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Armed
Forces Medical College, Pune |
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Armed
Forces Medical College is a premier medical
institute of the country acknowledged as a centre
of excellence for education and research. The college
provides training to undergraduate and postgraduate
medical and nursing students with assure career prospects
in the defence services. |
The
history of an institution portends the future & directs
its destiny. The Armed Forces Medical College was formed at
Pune on 01 May 1948 by the amalgamation of Army Medical Training
Centre, the Army School of Hygiene, the Central Military Pathology
Laboratory, the School of Blood Transfusion and Army School
of Radiology. The college was initially housed in Eve’s
Estate and later shifted to Connaught Barracks, the present
location.
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AFMC
when conceived began as postgraduate training and research
centre. The first commandant of the institution was Col PP
Chowdry. The foundation stone of the main building was laid
on 3 April 1953 ( erstwhile AMC anniversary day) by Lt Gen
DR Thapar, the then Director General, Armed Forces Medical
Services, and was completed in August 1956. The role of the
college was enlarged when the department of Dental Surgery
was added in May 1955.
The
graduate wing was started on 04 Aug 1962, Mr VK Krishna Menon
inaugurated the undergraduate wing. The College of Nursing
was added in 1964.
The
college celebrated its golden jubilee in 1998 with pride.
The Golden Jubilee block housing eighteen departments was
inaugurated by Shri George Fernandes, defence minister in
1998. AFMC has found a place amongst the best medical colleges
in the country and is widely acknowledged to be a premier
national institute.
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“Within a lotus wreath, surmounted by the Ashokan lions,
the rod of Aesculapaeus the serpent intertwined”
The
snake has been symbolically associated with the medical profession,
since the dawn of civilization. Its origin can be traced in
the mythology of the Greek who regarded it as a symbol of
wisdom, virility and eternity. The snake was carried by Apollo
and Mercury around a rod. In the form depicted in the crest,
intertwined around a staff, it was carried by Aesculapaeus,
the greek god of health and healing.
The
same symbol is also found in Indian mythology. The staff is
here called the “Brahmadanda”, the stick of Lord
Brahma. The two snakes symbolize “Kundalini”,
the fire of eternity. It was natural for the eternal symbol
of the science of healing to occupy its place in the crest
of Armed Forces Medical College.
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The
Patron of AFMC - Dhanvantari |
To
symbolize our search for perfection in the arts of medicine
and our desire for universal healing, a patron was selected.
The celestial healer, “Dhanvantari” was adopted
as the patron of this college and it is to him that the college
is dedicated. His creation is detailed in the ancient myth
Samudramanthan , which tells of the churning of the cosmic
ocean from which first arose “Surabhi”, the marvelous
cow, mother and nurse of all living things. Then came “Varini”
– the goddess of wine, “Parijata” the tree
of paradise and the “Apsaras” with their enchanting
grace and beauty. Next appeared the moon which “Shiva”
grasped, followed by the emergence of “Lakshmi”
the goddess of fortune. Last to appear was “Dhanvantari”
the celestial healer, creator of the ayurvedic philosophy,
holding in his hand the cup which contained the potion of
immortality.
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The
Armed Forces Medical College will provide comprehensive medical
and para medical education to the students to ensure a holistic
development of theoretical and practical skills with the aim
to prepare compassionate human beings, caring and courteous
medical professionals, responsible and socially conscious
citizens and exemplary leaders for the Armed Forces.
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The
AFMC campus is bounded by Sholapur Road on the North, Prince
of Wales Drive to the East, Wanowrie Road to the South and
Ferguson Road to the West. This 160-acre campus contains
the college buildings, which are a harmonious mixture of
the old and new.
The main building of the college, which faces the Solapur
Road, was started in March 1952 and completed in August
1956. The building has a strong architectural form with
a sense of timelessness about it. The building was inaugurated
by Shri VK Krishna Menon, Defence Minister, Government of
India, who was very impressed with the building and the
facilities. Coincidentally, the contractor of the building
Dr Duggal was a medical professional. This building never
ceases to inspire the postgraduates and undergraduates.
The main building has an auditorium named Bhardwaja, which
is a hub of academic activity. The Dean’s office and
the undergraduate wing are located in old building dating
back to 1876.
The
libraries of AFMC are the nerve centers of learning and
serve as reference centre for more than one thousand students
and two hundred faculty members.
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Armed
Forces Medical College Library serves more than 1500 students
and faculty members of AFMC and other medical establishment
in the Pune complex. The Library has over 15,000 books and
20,000 bound journals (Lancet 1865 onwards and BMJ 1893
onwards). 275 journals have been subscribed during the current
year. Medline, an indexing and abstracting service covering
over 3000 international journals, is also available on CD-ROM
.The books and journals in the library have been indexed
on the slim software and libra software for easy retrieval.
BSNL, Pune leased line for Internet connectivity has been
installed for Internet connectivity. Library is also providing
Library reprints to all over the country through Indian
National Scientific Documentation Center (INSDOC).
Graduate Wing Library. The
graduate wing has its own library with a large seating capacity
and remains open till 0010h in the night. Over a thousand
books and journals for the graduates are available and used
extensively.
A new lecture hall complex
consisting of 3 lecture halls named Charaka, Sushruta and
Atreya which were added in Dec 1986. A second auditorium
named Dhanvantari was built in Dec 1987, which coincided
with silver jubilee of the Graduate Wing. This auditorium
is one of the largest in Pune with seating capacity of twelve
hundred people.
Due to the emergence of
new disciplines, increasing staff and enlargement of spectrum
of academic activities a new building housing 18 technical
departments was planned. This new building, called the Golden
Jubilee Block was inaugurated by Shri George Fernandes,
Defence Minister, Govt. of India on 02 May 1998.
On
01 May 1998 four new hostel blocks for boys with 272 rooms
were added. 450 single Other Rank accommodation was added
on 09 Jan 2001 and 53 Other Rank married accommodation was
added in July 2001.
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