In 1956, three practicing physicians felt an urgent need for a strong and progressive school of medicine in the city of Cebu to provide opportunity to deserving students who would not be able to pursue a medical education elsewhere. This feeling was transformed into an idea that was enthusiastically received and sustained by Dr. Jacinto Velez. In a series of brainstorming meetings among the core group of physicians and Dr. Velez, an organization plan was established and a corporation was formed with the following incorporators: Dr. and Mrs. Jacinto Velez, Dr. Eugenio Alonso, Dr. Benito Antigua, Dr. Uldarico Bacay, Dr. Nicolas Escario, Dr. Renato Espinosa and Dr. Jose Tolentino.
After the application, Dr. and Mrs. Jacinto Velez, Dr. Benito Antigua, Dr. Uldarico Bacay, and Dr. Renato Espinosa made a concerted effort and worked hard to prepare for its inspection and approval of a permit to open by the school year 1957. Construction for classrooms, laboratories and offices was started at the back of the then Velez Clinic, which was within the hospital complex. Laboratory and library facilities were acquired and cadavers were obtained.
Local physicians were recruited for medical faculty and with the help of Dr. Virgilio Ramos, the then dean of UST College of Medicine and former classmate of Dr. Velez; two members of the UST faculty were convinced to migrate to Cebu. Dr. Fernando Santos (Biochemistry) and Dr. Manuel Alvarez (Physiology and Pharmacology) along with their technicians were among the first faculty and staff of the CIT College of Medicine.
On June 5, 1957, permit to offer the first year of the medical course was officially granted. On June 10, 1957, the CIT College of Medicine opened its doors to forty-seven first year students and 1962 graduated its pioneer class of thirty-three (33) graduates in the 5-year curriculum.
In 1966, Velez College was established and the College of Medicine terminated its affiliation with the Cebu Institute of Technology; it was converted into a non-stock, non-profit corporation and became the Cebu Institute of Medicine (CIM), a sister institution of Velez College. From its original beginnings at the back of the Cebu (Velez) General Hospital, then Velez Clinic, the Cebu Institute of Medicine was transferred to and is now housed in a 5-story edifice at the corner of F. Ramos and V. Ranudo Streets.
In school year 1968-69, the school shifted from the 5-year medical curriculum to a 4-year curriculum. Then in school year 1996-97, CIM began to introduce the Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology in some of its classes. Finally in school year 2001-02, CIM fully implemented the PBL curriculum starting with its first year class.
The first graduates of the new curriculum (PBL) performed very well in the Physician Licensure Examinations. In the February and August 2007, and February and August 2008 examinations CIM had 100% board passing with topnotchers, the only medical school with >50 examinees with a 100% board pass rating.
From its 33 graduates in 1962, CIM has produced 5,530 graduates as of April 2015, around 42 of whom graduated with honors. Some 129 of its graduates have placed among the top 10 of the Physicians Licensure Examinations. From 2007 to August 2013, its graduates obtained an over-all passing percentage of 99.59% in the Medical Licensure Examinations making CIM as the top medical school in the country.