Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram

Government Medical College, Trivandrum
Established	1951
Type	Controlled by Government of Kerala. Exams are held by University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Principal	Prof. Ramdas Pisharady
Location	Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Nickname	TMC
Affiliations	Indian Medical Council
Website	http://www.tmc.kerala.gov.in

Trivandrum Medical College is located in Thiruvananthapuram city, the capital of Kerala state, India. It was founded in 1951, and was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. This is the oldest and most prestigious medical college in Kerala. It is being upgraded to the status of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The medical college campus also houses several other hospitals and institutions including the College of Nursing, Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum Dental College, Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Priyadarshini Institute of Paramedical Sciences and Sree Avittom Thirunal Hospital for women and children.

Location

Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram is located in the capital city of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram; 6 kilometers away from the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station and KSRTC Central Bus Station. The college campus and the hospital lies to the west of Kumarapuram-Ulloor Road which has been renamed Dr. C.O. Karunakaran Avenue. Across the hospital is the Chalakuzhi road which meets the National Highway NH 47 near Pattom.

History

Nehru inaugurating Trivandrum Medical College Hospital in 1951

The Government of Travancore in 1948 appointed a committee to formulate proposals for starting a Medical College at Trivandrum. The Committee submitted its report and the scheme was sanctioned in October 1948. Dr. C.O. Karunakaran was appointed Special Officer for the implementation of the scheme and he went on to become the first Principal of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical college.

The College Campus has 139 acres (0.56 km²) of picturesque land with a number of hillocks surrounded by evergreen coconut groves and paddy fields, facing the sea which lies at a distance of three kilometers, and is located on the North – West border of the Trivandrum city. The College, is linked with the different sections of the city by bus routes, is very near the national highway NH 47 and the nearest railway station is just few kilometers from the college. The topographical layout and the architectural designs were prepared by Mr. J.A. Ritchie from Bombay. The College and the hospital buildings are separated by playgrounds for football, hockey, a cricket pitch, courts for tennis, basketball, badminton and volleyball and a 400 meter track.

The foundation stone of the College was laid by His Highness the Raja Pramuk of Travancore – Cochin at 11:45 AM on 26-01-1950. The first batch of students was admitted in August 1951. The College was formally inaugurated by Shri. Jawaharlal Nehru at 8:00 AM on 27th Nov. 1951. In January 1952, the Sri. Avittom Thirunal Hospital ( SATH ) was inaugurated by Smt. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. In 1952, men's hostel and 1year later women's hostel was also inaugurated. The Medical College Hospital was inaugurated by Shri. Jawaharlal Nehru on 1954.

The School of Nursing(http://www.contvm.org) was inaugurated by Her Highness Sethu Lakshmi Bai in 1954 and upgraded to College of Nursing in 1963. The Cancer block was inaugurated in 1958 and later after two decades the [1] Regional Cancer Centre], one of the premier cancer care centers in South India was established. The Dentistry course and the first post-graduate course commenced in 1959.

The sixties saw the establishment of library. The limb center, Mental hospital and Ophthalmic hospital were brought under Medical College administration. Later in nineties the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology came into existence. Over the years, the campus saw establishment of Sree Chitra Thirunal Centre, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Priya Darsini Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Silver Jubilee Auditorium and the Various hostels. The institution has thus grown to glorious proportions.

It is financed and administrated by Health and Family welfare Department, Govt. of Kerala. The Medical College is affiliated to the University of Kerala.. Trivandrum Medical College is the first medical college in Kerala. The college started with an annual admission of 60 students, which was increased to 200 in 1983. Now it is ranked among the top 20 medical colleges in the country.

A super-specialty block with state-of-the-art technology and modern equipments, exclusively housing all the medical and surgical super-specialties of the college, has been completed and has started functioning as the OP block of the super-specialties from July 1, 2010. It was funded under the Prime Minister's Swasthya Bheema Yojna scheme and by the State government. The 253-bed SS block, spread over 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m²) on seven floors, houses the outpatient clinics and inpatient wards of the six super specialties, eight operation theatres, 29-bed six intensive care units, haemo dialysis unit and renal transplant unit, apart from administrative blocks. Full fledged functioning of the complex will commence after its proposed dedication to the nation by the Prime Minister.

A newly constructed out-patient block for the broad specialties has also been opened to the public.

Administration

The college is headed by Principal Prof. Dr.Ramdas Pisharady and the Vice Principal Prof. Dr.K.R Vinayakumar. The hospital is administered by the Medical Superintedent Dr.A.Mohandas.

Major Institutions and units under Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram are as follows:-

Medical College

In addition to MBBS course, PG degree and diploma courses in 22 specialities, super specialty courses in 10 specialties etc. are conducted in this institution. The institute is under the University of Kerala and presently being shifted under the wings of KUHS Kerala University of Health Sciences.

Medical College Hospital

The premiere institution for the provision of comprehensive tertiary health care irrespective of economic or social status and disabilities. It is the largest multi-specialty hospital in South Kerala serving the major portion of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam districts and adjacent districts of Tamil Nadu. It is administered by a Superintendent. The hospital consists of the main hospital block, Trauma care, Casualty, Out Patient Department Block, Super specialty block, KHRWS Pay wards and Administrative block. This 3000 bedded hospital admits 80,000 patients a year and provides over 75,00,000 OP consultation. The newly constructed OP block houses Out-patient wings of Medical and Surgical specialties, pharmacy, Office of the Superintendent of the hospital, quarters of the House Surgeons and Post graduates.

Sree Avittom Thirunal Hospital

Inaugurated in 1952, the hospital services are confined to women, mothers and children under 12 years of age. It was built by the Royal family in memory of Prince Sree Avittom Thirunal who died at a tender age. The hospital houses the Departments of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Pediatrics. Super specialty care in Pediatrics including Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Surgery and Psychiatry are under the wings of SAT Hospital. It has one of the highest rates of deliveries in Kerala.

Superspecialty block

The Superspecialty block inaugurated in 2011 houses 6 super-specialties including Nephrology, Urology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Medical and Surgical gastroenterology and their Out-patient and In-patient wings with 40 ICU beds, 25 high-care beds, 6 modular theaters. A liver transplant theater is to be constituted soon which would be first-of-its-kind in the government sector.

Regional Institute Of Ophthalmology

Located around 4 km away from the main campus, RIO is housed near the General Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. It was started as a Government Ophthalmic hospital in 1906 and later raised to the status of Regional Institute of Ophthalmology by the Government of India under National Programme for Control of Blindness in 1995. When the Government Medical College was started, the Ophthalmic hospital was brought under the college despite being in an off-campus location. The Director of this autonomous institution is Dr. P.S. Girija Devi. In addition to Post Graduate Courses in Ophthalmology, a 4 years Bachelors Degree course in Optometry is also offered here. Specialized services including a Retina Clinic, Glaucoma Clinic and a Cataract clinic are among the provisions here.

Medical College Health Unit,Pangappara

The primary health care unit is under the Department of Community Medicine of Trivandrum Medical College and is located at Pangappara a few kilometers away from the main campus.

Child Development Center

Child Development Centre (CDC), Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram is an autonomous centre established by the Government of Kerala with the intention of bringing up the centre as an autonomous centre of excellence in Early Child Care & Education, Adolescent Care & Education, Pre-marital Counselling, Women’s Welfare and other related fields. It has given significant contributions in reducing childhood disabilities and has devised the Trivandrum Development Chart which is widely used to assess child development in community settings.

Mental Health Center

The Mental Health Center is located in Oolampara, Peroorkada and is under the administration of the college. With more than 150 inmates it is the second largest mental health center in India. In addition to treatment facilities, a rehabilitation center has also been established by the aid of Hindustan Latex Limited.

Government TB Sanatorium

It has currently been taken over by the Department of Respiratory Medicine. Located in Pulayanarkota it was initially constructed for isolation of tuberculosis patients. Currently, the Respiratory Medicine department functions here except for the Out Patient Department which is in the OPD block itself.

Dental College

Currently an Autonomous Institution and is the premiere institution for provision of dental care, maxillo-facial surgeries etc. in the state. (Principal - Dr. N O Varghese MDS) http://www.gdctvm.net

College of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Established in 1967, it is the first Pharmaceutical college in Kerala and offers Bachelor, Masters Degree and Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Departments of Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Microbiology works under the college. Medical College toxicology lab, Animal lab and Medicinal garden are the other facilities.

Priyadarsini Institute of Para Medical Sciences

Priyadarsini Institute of Para Medical Sciences is also located in the Medical College campus offering para medical courses.

College of Nursing

Established in 1954 as a school of Nursing, it was later upgraded to the status of a College of Nursing offering 4 year B.Sc Nursing courses. A Nursing superspecialty block has been constituted in 2011.presently college offers the following courses

• Phd. in Nursing
  
• M.Sc. nursing in Medicine/Surgery,Community Medicine,Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology
  
• Post basic B.Sc.
  
• GNM
  
• B.Sc. Nursing

Regional Artificial Limb Fitting Centre

The functioning of center is mainly for the provision of rehabilitation services for amputees and was established in 1975.

Central Library

The Central Library is housed at the block containing various administrative offices including the Principal's office. It is equipped with books, journals and periodicals of academic nature relating to medicine and allied sciences. The library also subscribes to two English dailies, The Hindu and The New Indian Express, along with a Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi. The Learning Resource Center(LRC) is located within the library and contains internet-enabled computers that students and staff can use for a nominal fee. The LRC also subscribes to certain online medical journals. The Learning Resource Center was established by the Alumni Association of the college.

Hospital Information Center

With the contributions from the alumni of the college, an information center was established in the hospital which provides all information regarding the facilities available in the hospital as well as clears any doubts regarding prescriptions or drugs.

Academics

The courses offered by the institute are:

• M.B.B.S. (Annual intake of 200 students)
• M.D ./M.S. (Annual intake of around 86 students in 23 disciplines)
• D.M./M.Ch. (18 seats in 4 and 6 disciplines respectively)
• Diploma Course (71 seats in 13 specialties)
• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Optometry (Annual intake of 20 students)
• B.Pharm. in Pharmacy (Annual intake of 28 students)
• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Nursing (Annual intake of 75 students in BSc Nursing)
• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Medical Lab Technology (Annual intake of 28 students)
• B.Sc. in Nursing (post-certificate)
• M.Sc. in Nursing
• Master of Science in Pharmacy (Annual intake of 10 students)
• Master of Science in Medical Physics and Epidemiology (16 seats)
• M.Phil in Clinical Epidemiology (10 Seats)

Milestones

• 1952 - Inauguration of S.A.T Hospital , Inauguration of Men's Hostel
• 1954 - Inauguration of Medical College Hospital with 450 Beds
• 1958 - Cancer Block
• 1959 - B.D.S Course and Dental College, 1st Post Graduate Course, New Nurses Hostel
• 1964 - Artificial Limb Centre started
• 1967 - B. Pharm Course, Comprehensive Rehabiliatation Research & Training Project started
• 1970 - Mental Hospital and Ophthalmic hospital becomes part of Medical College
• 1972 - 4 Year B.Sc Nursing Course, Inauguration of S.C.T.M.C, Dept. of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation commissioned
• 1973 - New Block of College of Nursing
• 1975 - Inauguration of College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Foundation Stone for Regional Limb Fitting Centre
• 1976 - Teachers Training Programme started
• 1978 - New Building for Regional Limb Fitting Centre
• 1982 - PEID cell started
• 1995 - Clinical Epidemiology Resource and Training Center
• 2002 - Learning Resource Centre (LRC)
• 2010 - BSc Optometry Course
• 2011 - Inauguration of Super specialty Block and OPD Block

Achievements

The Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram is the principal agency in emanating the Kerala model Kerala Model of health care. The establishment of the college and hospital was a fulfillment of popular ambitions and paved way for the rise of Kerala in the health sector. Kerala since then has maintained health indices at par with the developed nations, well above the national averages. This achievement has been researched and studied by multiple agencies for copying in other states of India as well as under-developed nations.

The institution has been upgraded to the status of All India Institute of Medical Sciences due to its unique achievements and as an important tertiary care-provider to the southern parts of India.

Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram has been one among the two breakthrough colleges and has found a place among the top 25 colleges in the country; currently ranked 21 in the India Today India Today survey. The college and hospital has been consistently able to maintain its high quality standards despite the enormous number of patient admissions and low-cost treatment facilities. Expertise of the faculty and able administration with aids from the Central and State governments have helped maintain this status. Though academically well acknowledged it has been lagging behind in the research field perhaps due to the lack of awareness and increased importance given to clinical sector.

SAT Mix which was devised by the doctors and nutritionists of SAT hospital is used throughout India for the management of childhood malnutrition. It is a cost effective measure in reducing infant mortality rates.

Trivandrum Development Chart is a scale for the assessment of child development based on 17 characters. It was devised by the Child Development Center and is recommended for use in community developmental assessment.

The institution is among the 15 prestigious ones selected across the country to be connected through the National Knowledge Network under the National Knowledge Commission for integration of its knowledge database with global scientific community.

The institution is conducting an international conclave- Erudite Conclave 2011, first of its kind in this part of the world,in November 2011.Speakers include Rolf M. Zinkernagel,Nobel laureate.Dr. Sanduk Ruit,inexpensive intraocular lenses.K. Sreekumaran Nair,Mayo Clinic Rochester.Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, and several other distinguished members from various field.

Notable alumni and faculty

• R. Kesavan Nair, the first civil surgeon of Kerala and the first from Kerala with an FRCS. One of the chief architect of Medical College Hospital as its first Superintendent. He was fondly called 'Valia' Kesavan Nair by the public.
• M. S. Valiathan, former director of SCTIMST and vice-chancellor, Manipal University, Karnataka is recipient of Padmabhushan and Shree Dhanwantari Prize of Indian National Science Academy. The famous cardio-thoracic surgeon is the author of 'The legacy of Caraka' and 'The Legacy of Susruta' and has published a number of papers on endomyocardial fibrosis.
• Axel J Hojer, the second Principal of the college was a Swedish physician from Karolinska Institute and the Director General of Swedish Medical Board. With numerous books and cited articles to his credit he revolutionised community medicine in Europe through implementation of education on maternal assistance, infant disease control, sexual hygiene courses among the Swedish community.
• Jimmy George (1955-1987), the legendary Indian volleyball player was a medical student here and helped University of Kerala bag the Inter-University Championships from 1973 to 1976. He later left medical studies to join Kerala Police.
• M. Krishnan Nair, eminent oncologist and founding member of Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. Currently, he is the only member from India on the Advisory Committee of the Director General, WHO and Cancer Technical Group (CTG) of WHO.
• P. K. R. Warrier, renowned cardio-thoracic surgeon, writer and freedom fighter, established the Department of Cardio-thoracic surgery in Government Medical College, Trivandrum in 1964.
• C. K. Gopi, eminent cardiologist brought to the notice of the world a rare disease named endomyocardial fibrosis.
• C. O. Karunakaran is called the father of Trivandrum Medical College. He has developed small pox and rabies vaccine indigenously in the Public Health Laboratory of Trivandrum. He is a recipient of Rockfeller Foundation Scholarship.
• G. Vijayaraghavan, recipient of prestigious Padmashri title he is an eminent cardiologist. He is the founder director of Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences. He popularized 2D Echocardiography n India way back in 1980s.
• K. R. Pandalai is one of the most reputed anatomist of the country and was an original researcher in the field of neurosecretory cells.
• C. R. Soman, professor in biochemistry and prominent public health expert and nutritionist. Organized Health Action by People for study of lifestyle diseases in Kerala.
• K. N. Pai is a notable cardiologist and academician. A heart foundation was initiated in his honor to extend cardiology care to the poor. He is a recipient of Padmashri title.
• K. Sreekumaran Nair is a recipient of Henry Christian Award of ESPEN in 1998 and Stockholm Honorary Lecture. He is currently the David Murdock Dole Professor and a Distinguished Mayo Clinic Investigator.
• Benjamin Pulimood, pioneer in the field of gastroenterology was the former Principal and Director of Christian Medical College, Vellore. He has represented Kerala in the prestigious Santosh Trophy Football Tournament.
• R. Sankaranarayanan, renowned clinical oncologist is currently the Head of Screening and Prevention, International Agency for Research on Cancer. His contributions for the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer is notable.

See also

• List of medical colleges in India
• AIIMS
• JIPMER
• PGIMER Chandigarh
• CMC Vellore

External links

• Official web site
• ERUDITE CONCLAVE 2011 http://www.eruditeconclave.com/
• Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Medical College Thiruvananthapuram http://www.pedheartsat.org
• Department of Pediatrics, Medical College Thiruvananthapuram http://www.pediatricsat.org
• Department of Community Medicine, Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram http://www.commedtvm.org
• Genetics Clinic, Medical College Thiruvananthapuram http://www.geneticsat.org
• http://www.iradix.in/Details/Trivandrum-Medical-College.html
• SAT Hospital, Trivandrum http://www.sathospital.org
• Government Medical College, Trivandrum http://www.govtmedicalcollegetvm.net
• http://www.gdctvm.net
• http://www.indiaeducation.ernet.in/insitutions/PROFILE.ASP?no=U01056
• http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_medical_education/dept_medical.htm
• http://www.geneticsat.org
• http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2005073106040400.htm&date=2005/07/31/&prd=th&
• http://www.puzha.com/malayalam/bookstore/cgi-bin/author-detail.cgi?code=1913
• http://www.keralawindow.net/imp_k.htm
• MCH in National knowledge network