 In 1786 he was appointed surgeon-major of the military hospital of San Juan de Dios in Mexico City, then the capital of New Spain.After the merger of this hospital with that of San Andres in 1790, Balmis become director of venereal disease ward.In recognition of his work he was admitted to the Real Academia Médica Matritense (the predecessor to the Royal Academy of Medicine) and received his bachelor of arts from the University of Mexico.