Thiruvananthapuram Medical College (also known as Thiruvananthapuram Medical College or Trivandrum Medical College) is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala's capital. It is Kerala's first medical college, founded in 1951 and opened by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It is the oldest and largest medical college in Kerala.

History

In 1948, the Travancore government formed a committee to come up with ideas for a medical college in Thiruvananthapuram. In October of that year, the committee filed its findings, and the scheme was approved. C. O. Karunakaran was the college's first dean and was appointed Special Officer for the scheme's execution.

Raja Pramukh of Travancore–Cochin lay the foundation stone at 11:45 a.m. on January 26, 1950, and the first students were admitted in August 1951. On November 27, 1951, Jawaharlal Nehru dedicated the college at 8:00 a.m. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur dedicated the Sri. Avittom Thirunal Hospital (SATH) in January 1952. In 1952, a men's hostel opened, followed a year later by a women's hostel. Prime Minister Nehru dedicated the Medical College Hospital in 1954.

Departments

Institutions and units

Medical college

The Medical College Hospital is a full-service hospital. It is South Kerala's largest multi-specialty hospital, servicing most of the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts, as well as neighbouring Tamil Nadu areas. There is a main hospital block, trauma care, and an outpatient section in the facility. The hospital, which has 3,250 beds, accepts 80,000 patients each year and provides about 7,500,000 outpatient consultations. Outpatient wings for medical and surgical specialties, a pharmacy, and resident and graduate apartments are all located in the outpatient block. On a daily basis, the hospital performs 55 major and 125 minor procedures, as well as 35 vaginal deliveries and 15 caesarean sections. Throughout the year, 90 to 95 percent of the beds are occupied. The new multi-specialty block of the medical college hospital will open soon, allowing for improved treatment options.

Regional Institute of Ophthalmology

The Regional Institute of Ophthalmology is located near the general hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, around 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from the main campus. It began as a government ophthalmic hospital in 1905, and in 1995, it became part of the National Programme for the Control of Blindness. Dr. Sahasranamam V. is the RIO's director. There are postgraduate ophthalmology courses available, as well as a bachelor's degree programme in optometry with a 20-student annual intake. In 2010, a Bachelor of Science in Optometry programme began.

School of Optometry

On the RIO campus is the School of Optometry. Kerala University of Health Sciences offers an optometry Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree. GMC Thiruvananthapuram is the second government institute in India to offer a four-year professional degree in optometry; the first is the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.

Health units

As part of an Indo-Norwegian collaboration, the first health unit was built in Neendakara. In 1964, a primary health centre in Cheruvikkal, which had been established for field practise since July 1953, was relocated to Pangappara. Pangappara and Vakkom have rural health centres for student and intern field practice.

Sree Avittom Thirunal Hospital

In 1952, the women's and children's hospital was opened. The Travancore royal family constructed it in remembrance of Prince Sree Avittom Thirunal, who died of rheumatic heart disease when he was eight years old. Obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as paediatrics, are located in the hospital. The postpartum, family-welfare counselling, infertility, trophoblastic, adolescent, and vesicular-mole clinics, as well as WHO and Indian Council of Medical Research collaborative study centres, are all run by the OB-GYN department. In addition to cardiology, neurology, nephrology, genetics, surgery, and psychiatry, the hospital has one of Asia's highest delivery rates.

Specialty block

The specialty block, dedicated in 2011, houses the nephrology, urology,  neurology, neurosurgery and medical and surgical gastroenterology  departments and their out- and inpatient wings, and has 40 ICU beds, 25  high-care beds and six modular operating theaters. Cadaver organ  retrieval and transplant began in 2012, making it the first government  hospital to offer the service on a wide scale.

Biomedical engineering department

The hospital's equipment is maintained by a team of biomedical engineers and technicians.

Child-development centre

The Kerala government founded the Child Development Centre to provide early childhood and adolescent care and education, premarital counselling, women's welfare, and other related services. It has helped to reduce childhood impairments and produced the Thiruvananthapuram Development Chart, which is used in community settings to assess child development.

Mental Health Center

The college is in charge of the Oolampara Mental Health Center. It is India's second-largest mental health centre, with around 150 patients. With the help of Hindustan Latex Limited, a rehabilitation facility has been created in addition to treatment facilities.

Chest Diseases Hospital

The department of respiratory medicine, which is housed here, has taken over the former government tuberculosis sanatorium in Pulayanarkottah (except for the outpatient department and intensive-care unit, which are at the college). The Chest Diseases Hospital has been redesignated the sanatorium.

Dental college

Thiruvananthapuram Dental College, one of four dental colleges in India's four southern regions, was established in 1959. The dean of the medical college, M. Thangavelu, was influential in the establishment of the institution. The initial director was A. M. Clement, a dental surgeon at the medical institution. The BDS programme at the college accepts 50 students per year. The first postgraduate courses were offered in 1966. N. O. Varghese, the college's director, oversees six departments.

College of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Kerala's first pharmaceutical college, founded in 1967, offers bachelor's, master's, and certificate programmes in pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmacognosy, pharmaceutical chemistry, and pharmaceutical microbiology are all departments within the institution. Toxicology and animal labs, a drug information centre, morphine tablet manufacturing, and a medicinal pharmacy are among the other facilities.

College of Nursing

The medical school of the University of Kerala is linked with the college, which was formed in 1972. Since 1987, it has offered postgraduate nursing programmes. Mental-health nursing, medical-surgical nursing, paediatric nursing, obstetrical and gynaecological nursing, and community-health nursing are the five fields of specialisation offered by the college. The amount of male students allowed to attend the institution was formerly limited to 12.5 percent of applications, but this restriction has now been lifted. In 2011, a specialised nursing wing was established.

Regional Artificial Limb Fitting Centre

The facility, which specialises in amputee rehabilitation, first opened its doors in 1975.

Central Library

The administrative wing's library houses books and scholarly publications related to medicine and its related subjects. The college's alumni association developed the Learning Resource Center (LRC), which includes internet-enabled computers for paid use and subscribes to online medical journals.

Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory (MDRL) and Animal house

A cutting-edge platform for engaging the medical community and students in transdisciplinary research. Multidisciplinary research unit (MRU-ICMR), Viral research and diagnostic lab (VRDL-ICMR), Physiology research lab and multichannel data acquisition system, Lecture halls, and auditorium are all part of the facility. The fully automated systems were installed for the first time in Kerala at the Zebra Fish Research Facility. The COVID 19 diagnostic lab is currently operational.

Academics

Courses offered by the college are:

• M.B.B.S. (annual intake 250 students)

• M.D.-M.S. (annual intake about 90 students in 23 disciplines)

• D.M.-M.Ch. (18 seats in four and six disciplines, respectively)

• PG Diploma course (71 seats in 13 specialties)

• BSc (Hons.) in Optometry (annual intake 20 students)

• Bachelor of Pharmacy (annual intake 60 students)

• BSc (Hons.) in Nursing (annual intake 60 students)

• BSc (Hons.) in Medical Lab Technology (annual intake 28 students)

• BSc in Perfusion Technology (annual intake four students)

• BSc in Cardiovascular Technology (annual intake five students)

• BSc in Nursing (post-certificate)

• MSc in Nursing (annual intake 28 students)

• Master of Pharmacy (annual intake 26 students in Five branches)

• Master of Science in Medical Laboratory Technology (annual intake 12 students)

• Master of Science in Medical Physics and Epidemiology (16 seats)

• M.Phil in Clinical Epidemiology (10 seats)

• Diploma in CENTRAL STERILE SERVICE DEPARTMENT technology- DCSSDT-course (4 seats )

• Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (40 seats in the college)

• Diploma in Radiological Technology (10 seats in the college)

• Diploma in Dialysis Technology (annual intake six students)

• Diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery (annual intake 30 students)

• Diploma in Clinical Child Development (annual intake 12 students)

• Diploma in Pharmacy (20 seats in the college)

• Dental Mechanics Certificate Course (annual intake six students)

• Diploma in Operation Theatre and Anaesthesia Technology (annual intake 15 students)

• Diploma in Endoscopy Technology (annual intake four students)

• Diploma in Neurotechnology

• Diploma in Optometry