Education expert, medical doctor and award-winning writer will oversee curriculum development, program accreditation and community outreach activities
New York, New York. Dr. Joseph Balatbat, fondly referred to by his peers as Dr. J, has joined the Swedish Institute, College of Health Sciences, in New York, New York, as the director of education, with more than 15 years of experience in proprietary school supervision.
Balatbat is a pediatrician by profession. He completed a Bachelor of Science in medical technology and a doctor of medicine with high honors from the University of Santo Tomas Philippines. He completed his residency training at St. Luke’s Medical Center NYC and became the chief resident during his last year of residency.
True to his commitment in anything that he is working on, Balatbat took and passed certification examinations in medical assisting (and phlebotomy technology) with the goal of understanding the programs being offered by the Swedish Institute–its focus, direction, and standards. He has worked as a subject matter expert regarding curriculum development, test preparation, and book review. Balatbat has earned many writing awards in the technical writing category from the American Medical Technologists (AMT).
As an academic leader, Balatbat oversees curriculum development and implementation, program accreditation, initiative retention strategies and engages students to participate in community outreach and service-learning activities. He is passionate about faculty growth and professional development.
Balatbat firmly believes in giving back through community service by volunteering time at food shelters, and by engaging students and faculty to embrace service–learning as part of the student experience. His undying support in research, raising awareness, funding campaigns, and finding a cure for Type I-juvenile (autoimmune) diabetes is immensely important to Balabat. He has been a staunch advocate in this cause for more than 10 years.
About The Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences
The Swedish Institute’s company vision is to be recognized as a premier multispecialty allied health educational institution, using its 100-year tradition of excellence in the education of massage therapists to inform education and training in diverse areas of allied health education and practice. Its students will benefit from health care programs that are based on a holistic and integrative approach to health and wellness and yet meet or exceed the rigorous requirements of programmatic accreditation, including high graduate pass rates on licensure and certification exams. Faculty and staff will shape an inclusive learning environment where students experience the best in teaching practices and the support and guidance needed to succeed in the classroom and on the job.
The past 15 years have seen the institute grow from a well-known school of massage therapy offering a 692 clock-hour certificate program into a multi-purpose institution with authority from the New York State Education Department to grant degrees at the associate, baccalaureate and master’s levels. The college continues to offer its long-standing program in massage therapy and has since added degree programs in advanced personal training, medical assistant and surgical technologist, and an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in nursing.