Specialist medical education at the Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University (UNDIP) / Dr. Kariadi General Hospital, Semarang, began long ago. At that time, education was still based on internships with a qualified specialist or under a professor. Prior to 1970, several specialist doctors had been produced, including a surgeon in 1963, a neurologist in 1967, an internal medicine specialist in 1968, an obstetrician in 1969, and others.
Since 1970, specialist medical education has become more structured, both in terms of program admissions and its curriculum. The curriculum is regulated by the Head of the Department, who is directly connected to the Central Association of Specialist Medical Doctors.
In 1978, the Ministry of Health felt the need to staff all district hospitals with specialist doctors. However, the number of specialist doctors trained at that time was still low, necessitating efforts to increase the number.
Therefore, the Ministers of Health, Education and Culture, and Home Affairs issued a joint decree regulating the procurement and distribution of specialist doctors in Indonesia, specifically to meet the need for four basic specialist doctors at Level II Regional Hospitals. Based on Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 024/DJ/KEP/1979, Specialist Medical Education, previously handled by Professional Organizations, became the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Between 1979 and 1980, joint meetings were held between the Deans of State Medical Faculties, the Director General of Higher Education, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, the Directors of Hospitals, and the Health Sciences Consortium to consolidate specialist medical education.
Diponegoro University was appointed by the Minister of Education and Culture as the organizer of the Specialist Medical Education Program. Therefore, the Rector issued Decree No. 144/SK/PT.09/1980 concerning the Establishment of the Specialist Medical Education School. The Decree included, among other things:

1. Establishing the Specialist Medical Education School.
2. Delegating the authority to administer Specialist Medical Education to the Coordination Team for the Implementation of the Specialist Medical Education Program through the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University.
3. Appointing the personnel of the PPDS Secretariat, the Head of Study Program, and the Secretary of Study Program.
4. Includes 15 study programs:
   1. Surgery Program
   2. Internal Medicine Program
   3. Pediatrics Program
   4. Obstetrics & Gynecology Program
   5. Psychiatry Program
   6. Ophthalmology Program
   7. Dermatology & Venereology Program
   8. Ear, Nose, Throat, and Head and Neck Surgery Program
   9. Radiology Program
   10. Anesthesiology Program
   11. Forensic Medicine Program
   12. Neurology
   13. Anatomical Pathology
   14. Clinical Pathology
   15. Medical Rehabilitation

The Rehabilitation Specialist program is a follow-up to the Medical Rehabilitation Services Program at the General Hospital, pioneered by Dr. Soetomo General Hospital. Kariadi Semarang became the site of a Ministry of Health-WHO pilot project called the Preventive Rehabilitation Unit (PRU) in 1973.
Due to the success of this pilot project, the Ministry of Health decided to provide Medical Rehabilitation Services in all public hospitals in Indonesia. This raised the issue of who would be authorized to lead the Medical Rehabilitation Unit.
The Ministry of National Education responded by issuing a decree designating the Faculty of Medicine (FK) of Diponegoro University (UNDIP) in Semarang, the Faculty of Medicine (FK) of the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta, and the Faculty of Medicine (FK) of Airlangga University (UNAIR) in Surabaya as the centers for medical rehabilitation specialist education to meet the Ministry of Health’s needs. This was stipulated in the Higher Education Decree No. 100 dated May 2, 1987. 16/DIKTI/Kep/1987, which was notified by the Vice Rector I to the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Diponegoro (FK-UNDIP) on June 9, 1987. As of the writing of this book, at the end of 2014, the Faculty of Medicine, …