Community Medicine

The Department of Community Medicine at our university is dedicated to advancing public health through comprehensive education, research and community engagement. Our focus encompasses the promotion of health, prevention of diseases, and the provision of holistic medical care that integrates preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative services.

Vision

To be a leader in community health by fostering well-being, preventing diseases, and promoting equitable healthcare access for all.

Our Mission

• Delivering diverse, interdisciplinary education through the recent, competency-driven curriculum, preparing students to serve as proficient community and primary-care physicians who provide holistic and continuous healthcare.
• Facilitating student engagement in public health research, fostering collaboration and effective dissemination of findings.
• Encouraging awareness and responsiveness to evolving health landscapes, socio-cultural influences, behavioural factors, and environmental determinants while delivering patient care.
• Developing essential competencies that enable students to work as collaborative team members, effective health advocates, and agents of social transformation.
• Cultivating and strengthening future public health leaders by fostering an inclusive, nurturing academic environment that enhances the healthcare workforce.

Undergraduate Teaching

The teaching of Community Medicine starts from the first professional year and continues until the third professional year. It is not limited to classroom instruction; students are actively engaged in rural and urban health training centres, where they participate in community health problem-solving. The curriculum includes:

• Field Postings: Students are posted in Rural Health Training Centres (RHTC) and Urban Health Training Centres (UHTC), engaging with rural field practice areas and urban slums to address community health issues.
• Family adoption program: Students have adopted villages and provide continued care for betterment of health of the community.
• National Health Programmes Participation: Active involvement in immunization programmes and other national health initiatives both within the institution and in community settings.
• School Health Programmes and Health Surveys: Conducting health assessments in primary schools and community health surveys to gather data and implement health interventions.

Interns receive training in rural, urban field practice areas and taluka and district hospitals for three months, focusing on public health and social medicine.

Postgraduate Teaching

The postgraduate program aims to create specialists who provide high-quality healthcare and advance the field through research and training. The objectives include:

1. Recognizing the importance of the specialty in the context of community health needs and national health priorities.
2. Practicing the specialty ethically, aligned with primary health care principles.
3. Demonstrating a thorough understanding of basic sciences relevant to the specialty.
4. Identifying social, economic, environmental, biological, and emotional determinants of health in patient management.
5. Demonstrating skills in documentation, empathy, and humane approaches toward patients and their families.
6. Playing an active role in implementing national health programs effectively and responsibly.
7. Organizing and supervising health care services, demonstrating adequate managerial skills.
8. Developing skills as self-directed learners, recognizing continuing education needs, and selecting appropriate learning resources.
9. Demonstrating competence in research methodology and epidemiology, and critically analysing relevant published research literature.
10. Developing skills in using educational methods and techniques applicable to teaching medical/nursing students, general physicians, and paramedical health workers.
11. Functioning as effective leaders of health teams engaged in healthcare, research, or training.

Activities

The department actively engages in various activities to enhance learning and community health:

• Research: Faculty and students are encouraged and guided to conduct regular research activities, contributing to the advancement of public health knowledge.
• Seminars and Workshops: Regularly organized to discuss current public health issues, research findings, and innovative health strategies.
• Community Outreach: Conducting health camps, school health surveys, IEC Activities and outreach immunization programs to serve the community and provide practical learning experiences for students.
• Collaborations: Working with various health departments and organizations to implement health programs and policies effectively.

Through these comprehensive educational programs and activities, the Department of Community Medicine strives to equip future healthcare professionals with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to improve and sustain the health of populations.