The University of Panama, acting in its capacity as a member of Council of Directors of 24th of December Regional Teaching Hospital, Through the office of the Vice-rectorate for Research and Post Graduate study, decided at the end of the year 2011 to collaborate in the formation of a Strategic Teaching and Research Plan for first teaching hospital created under the Laws of the Republic.

The coordinators and representatives of the 13 existing care services and the more than 35 health staff members of hospital, including its principal authorities, participated actively in the health education planning experience, which was developed during the year 2012.

This article presents the results of that experience and the main components of the Strategic Teaching and Research Plan for the period 2013-2016, Which was formulated according to the explanatory and normative standards of the focus on the Strategic Situational Planning. This describes the institutional origin and contex of the process, shows in detail the situational analyses undertaken with regard to theteaching and the research, shows the proposals wich arose in order to fully asume the extensión and internationalization functions requered in moderm teaching hospitals.

The Strategic Teaching and Research Plan whose components are outlined in this article incudes a consensual Vision and a group of Objetives for the periodand a body of actions consisting of operations, requirements for operations, and some magnitudes of results in order to verify progress and estimate compliance. This is a proposal for planned action by an Institution which this date continues to need planned development and institutional consolidation.