Gandhi Medical College

Gandhi Medical college & Hospital

Motto	Thamasoma jyothirgamaya
Type	Tertiary care medical center
Established	1954
Founder	Syed Nizamuddin Ahmed
Principal	Dr. O Shravan Kumar[1]
Location	Secunderabad, Telangana, India
Affiliations	Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences
Website	www.gandhimedicalcollege.ncgg.in

Gandhi Medical College (founded 14 September 1954) is a medical college in Hyderabad, India affiliated with Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences.^[2] The college was originally affiliated to Osmania University.

History

Gandhi Medical College, originally named People's Medical College, was founded on 14 September 1954. It was located at Humayun nagar close to the present-day Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital. It was opened because the original medical college in the area, Osmania Medical College, was unable to keep up with the demands for physicians in the State. Dr. Syed Nizamuddin Ahmed was the first principal and the founder of the college.

Officially it was inaugurated on 25 June 1955 by the first president of India, Rajendra Prasad.

By 1956, the college was in financial trouble, and the government of Hyderabad agreed to take it over and develop it.

In 1958, the college was moved to Basheer bagh. The old building has since been demolished. In 2003, the college moved to its new premises in Musheerabad. The new facility, along with a hospital, was constructed on the area that formerly housed the Musheerabad Jail.^[3][4]

Initially the teaching hospital for the college was an infirmary that opened in 1851 with funds from philanthropists, and was named KEM Hospital in honor of King Edward VII. The hospital was renamed Gandhi Hospital in 1958. At that time nearly all the heads of units were British trained.

From 1954 to 2003, a total of 6090 students were admitted to the MBBS course. The number of students admitted ranged between a minimum of 42 in 1954 to a maximum of 224 in 1968. In 1970, there were no admissions.

In the late 1950s and 1960s, the college and hospital were consolidated.

In the 1970s there was a growth in so-called "super specialties" such as cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery.

Academics

Courses offered by the institute include:

• Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS)
• Bachelors in Physical Therapy (BPT)
• Doctor of Medicine/Master of Surgery (MD/MS)
• Doctor of Medicine/MCh
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) courses in nursing, paramedical and medical specialities

200 students per year are admitted to study for MBBS degrees. There are also 88 postgraduate students admitted per year, including those in clinical, non-clinical and super specialty subjects. Students can earn one of 37 degrees in various branches of medicine. Since 2013 the number of undergraduate seats has been increased from 150 to 200.

Departments of the school include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, forensic medicine, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and community medicine.^[5]

Hospital departments

The GMH is a 1,200-bed facility and each year performs about 80,000 outpatient consultations, 42,000 inpatient admissions, 15,000 minor operations, and 11,000 major operations.^[6]

The hospital is divided into 27 departments:

College emblem

The college's emblem is a serpentine staff, Hamsa, book, two branches with leaves and Sanskrit inscription - 'tamasoma jyotirgamaya' which is part of a prayer for enlightenment from ‘brihat aranyako upanishad’. The meaning of the inscription is ‘lead us from darkness to light’ (tamassu = darkness; jyothi = light). The medical emblem of two snakes intertwined around a staff originates from Greek mythology. The staff of Aesculapius (god of medicine) stands for healing. Ancient Greeks considered the staff as a badge of honor and noblemen carried a staff entwined with garlands or ribbons. The garlands were later interpreted as snakes. The serpent also represents wisdom. Christ adjured his disciples to be as wise as snakes. The staff of Hermes (messenger of the gods) has two snakes entwined around a staff with wings. The staff of Asclepius has a single snake and no wings. Hamsa bird represents purity and the book stands for knowledge. The tree or branches with leaves represents prosperity.

Principals

Gandhi Medical College Global Alliance

In 2005 alumni of GMC living in the United States founded the non-profit corporation Gandhi Medical College Global Alliance (GMCGA).^[7] This organization's goals are both educational and charitable, with a strong emphasis on fostering kinship among alumni living in other countries.^[8]

The accomplishments of GMCGA (sometimes in collaboration with the GMC Alumni Association back in Hyderabad) include construction of an alumni education center, providing study facilities, establishing an American Heart Association accredited cardiac life support training center,^[9] setting up electronic library services, donating needed equipment, youth volunteer programs, a free meal program for patient attendants in a shelter associated with Gandhi Hospital, support of the palliative care program in collaboration with Roshni organization,^[10] and assisting both medical students and faculty by providing student scholarships, gold medals, and teacher recognition awards.^[11]

Ranking

The college was ranked 18th among medical colleges in India in 2017 by Outlook India.^[12]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gandhi Medical College.

• Official website

Coordinates: 17°25′28.46″N 78°30′15.82″E / 17.4245722°N 78.5043944°E / 17.4245722; 78.5043944