All India Institute of Medical Sciences

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) (created 1956) is a medical college in India. It is located in New Delhi. It has been consistently ranked the top medical college in India by India Today.^[1][2] It is considered as the best public hospital in the country.^[3] It is also globally recognised for providing low-cost medical care to a large number of patients.^[3]

It is one of India's Institutes of National Importance, a distinguished category of premier institutions including the IITs, NITs, Indian Statistical Institute, ICAR etc.

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Academics

The courses offered by the institute are:

• MBBS
• MD/MS
• DM/MCh
• BSc courses in Nursing, Paramedical and medical specialities
• BSc (Honours) Human Biology (Till 2002)
• MSc many specialities
• MBiotech
• PhD in many specialities

Admission

MBBS course

Every year AIIMS accepts 45 students, of which 33 belong to General Category and 11 belong to the reserved category (SC/ST) and 1 orthopedic physically handicapped, based on the results of an all-India entrance examination for its MBBS program. The number of students who take the entrance exam every year varies from 70,000 to 80,000. Five international students (nominated by Government of India) complete the class size of 50.

AIIMS also specializes in paramedical and basic science training.

Post-graduate courses

There are about 42 speciality post-graduate courses conducted at AIIMS. The entry is through a nationwide competitive examination held every six months. These courses are highly coveted by the medical graduates across the country because of the institution's excellent medical services, exposure to unusual & referred cases and excellent opportunities for research.

Ranking

AIIMS has been ranked repeatedly at the top in its field in annual surveys (starting in 1997) published by India Today.^[4] At present(2006-07), in the medical colleges and institution survey (MCIS) conducted by WHO, and the hospital also earned the First Priority Hospitals (FPH) standard by Time Magazine^{[citation needed]}. As per Forbes(Germany), most European nations recommend AIIMS for medical tourism in Asia^{[citation needed]}. The hospital has been able to maintain high standards of quality while seeing large numbers of patients (3.5 million in 2006) at very low cost to patients, many of whom live in extreme poverty.^[5]

Integrating clinics and research

AIIMS was originally built as a Superspeciality^[clarify] tertiary care centre with primary emphasis on research and specialized training facilities. There are at least 45 superspecialities^[clarify] at AIIMS. Having clinical superspecialities^[clarify] in the same campus as its major research facilities makes AIIMS optimally suited for nurturing best quality translational research^[clarify] in India. However growing concern has been expressed that the quality of scholars inducted in AIIMS at postdoc and faculty levels has increasingly been deteriorating, mainly because of nepotism.^{[citation needed]} Moreover, most medical students who train at AIIMS don't stay at AIIMS ( primarily because of lack of professional opportunities and more lucrative options abroad).^{[citation needed]}

Medical services

As per the AIIMS Citizen's Charter,^[6] doctors & staff at AIIMS strive to provide comprehensive, high quality tertiary care services including specialty and super-specialty^[clarify] services to all without consideration of caste, creed, religion, sex, economic status or disability. However, there may be some deficiencies due to extreme patient load and finite resources. Acquiring newer equipment for investigation, research and patient care is expedited as it is not constrained by funds. Despite the high volume of patients treated, mortality rates at AIIMS are comparable to some of the best medical institutions of the world.^{[citation needed]}

Speciality Centres at AIIMS

There is a separate cardiothoracic and neurosciences centre (CNC) offering superspeciality level patient care, training and research in the respective fields.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences is a 300 bed ophthalmic (eyes) speciality centre devoted to the education, research and patient care. It is designated as the apex eye referral centre for India and is the WHO collaborating centre for ophthalmic programs.

Recently Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital's construction has been completed. It specializes in medical, radiation and surgical oncology.

Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre is the latest addition to the existing facilities. It is India's first full-fledged trauma centre to treat victims of trauma. It is located about 1 KM west from the main campus.^[7]

Residential facilities

AIIMS is a residential university where the faculty members, staff and students live on either the main campus or one of the several campuses which form a part of the Institution. There are five hostels for men undergraduate students and a single hostel available for women undergraduate students. These six hostels together can accommodate 850 students. For Post-graduate students, there are three hostels available for the men students and a single hostel for the women students. Additional hostels for Nursing students and Post-graduate students are available at a facility in the Masjid Moth area, situated near to the main AIIMS campus.

Students of AIIMS involve themselves in extra-academic movements, including Pulse, the annual, inter-college festival hosted by AIIMS.

Achievements

• AIIMS is the first Indian center to perform a successful cardiac transplant. The surgery was performed by Dr.P Venugopal, the current director of AIIMS in 1994.^[8]
• AIIMS is a leader in Stem Cell transplant, especially Cardiac.^{[citation needed]}
• More than 80% of medical research from India in indexed journal comes from AIIMS. According to Forbes (USA), sixteen out of twenty top doctors are AIIMS alumni.^{[citation needed]}
• AIIMS is Asia's biggest hospital and top medical college^{[dubious – discuss]}

Controversies

Institutional Quota

Prior to Supreme court judgment of 25th Aug, 2001 and changes in institutional quota, AIIMS was criticised for the way 33% of Post Graduation Seats were reserved for those who complete their MBBS in AIIMS.^{[citation needed]} This has been rectified and now admissions to the post-graduate courses at AIIMS are much sought after from medical graduates throughout the country. There is now a curtain on the controversy for the present, since the Supreme Court judgment has in effect clearly defined the administrative intricacies and application of rules.^[clarify]

The honourable Supreme Court of India, stated that reserving 33 per cent seats for institutional candidates was in effect 100 per cent reservation for subjects, which was declared ultra vires the Constitution, and, hence, was struck down.^[9] The quota has been quashed by the Supreme Court as per its Judgment in the year 2001.

Caste Based Quota

Main articles: Indian anti-reservation protests, 2006 and Reservation in India

AIIMS students joined in the nation-wide protests which took place in May, 2006. During the strike all the medical services were shut but parallel OPDs were started after the strike had been carried out for a long time. The strike continued till 31 May when the doctors called off their strike after the Supreme Court of India orders.^[10]

There is also a section of AIIMS students and doctors under the banner Progressive Medicos and scientists Forum (PMSF) who have traditionally taken a pro-reservation stance on the basis of social justice.^[11]

PMSF was born in the campus because most of the Resident Doctors Association executives are from Upper caste. In the name of the RDA they were supporting the Anti Reservation Stir in the campus and used to create pro director lobby.

The caste based quota is not going to dilute the quality of doctors produced in the country. As most of the medical colleges in south India offering MBBS and MD seats on the basis of capitation fees (20-50 Lakhs for MD seats, 10-15 Lakhs for MBBS seats..^[12] The doctors decided to go on strike following the controversial sacking of P. Venugopal, the former director of AIIMS. Venugopal challenged his sacking in the court of law,^[13] and the strike ended following the Delhi High Court's decision staying Venugopal's sacking on July 7, 2006.^[14] However, Ramadoss filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of India against the stay on the removal of AIIMS Director on the same day.^[15] On July 25, the government offered to withdraw its order sacking Venugopal but would raise charges against him before a single-bench court.^[16] During this controversy some patients of AIIMS died due to lack of treatment.^[17]

Notable faculty and Alumni

• Professor P. Venugopal (Current Director)

Apart from being one of the longest-serving doctors at the institute, he is also credited with being the first Indian to perform a heart transplant.^[18]

• Professor J.N. Pande (Former Head of Dept. of Medicine)
• Professor G.P. Talwar
• Late Professor V. Ramalingaswami (Former Director)
• Professor S. Nandy
• Dr. Deepak Chopra (famous popular spiritual Guru)
• Dr. Sanjeev Chopra (Dean of CME, Harvard Medical School)
• Dr. Abul K. Abbas (Chair Pathology Dept. UCSF, Author or Abbas Immunology, Editor of Robbins' Pathology 7th edition)
• Dr. Anoop Misra - Director and Head, Department of Diabetes and Metabolism, Fortis Group of Hospitals, Padma Shri
• Dr. Neerja Bhatla - Editor of Jeffcoate's Gynaecology
• Dr. Ramesh Kaul, Pulmonologist and Founding chairman of American Journal of Biomedical Research

See also

• PGI Chandigarh
• Sanjay Gandhi PGIMS Lucknow
• NEIGRIHMS Shillong
• JIPMER

References

1. ^ India Today June 2000 issue - Cover Article
2. ^ India Today magazine, June 2006 issue
3. ^ ^{a b} Newsweek International Edition : An Oasis for India's Poorest
4. ^ India Today June 2000 issue - Cover Article
5. ^ MSNBC article on AIIMS
6. ^ AIIMS Citizen's Charter from the AIIMS website
7. ^ Delhilive.com on AIIMS Trauma Centre
8. ^ Pubmed Abstract for Natl Med J India. 1994 Sep-Oct;7(5):213-5.
9. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1543278.cms Supreme Court Judgment regarding 33% reservation
10. ^ Anti-quota stir continues as Arjun refuses rollback
11. ^ [1]
12. ^ [http://www.comedk.org/ In these students who get admissions are majority of them are from upper castes and who could not compete in the merit exams conducted by the state and central governments. At present our medical system in the country is so callous that no body questions the quality of the doctors produced from these paid institutions and doctors who got degrees from Russia and other countries but questions the quality of the doctor who got seat from reserved category. The caste based selection criteria never results in discrimination against merit students. As most of the southern states giving caste based admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses since last more than 40 years.[http://www.cetkarnataka.in/ Source suggests that even the reserved category students do compete equally with general merit students and got better ranks in general merit but they were denied admission under general category. It has happened in Postgraduate institute of medical education and research at Chandigarh in 2000 December where an ST student who got 11th rank in general merit wanted a seat in Pediatrics was refused to take this under general category and instead asked to take orthopedics seat under ST category. The pediatrics seat was given to the 12th rank student in general merit. Biased media never cover such incidents. Instead focus more of the antireservation slogans and even report 120 students died in AIIMS in Antireservations strike (Hindustan times). [http://www.indiantaxsolutions.com/main.php?t=28011985&d=1148288660. Although there are reports that many of the AIIMS faculty come through back door entry (say an Ad hoc basis initially by political link and later they were made permanent)[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Inquiry_finds_AIIMS_faculty_selection_process_arbitrary/articleshow/2646887.cms.Till now in AIIMS for faculty selection the reservation criteria is never followed saying it's an autonomous institution. The current AIIMS faculty president Dr.B.K.Khaithan himself got selected to AIIMS faculty position through back door entry (Ad hoc to permanent) in 2003. Like Dr.Khaitan many of these faculty are studied from other institutions and entered AIIMS by political means. Due to these irregularities many of the AIIMS postgraduates were left with no choice but to leave the country. ===2006 Controversy over AIIMS' autonomy=== AIIMS doctors again went on a flash strike in June-July 2006 over the issue of increasing political interference in the institution by the Union Health Minister [[Anbumani Ramadoss]]. {{cite web |url=http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=70535|title="Sacked Venugopal 'stunned n' Upset'"|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]|accessdate=2006-07-07}}
13. '''[[#_ref-Venugopal_goes_to_court_0|^]]''' {{cite web |url=http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=70602|title="Venugopal seeks Ramadoss' disqualification"|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]|accessdate=2006-07-07}}
14. '''[[#_ref-Strike_ends_after_Venugopal_comes_back_0|^]]''' {{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1715008.cms|title="Delhi HC stays Venugopal's dismissal; doctors to resume work"|publisher=[[The Times of India]]|accessdate=2006-07-10}}
15. '''[[#_ref-Ramadoss_goes_to_SC_0|^]]''' {{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1715358.cms|title="Ramadoss to move SC against Venugopal"|publisher=[[The Times of India]]|accessdate=2006-07-10}}
16. '''[[#_ref-Gov_withdraws_order_0|^]]''' {{cite web |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060726/main4.htm|title="Govt offers to withdraw Venugopal’s sack order"|publisher=[[The Tribune]]|accessdate=2006-07-29}}
17. '''[[#_ref-Strike_kills_patient_0|^]]''' {{cite web |url=http://72.14.235.104/custom?q=cache:NxdedybOvdUJ:ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp%3Fid%3D89910+%22AIIMS+orders+inquiry+into+patient%27s+death%22&hl=pa&ct=clnk&cd=3 |title="AIIMS orders inquiry into patient's death (Google Cache)"|publisher=[[NDTV]]|accessdate=2006-07-07}}
18. '''[[#_ref-11|^]]''' [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7827600&dopt=Abstract Pubmed Abstract for Natl Med J India. 1994 Sep-Oct;7(5):213-5.]