The College of Allied Medical Profession (formerly SAMP) officially opened its doors on 8 November 1962. UP became the 1st University in the country and in Asia to offer a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. It started as a unit of the College of Medicine, but due to lack of space at the College of Medicine and at the main campus in Diliman, the Department of Health (DOH) provided two (2) floors at the rehabilitation wing of the National Orthopedic Hospital (NOH) in Banawe, Q.C. with Dr. Benjamin Tamesis, then Chief of Hospital of NOH, as its first Director. On March 31, 1977, BOR approved the request of SAMP to become an independent academic unit.
Several International organizations provided assistance to support the College in its formative years such as WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, UK Colombo Plan, US Peace Corps in the form of consultants, basic equipment, books, fellowship, scholarships, and others. The 1st B.S. Occupational Therapy and B.S. Physical Therapy curricula were developed by Mrs. Charlotte A. Floro and Mrs. Conchita Abad and Ms. Elizabeth Ahlberg (UN Consultant) and Mr. Robert Jacques (British PT Consultant), respectively. It was approved during the 695th Board of Regents (BOR) meeting on 13 April 1962. Its 1st graduates (17 BSPT and 2 BSOT) in 1965 were mainly nurses from selected regional hospitals.
Thru the years, the 2 programs have undergone curricular evaluation, revisions, and updates to make the course offerings more relevant in addressing the needs of the Filipinos. In January 26, 1978, the Board of Regents approved another degree program – the B.S. Speech Pathology which was developed by Mrs. Rozella de Jesus-Sutadisastra. In 1999, the BOR approved the revision of the BSPT from a 4 year to a 5 year program. Of late, The B.S. Occupational Therapy program was revised and approved by the University Council in April 2009. This new curriculum saw its first enrollees in the first semester of Academic year 2010-2011. This new curriculum is focused on an occupation-based and holistic approach to therapy.
From the 19 enrollees in 1962, the College now admits 110 freshmen enrollees (quota courses) yearly with an average total enrollment of about 450 undergraduate and 20 graduate students. For the past 10 years, the performance rating of the College (school rank) in the PRC licensure examination for OT and PT has been quite consistent in its 1st or 2nd ranking nationwide. Generally the graduates of both programs would be in the top 10 board placers. On 28 April 1988, as part of the UPM Reorganization, the BOR approved the elevation of the School to a College to attain better opportunities and support for its development goals. One such goal was to offer master’s degree programs in OT, PT and SP as well as expand its research and extension services. However, it was only towards the end of the 90’s that the College sat down, conceptualized, mulled over and operationalized its long overdue set of graduate programs – Master of Rehabilitation Science (Speech Pathology), Master of Rehabilitation Science, Master of Clinical Audiology which were approved by the BOR in 1997, 1998, 1999 respectively. More recently, the Master of Physical Therapy program was approved by the BOR on August 27, 2010 and is scheduled for its first run in academic year 2011 – 2012.
After being housed at N.O.H for about nine (9) years, the School moved to the UP-PGH compound by batches, the PT department in 1969 and in 1971 the Administration and the OT department which were housed in 3 Marcos-type pre-fabricated buildings. From PGH, the College moved to the old NEDA compound in Padre Faura and on May 2010, it is now permanently located in its new home at the academic site at the Pedro Gil side.
Our College continues to grow to develop therapists with integrity who embody the University’s tenets of excellence, leadership and service to the country, who are culturally sensitive, globally competitive, resourceful, caring and responsive foremost to the needs of the Filipino people…. and to the rest of the world.
