Institute of Medical Sciences: MGIMS

Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences

Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) was started as Gandhi Centenary Project in the year 1969. In mid sixties it was realised that 80% of rural India was bereft of health care despite increase in number of medical colleges and Primary Health Centres and Sub-centres. Most of the medical graduates remained in urban area or went abroad for seeking greener pastures. “Why not to have a medical college in rural area? This will enable the medical students to understand the problems of rural people in a better way and some of them will definitely get motivated to work in the villages”.

This noble ideal was conceived by the then Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, who put this idea to Dr. Sushila Nayar, Union Health Minister. She selected Sevagram for such an experiment. After leaving Sabarmati Ashram, revered Shri Mahatma Gandhi, set up Ashram in Sevagram in 1936. Dr. Sushila Nayar joined Bapuji in 1938, especially to look after him on the suggestions of Dr. B. C. Roy. Since other patients also started coming to her in Ashram, which disturbed the serenity of the Ashram, Bapuji asked her, “You go and start your clinic in the Birla Guest House”, (It was built by Shri G. D. Birla for Bapuji’s guests, about 1 km. away from Ashram).

Thus, a small hospital for women and children of surrounding villages was started. Kasturba Hospital, thus, was founded by Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi in 1945. Because of this background of Sevagram, it was chosen for the medical college.Kasturba Health Society registered in September 1964, as a Trust; is the Apex body which runs the Institute. Kasturba Hospital has now 640 beds and all the disciplines. For providing nursing services, Auxillary Nurse Midwifery (ANM) course was started in 1945 and it was replaced by Kasturba Nursing School in 1973 as a Nursing Diploma Course and has trained so far about 1000 nurses.

Recently, Kasturba Nursing College for Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing course has also been started.MGIMS admits 64 students per year and has turned out about 1800 graduates and about 600 post-graduates in different disciplines so far. Admission to MBBS course is made through All India Premedical Entrance Test. Initial finances were met from USAID as grant-in-aid for building and equipments. The recurring expenses are shared by Central Government, Maharashtra Government and Kasturba Health Society.

• Aims and objecties

1. To demonstrate that medical education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels can be made for the delivery of health care to the community at their door steps.

2. Training of young doctors can be carried out in the community to a large extent.

3. To show that the cost of medical education can be reduced without sacrificing academic standards .

4. To evolve a pattern of medical education and delivery of total health care to the community suitable for developing countries.

5. To determine the role of the community leaders and para medical staff in the delivery of primary health care and the extent to which other system of medicines such as Ayurveda, Yoga and Nature Cure can be utilized for this purpose.

6. To develop research programmes for understanding and control of community health problems and communicable diseases such as Filariasis, Leprosy, Tuberculosis, etc.

7. To demonstrate that adequate resources for the promotion of physical and emotional health care can lead to all round development of rural communities.

The Institute has evolved a number of unique innovations in medical education, health care delivery system and research to give a rural bias to the work and also to promote greater involvement of the community in improving their own health.