Community Medicine is a branch of medicine dealing with health care issues affecting communities as a whole. It gives a broader view on the subject of health, educating students on the role of social, cultural and environmental determinants on the health of community. Students are taught about the existing public health care delivery system of India and health programs. The subject attempts to acquaint the student with incipient and early phases of disease and management of such cases. The knowledge of epidemiology inculcated in training, help students in understanding the disease dynamics and transmission. Research and statistics, train undergraduate to critically interpret the published health information.
We aim to produce graduates of medicine who are effective community leaders in healthcare delivery, understand the health needs of community as a whole, are updated with current global and national health challenges and are equipped well to respond to outbreaks and provide comprehensive (Preventive, promotive and curative) health care to the community.
Community Medicine has a structured distribution of teaching hours across the first three academic years as per the latest NMC guidelines. We adopt innovative teaching-learning approaches that are dynamic and engaging including interactive lectures, tutorials, small group teachings, self-directed learning, role plays, etc. Visits to institutes of public health importance (Water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, Mother Dairy plant, Sulabh International etc.) are organised to give the students a real world exposure to the larger domain of health care.
Family Adoption Program
The Family Adoption Program, initiated from the first year, goes beyond traditional teaching methods. Aimed at providing experiential learning opportunities, this program encourages students to actively engage with communities, acting as ambassadors of primary healthcare. The Family Adoption Program orients the students towards primary healthcare, teaches them to create health awareness within the community and prepares them to function as the first point of contact for any health issues acting as a conduit between the population and healthcare facilities. They also learn to generate and analyse healthcare data for evidence-based clinical practices.
Electives
At the end of Third Professional Part I, students are offered onsite elective posting of two weeks’ duration based on their choice of setting – urban or rural health.
Assessment
Regular formative and summative assessments are held as per NMC guidelines during the course of three years. Summative assessment exam is held at the end of Third professional Part I.
Students and interns are posted at Sub-District hospital in Tilak Nagar, Urban Training Centre in Uttam Nagar and Rural Health Training Centre in Najafgarh to get a diverse, rich clinical experience of interaction with the community at first point of contact. They gain competency in the delivery of primary care services e.g. Health education, Out Patient Care, immunization, family planning and reproductive health services. Along with the posting at the centres they are also actively involved in making community diagnosis and conduct of community based research.
Health Camp ( 5th-10th October 2023)
As part of the IP University Health Mela, a comprehensive 10-day Health Camp was conducted. Our department provided an array of services, including Basic Health Screening, Eye Check-ups, and Blood and ECG investigations.
Continuing Medical Education (22nd November 2023)
CME on "SHARING PERSPECTIVES IN PUBLIC HEALTH: DISEASE SURVEILLANCE AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE “was conducted as part of the AMR WEEK celebrations. The event, conducted in hybrid mode, featured speakers from various prestigious institutions. With a diverse audience, the CME attracted over 150 national and international participants.
Launch of Family Adoption Programme for 2023 Batch (30 November 2023)
Our esteemed Dean and Registrar inaugurated the Family Adoption Programme in accordance with NMC guidelines. Students were assigned three families each in Jharera Village, an underserved area in Delhi Cantt, for a three-year follow-up period.
Activity details (Health Talk/Group Discussion/Roleplays/Plantation etc ( 01 Aug 2024) : The Community Medicine department of a Army College of Medical Science, Delhi Cantt, organized a health camp in Tilak Vihar (the family adoption area) for the MBBS students of the 2022 batch on 01.08.24. The event saw over 200 attendees and offered a range of services, including general health check-ups, blood pressure measurement, random blood sugar testing, hemoglobin measurements, anthropometry, specialist consultations with ophthalmologists, OBG, and pediatrics experts and distribution of free prescribed medicines. Faculty members of Community Medicine, non-teaching staff, and doctors from other clinical departments were present to support the event. The students also delivered a health talk on breastfeeding week to the female attendees. A plantation drive was also conducted, where faculty, non-teaching staff, students, and local community leaders planted medicinal plants, taking advantage of the rainy season