Concerned faculty members, alumni, and students of the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERM) have called on the University’s Board of Trustees and alumni community to conduct an independent review of the institution’s leadership and governance, warning that a series of policy decisions has raised concerns over the quality of medical education, faculty morale, and the University’s long-term reputation.

In an open letter addressed to the Board of Trustees and alumni, the stakeholders urged the Board to engage faculty members and students through a meaningful consultative process and determine whether the University’s current leadership and strategic direction remain aligned with its long-term mission.

“We respectfully request that the Board of Trustees undertake an independent review of these concerns, engage directly with faculty and students through a meaningful consultative process, and evaluate whether the university’s current leadership and strategic direction remain aligned with the institution’s long-term mission,” the letter read.

The stakeholders said their concerns “are not based on isolated incidents or temporary disagreements,” but on what they described as “a longstanding pattern of leadership decisions” that has “steadily eroded morale, weakened trust in administration, harmed the university’s reputation, and compromised the quality of medical education and patient care.”

Among the issues raised was the continued increase in medical student admissions despite what the stakeholders described as limitations in faculty manpower, facilities, classroom space, and clinical training opportunities.

According to the letter, the University has increased student enrollment while faculty numbers, classroom space, clinical exposure opportunities, and support personnel “have not expanded proportionately,” resulting in overcrowded learning environments and increasing demands on faculty members.

The stakeholders also expressed concern over changes in hospital services, saying the reduction of ward bed capacity, the removal or merging of wards, and declining admissions to service wards have limited clinical exposure for medical students, clerks, interns, residents, and fellows.

The concerns raised in the open letter were echoed by the UERM Medicine Student Council and several student organizations, which issued a unified statement calling for quality education, transparency in governance, faculty welfare, and institutional stability.

The student leaders said preceptorial groups consisting of more than 10 students are assigned to a single preceptor, “exceeding the 1:10 preceptor-to-student ratio provided in the guidelines of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).”

“This places an increasing burden on our faculty while limiting the quality of supervision, individualized instruction, and timely feedback that are essential to clinical learning,” the statement read.

The student organizations also said that “in ward sessions, three groups of 11 or more members each, share a single patient encounter,” which they said limits opportunities to perform physical examinations, develop clinical reasoning, and practice procedural skills.

“While patient interaction remains a cornerstone of medical education, it should occur in a manner that upholds patient dignity, comfort, and quality of care,” the statement added.

Likewise, student groups expressed concern over what they described as inadequate learning spaces and facilities amid the University’s growing student population.

“The continuous increase in student enrollment has not been matched by a proportional expansion of classrooms, study areas, facilities, and other essential learning spaces,” the statement said.

They added that “institutional investments in facilities and resources must grow in parallel.”

As such, the open letter questioned the University’s governance, with the stakeholders claiming that important institutional decisions are often made with limited consultation and insufficient transparency.

“Universities function best when leadership values collaboration, open dialogue, and the expertise of its academic community,” the letter stated.

“The continued weakening of these principles risks creating an environment in which trust becomes increasingly difficult to maintain.”

Despite the criticisms, the stakeholders said the letter was written “not out of hostility, but by a sincere desire to restore the health of an institution which generations of extraordinary faculty, dedicated staff, committed students, and supportive alumni have helped build.”

“We therefore respectfully urge the Board of Trustees and the alumni community to undertake a thorough review of these concerns, engage meaningfully with stakeholders, and take whatever actions are necessary to safeguard the future of UERM,” the letter stated.

The UERM Medicine Student Council likewise called for “an open and inclusive dialogue that brings together the Administration, the Board of Trustees, Faculty, and all Medical Students,” saying “each of us is a stakeholder of our institution and deserves the opportunity to directly hear, participate in, and contribute to conversations that shape our education.”

The Manila Bulletin sought comment from the UERM Medical Center regarding the concerns raised in the open letter and the student body’s unified statement but had yet to receive a response as of posting.