classes are taught in Spanish. During the first five semesters students get a bachelor's degree. During the fifth semester students start their internship (medicine) at hospitals from Costa Rican Department of Social Security such as the Hospital San Juan de Dios and Hospital Mexico. After finishing the eleventh semester students obtain a degree.
In March 2003 the National System of Accreditation for Superior Education (SINAES), whis is an state institution whose mission is to promote the progress in universities standards, granted the accreditation to UCIMED medicine career program. The Pharmachology career also has this accreditation. [2] This turned UCIMED into the second university with an accredited career in medicine, after the Universidad de Costa Rica. The Pharmacy program was granted this accreditation as well. This accreditation assures that studies have international standards.
The university is also part of the World Directory of Medical Schools from the World Health Organization
The university requires foreign and national students to do an admission test to enter the university. Students whose grades achieve the university's standards are granted an interview with the dean of Medicine to assess their motivation. Costa Rican students must present their high school diploma and grades.[1]
Recently UCIMED successfully signed an agreement with Kaplan, Inc. to prepare medical students for the USMLE and the Costa Rican state exam. This also provides students with Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certicate.