Introduction:

The quality certification of postgraduate programs constitutes a cardinal issue within the strategic axes of higher education domestically and worldwide.

Objective:

To describe the advantages of the quality certification of the programs of the postgraduate specialties, taking as an example the Internal Medicine in Santiago de Cuba.

Methods:

A pedagogical research was developed with a mixed approach on said subject, according to the current subsystem, ranked by the National Certification Board. For the external evaluation process, we considered the 35th and 36th editions of the 2014-2019 five-year period in Internal Medicine plus, the 37th, 38th and 39th editions in progress. A meticulous systematization of processes, socialization of experiences of self-evaluation and external evaluation was carried out, as well as a historical reflection on the transcendence and essential conceptual aspects of the specialty.

Results:

The strengths and fundamental impacts achieved in each variable of the quality standard were shown, which demonstrated recognized institutional prestige of the program, academic efficiency in the execution, notable visibility of the faculty, distinguished management in the didactic and technological assurance, excellent theoretical foundation and methodological curriculum together with solid tradition of both work settings.

Conclusions:

It is a useful proposal of fundamental organizational and management procedures, which is urgent to generalize for the continuous improvement of postgraduate education, together with the demonstrated university social responsibility and to ensure that the quality indicators in the range of excellence are sustainable.

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