upright=1.1, AFMC main building The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) is a leading

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

training institute in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, India, in the state of Maharashtra. The college is managed by the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

. Established in May 1948 as a post-graduate teaching institution after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

on the recommendation of the BC Roy Committee, remnants of various

Indian Army Medical Corps The Indian Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the Indian Army which primarily provides medical services to all Army personnel, serving and veterans, along with their families. Early history Very little is known of the medical organisatio ...

units were amalgamated to create the Armed Forces Medical Services. The AFMC undergraduate wing was established on 4 August 1962, which is also celebrated annually as AFMC Day by its alumni. The institution primarily imparts training to medical undergraduates and postgraduates, dental postgraduates, nursing cadets and paramedical staff. Patient care forms an integral part of its training curriculum and the attached hospitals benefits from the expertise available at AFMC. The institution is responsible for providing the entire pool of specialists and super specialists to the Armed Forces. The college is also involved in conducting research in various medical subjects as well as those aspects which would affect the morale and performance of the Armed Forces both in war and peace.

History

Armed Forces Medical College Pune 2012 stamp of India

The facility was originally Set up in 1944 by Lt. Colonel Darshan Singh Vohra to provide artificial limb, appliances and deliver rehabilitative care to the gallant soldiers of the Indian Army, who lost their limbs in combat. Post independence the AFMC was expanded further in 1948 in the immediate post-world war period. On the recommendations of the BC Roy Committee, remnants of the Indian Army Medical Corps units were amalgamated into one unit to create the Armed Forces Medical College. Over the past 50 years, it has grown in its functions. The "Graduate Wing" of AFMC was established on 4 August 1962. The aim of starting this wing was to increase the intake of medical graduates into the Armed Forces. The graduate wing was affiliated to the

University of Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

until 1999 but presently affiliated to the

Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) is a higher education institution in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. History The university was established on 3 June 1998 by the state overnment of Maharashtrathrough an ordinance. The State Legisl ...

. The college is recognised by the

Medical Council of India The Medical Council of India (MCI) was a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India until its dissolution on 25 September 2020 when it was replaced by National Medical Commission. The Council grante ...

for conducting a five-year and six-month teaching programme leading to MBBS degree. The first batch passed out in Oct 1966. It also conducts post graduate courses in many disciplines. One of the first plastic surgery departments in India was established at the college in the early 1950s.

Admission

A total of 150 students are admitted for undergraduate MBBS course, 115 boys and 30 girls and five foreign nationals. Admission is on the basis of the

National Eligibility and Entrance Test The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG), formerly the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), is an all India pre-medical entrance test for students who wish to pursue undergraduate medical (MBBS), dental ( BDS) ...

(formerly through the

AIPMT The All India Pre-Medical test/ Pre-Dental Entrance Test was an annual medical entrance examination in India. The exam was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) but is now replaced by NEET-UG by National Testing Agency. The e ...

exam), followed by an interview and medical examination . Ten seats are reserved for ST/SC candidates. Students are not allowed to be married or to marry during the course, and are liable to serve in the medical services of the Armed Forces, on successful completion of MBBS, for seven years.

Residence halls

The college is fully residential with separate hostels for boys and girls. Residence in the hostels is mandatory for all the cadets for the entire duration of the course. The Boys Hostel is housed in a building which was built in 1965 and comprises 6 blocks of three floors each. There are a total of 277 rooms of approximately area (single-seaters) and 162 rooms of approximately area (double seaters). All the rooms are fully furnished. The girls' hostel was constructed in 1984 and can accommodate 130 cadets in 70 single-seater and 30 double seater rooms. The new Boys Hostel has four blocks with four floors each having 18 spacious rooms with balconies. The officers' floors for officers pursuing their post graduation courses have been incorporated into the boys hostel. Subsidised messing is provided to all medical cadets. The Central Cadets Mess was opened in 2009 for all cadets to dine together.

Infrastructure

There are facilities for sports, including tennis, squash, basketball, and a swimming pool. Canteen facilities for defence personnel are also extended to the medical cadets. It has two auditoria named Dhanvantri and Bharadwaj where high-profile medical conferences are held. AFMC also works as a hospital for civilians and is collaborated with the command hospital (SC).

Rankings

AFMC was ranked 34th best medical college globally by CEO World 202

37th best globally in 202

(second in India for both years),third among medical colleges in India in 2019 by ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...

'' and second among medical colleges in India in 2019 by ''

Outlook India ''Outlook'' is a weekly general interest English and Hindi news magazine published in India. History and profile ''Outlook'' was first issued in October 1995 with Vinod Mehta as the editor in chief. It is owned by the Rajan Raheja Group. The p ...

'' and fourth in India by ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's ed ...

''.

Non-academics

AFMC provides broad-based non-academic exposure too. Students are encouraged to participate in sports and many have excelled in this arena. There are a large number of societies and clubs like the Student Scientific Society, Computer Club, Hobbies Club, Debating Club, Adventure Club, Dance Club and Musimatics. where students can pursue extra-curricular interests. They are encouraged to participate in competitions and conferences all over the country for development of all round personality and officer like qualities. They have also won many laurels in debates, quiz contests and youth festivals in Pune and outside. Over 6000 doctors have graduated from AFMC until now. Recently the entire hostel has been given WiFi connectivity.

Research

Various departments take up research projects either under departmental sponsorship or under the auspices of Armed Forces Medical Research Committee (AFMRC). Apart from service-oriented projects, research in clinical and laboratory subjects is also carried out. AFMC has the facility for animal house, hatcheries for disease producing insects, and a virology and bacteriology bank for these purposes. AFMC is a research and referral centre for confirmation of disease, identification of pathogens (viral and bacterial) and classification of blood disorders. AFMC acts as a referral centre, designated by

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

for certain diseases i.e.

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

-regional laboratory and centre for rickettsial diseases.

Affiliations

Affiliated hospitals include

Command Hospital Command Hospitals are major military hospitals in India. There is not more than one in each Command. The Indian Armed Forces have eight Command Hospitals. They are: See also *List of Armed Forces Hospitals In India As of 2020, there are 112 ...

(Southern Command), Military Hospital (Cardio Thoracic Centre), Artificial Limb Centre and Military Hospital (Khadki). The college is affiliated to

Notable alumni

* Punita Arora, first woman to reach the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

* Kamala Balakrishnan, immunologist, expert on histocompatibility and transplantation * Padmavathy Bandopadhyay, first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force. *

Madhuri Kanitkar Lieutenant General Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM is a retired General Officer in the Indian Army. She is the third woman in the Indian Armed Forces to be promoted to a Three-star rank, after Lieutenant General Punita Arora and Air Marsh ...

, third woman to be promoted to

Three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

. * Surendra Poonia, medal-winner in four consecutive world championships in power-lifting *

Soumya Swaminathan Soumya Swaminathan (born 2 May 1959) is an Indian paediatrician and clinical scientist known for her research on tuberculosis and HIV. From 2019 to 2022, she served as the chief scientist at the World Health Organization under the leadership of ...

, paediatrician, Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation (WHO), Deputy Director General of Programmes (DDP) of

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

References

External links

* *https://www.afmc.nic.in/Departments/Hospitals/alc.html
College dramatics' YouTube channel
{{Cite web, url=https://www.afmc.nic.in/Departments/Hospitals/alc.html, title=Welcome to Armed Forces Medical College Military academies of India Military education and training in India Medical colleges in Maharashtra Universities and colleges in Pune Affiliates of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences Educational institutions established in 1948 1948 establishments in India