Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram, Maharashtra

Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram, is the first Institute of modern medicine that is placed in a rural setting in India. Based onintro1 Gandhian ideology, it was established in 1969 as a Gandhi Centenary Project and takes pride in the fact that it’s Kasturba Hospital, started in 1944, is the only hospital started by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi himself. The Institute’s inception goes back to the freedom struggle, when the seed was sown. Late Dr. Sushila Nayar, the Founder Director of the Institute, was arrested along with Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi during the Quit India Movement and was kept in detention with them in the Aga Khan Palace at Pune, where she had an opportunity to observe and understand Gandhiji from close quarters. She intro2ealized that he was a Statesman with a vision, longer than life. After their release from the prison when Gandhiji returned to Sevagram, he found that the village often faced a number of epidemics, resulting in high morbidity and mortality. So he asked Dr. Sushila Nayar to have some health facility and the result was Kasturba Hospital in the memory of Ba who had passed away on 22 February, 1944 while in detention at Aga Khan Palace. The 15-bedded hospital was actually for the Women and Children of the village. The seed to serve the poor and needy was sown so deep in the mind of Dr. Sushila Nayar that when she went to Johns Hopkins, USA to specialize in Cardiology, it did not interest her and she shifted to Doctorate in Public Health.

In 1962, when Dr. Sushila Nayar became the Union Health Minister, she became aware of the difficulties in finding qualified doctors for serving in rural areas. She also realized that Primary Health Centres had been set up but the doctors were reluctant to go and serve the villagers. The Government had been trying to improve medical care in the rural areas but about 1/3rd of the Primary Health Centres, each catering to about 80,000 or more population, were without doctors. The then Prime Minister Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, while addressing the Central Council of Health Care in July 1965, suggested to the Union Health Minister, to start Medical Colleges in rural areas so that young doctors trained in the rural settings would have better understanding of the rural health problems and would be better placed to attend to the health problems of the villagers. Dr. Sushila Nayar a young medical graduate, suggested that the first rural Medical College in the country should be started at Sevagram to be run by the registered Kasturba Health Society, Sevagram. The proposal was sent to the Planning Commission and was approved. The National Committee for Gandhi Centenary celebrations, with the President of India as the President and the Prime Minister as the Chairman of the Executive Committee gave their blessings to the proposal of Dr. Sushila Nayar and the first rural Medical College of the country at Sevagram was included in the Gandhi Centenary Programme. It was resolved that the expenditure would be shared by the Govt. of India, Govt. of Maharashtra and Kasturba Health Society in proportion of 50:25:25, and in 1969 the first batch of 60 students was admitted. Specific reservations were kept for students coming from rural background and are still being kept, fulfilling the dreams of the great visionaries Dr. Sushila Nayar, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and Gandhiji himself.


Born under the influence of Gandhiji, the Institute endeavors to maintain and impart to it’s students values that form an integral part of a good human being. It envisages, to bring out doctors that would have a better community oriented health care approach and who would impart services based on ethical and moral values founded on the principles of truth, non-violence and love. Smoking, drinking of alcohol & non vegetarian food is strictly prohibited. Staff and students are expected to wear Khadi. Sarva Dharma Community Prayer and Shramdan also form a part of the Code of conduct.

The college holds it’s own All India entrance test for MBBS course at MGIMS Sevagram that includes a special paper on Gandhian Thoughts. Sixty five students are admitted purely on merit every year. It also offers post-graduation in all the major medical disciplines, all most all recognized by the Medical Council of India. It is the first Institute in the country which started M.D. in Community Medicine in 1977. The course is similar to that of Preventive and Social Medicine but has an additional component of training medical doctors as family physicians capable of providing primary health care to rural masses. On the same principles, the hospital also runs a General outpatient department which is like a model Primary Health Centre and the interns posted there learn to deliver comprehensive health care not only in providing preventive and curative services but also in picking up the knowledge of when to refer a patient to a specialist.

The Institute follows all the norms laid down by the Medical Council of India and by the affiliating University, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik for quality Medical Education. However in order to achieve it’s objectives included in it’s curriculum, it has made some innovations which are unique and have stood the test of time now for many years. These innovations in no way hamper the academic results, which till date have always been commendable.

Soon after admission to the MBBS course, the students live in Gandhiji’s Ashram at Sevagram for 15 days, where they are oriented to Gandhian ideology and learn the Gandhian way of life. In a rapidly changing society influenced by culture of consumerism and falling moral values, this period of 15 days in the Ashram leaves an imprint on the young minds and helps them in becoming more fore-bearing and better individuals. Drawn from different geographical and cultural backgrounds of the country, the students within a short span of time exemplify real unity in diversity by exhibiting respect for each other’s cultural values.

The post-graduate students are encouraged to attend continuation of medical education (CME) activities, conferences and workshops. They are also being deputed to other medical institutes for training on specialized tochnical aspects related to the subjects Radiology, Anaesthesiolgy, Medicine and Psychiatry. The results of all the Post Graduate department are above 90%.

India is primarily a country of the rural masses. This college was established with the concept to evolve a pattern of medical education that was best suited to the needs of the country and to bring out doctors with community oriented health care approach by training them in the community also rather than only in the four walls of the hospital. In this context, during the first year itself students adopt a nearby village (a new one for each batch) and live with the villagers for a fortnight in the village. Here they survey the village, understand their social and health related problems and impart health education. They help villagers in forming Self Help groups for health and economic empowerment of women, youth and the aged. The students are made responsible for the health care of the families allotted to them and they follow them till the end of their medical training. By the time they leave, they develop a bond with the villagers and the experience fills them with compassion and a sense of commitment towards the deserving poor rural communities.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

1) To provide value based & cost effective medical education.
2) To train for serving urban as well as rural masses in a cost effective way.
3) To train in and out of the hospital walls in rural communities for better understanding and learning for the needs of society.
4) To train for research by learning through - Service oriented research for the local needs and global health issues.

COURSES OFFERED:

(1) Under Graduate: MBBS
(2) Post Graduate: MD, MS, DIPLOMA

1. Anatomy
2. Physiology
3. Biochemistry
4. Pathology
5. Microbiology
6. Pharmacology
7. Forensic Medicine
8. Community Medicine
9. General Medicine
10. Paediatrics
11. Psychiatry
12. General Surgery
13. Orthopaedics
14. Ophthalmology
15. Otorhinolaryngology
16. Obstetrics & Gynecology
17. Anaesthesiology
18. Radiodiagnosis
19. D.P.M
20. D.Ortho
21. D.C.H
22. D.O.M.S
23. D.L.O
24. D.G.O
25. D.M.R.D
26. D.A