The Community Medicine department has the unique distinction of being the only department that takes a medical student to the community.
We orient our students towards the health problems of the rural & urban poor; we give them the first-hand experience of the way people live & survive in urban slums; we show them how & why diseases thrive in families; we make them do innovative interventions through PSBH (problem-solving for Better Health) projects; we make them understand the national health programmes; we teach them epidemiology of diseases and how to prevent them at primary, secondary and tertiary levels; we teach them the importance of low tech interventions like safe water, sanitary latrine, pollution-free air in preventing millions of lives; we also teach them to practice as well as preach the judicious lifestyle practices like regular exercise, Yoga &pranayama, avoid smoking & drinking, proper diet etc.
The Community Medicine department has the unique distinction of being the only department that takes a medical student to the community.
In short, we try to make them five-star doctors (Care Giver, Decision Maker, Communicator, Community Leader and Manager).
To do all this work we have very dedicated & committed staff; good infrastructure, well-equipped community outreach centres (Health Centres), as well as wonderful support from our principal & management.
The primary objective of the Department of Community Medicine is to train the Undergraduate Medical students as Primary Health Care Physicians so that, by the end of the training, they should be able to:–
1. Perform early diagnosis and treatment (using essential drugs) for the locally endemic health problems in the community.
2. Provide health education (including counselling) to all the patients who are treated by them.
3. Provide preventive and promotive health care to the most vulnerable sections of the society, for example – children under five years of age, children in urban slums, pregnant women, adolescent girls and elderly persons.
4. Take active participation in the National Health Programmes even if they choose to be a private practitioner.
5. Use their knowledge of infectious disease epidemiology in preventing the spread of disease from person to person within the family and from person to in the community. 6. Use their knowledge of general epidemiology in planning and conducting community-based research of good quality.
7. Provide preventive, promotive and curative health care to the workers in various occupations (Occupational Health).
8. Play the role of a friend, philosopher and guide to every individual (be it a patient or a community member) so that, whosoever comes in contact is motivated to bring a health-promoting change in the lifestyle.
The department has highly qualified and able faculty to impart academic training to undergraduates as well as postgraduates. We have faculty members who are qualified and well trained in various areas of academics and research.
Facilities
a. UG Laboratory
The laboratory for undergraduate students is in an area of 200 sq. meters with sitting capacity of 75 students at a time.
b. Post graduate and Research Laboratory
The department has a research laboratory in post graduate wing, here water testing facility is available in which water can be tested for total Hardness, calcium ,fluoride, chloride level, pH, and alkalinity etc. Milk testing facility for presence of common adulterants in milk like urea, salt, sugar, starch etc is also available. Chlorine demand of a given water sample can also be estimated in the research lab by Horrock’s apparatus.
c. Library
The department has a spacious library with more than 677 books of community Medicine & allied subjects and 640 journals. Thedepartment has a regular subscription of journals. Our department also use CDs and video cassettes app. 80 in no. for teaching students.
d. Museum
The department has a rich museum with 64 specimen of nutrition related items, 19 specimens of vaccine and cold chain, 19 specimen of family planning & RCH related, 13 specimen of occupational health protective equipment, 72 slides related to entomology and microbiology. All these specimens are used to teach and demonstrate under graduate as well as post graduate students during their museum study and demonstration periods. Beside these specimens we also have app. 150 charts related to nutrition, epidemiology, national health programme, substance abuse, AYUSH etc.
We also have app. 32 models showing different communicable diseases and environment models and equipment. Catalogues are also available for smooth study.
e. Rural & urban health & training centres
Gallery
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Achievements
1. MD community medicine was started in the department from session 2009-2010.
2. Department participated in a project” Validation Of Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) For Detecting Severe Acute Mal Nutrition Utilizing Weight For Height Z Score Below -3 SD As Gold Standard In Children Aged 6-59 Months” in collaboration with AIIMS, new Delhi from year 2012-2014.
3. PhD in community medicine started in year 2011-12&in community health nursing was started from year 2015-16.
CMEs/Conferences
1. Workshop on” Special Health Care Needs of Elderly” On 18th May 2008 funded by ICMR.
2. workshop on “Animal Bite Management and Rabies Prevention”, on 13th Nov 2010
3. XIV annual conference of IAPSM state chapter of UP/UK on “Role Of AYUSH In Health Promotion & Disease Prevention: Public Health Prospective”, on14-15th Oct 2011
4. Hands on workshop on “Qualitative Research Methodology” on 7th Sep 2013
5. Workshop on “Critical Appraisal of Published Medical Evidence: Reading Between the Lines” on 16/10/2014
6. Symposium on “Recent Updates In Life Style Factors For Preventing NCD”s, on 01/08/2015
7. workshop on “Role of Mental Well Being in Preventing NCDs” on 23/06/2018
8. Workshop On “Interpreting the Medical Statistics in Clinical and Public Health Decision Making” on 11/01/20
9. CME on “Role of Yoga in Covid Time” on 7th August 2021 by Padam Shri Dr S.C. Manchanda (Ex HOD, Cardiology. AIIMS, Delhi)