Government Medical College, Kozhikode
Government Medical College, Kozhikode, commonly referred to as Calicut Medical College, is a premier medical college located in the city of Kozhikode in Kerala, India. It was established in 1957 as the second medical college in Kerala. Since then the institution has grown into a premier centre of medical education in the state. The medical college campus houses several institutions like Government Dental College, Government nursing college, College of Pharmacy, Institute of Maternal and Child Health, Super-specialty block and Institute of Chest Diseases. It is affiliated to the University of Calicut and Kerala University of Health Sciences and serves 40% of the population of Kerala. Currently, the hospital has 3025 licensed beds which makes it the largest hospital in India by bed strength.
Location
The vast and sprawling Medical College complex is spread over an extensive area of 270 acres and is located about 10 km east from the heart of Calicut city. The college is around 7 km east from Calicut Railway Station and around 30 kilometers from Calicut International Airport. The college is approximately 3 kilometers from NH 66 and NH 766 highways.History
The foundation stone of the college was laid on 29 May 1957 by the then Governor of Kerala, Dr. B. Ramakrishna Rao. The College was formally inaugurated on 5 August 1957 by the then minister of Health, Kerala state Dr. A. R. Menon, whose initiative and zeal were responsible for the establishment of the institution. Dr. K. N. Pisharady, the first principal, was responsible for the task of organizing the college. With the completion of the college building on 15 March 1959 the pre-clinical section was shifted from the temporary location in beach hospital to the campus.The main hospital which was commissioned in 1966 with 1183 beds. It was later supplemented by the Institute of Maternal and Child Health in 1975, the Savithri Devi Saboo Memorial Cancer Institute and the Institute of Chest Diseases. A super specialty complex, CT scan, MRI scan, an artificial limb centre, Casualty complex, Samraksha Kendram, and Vishrama Kendram were later additions to the institution. The present bed strength is 3025. This makes it the largest bedded hospital in the country. The patient load is beyond the commissioned number of total beds. Because of the patient overload, it is common for the floors and corridors to be occupied by patients.
The Calicut Dental College was inaugurated on 16 April 1984. Dr. C.T. Mathew was the first director of the Dental College. At present, the dental college is functions as an independent college. New blocks for the College of Nursing and College of Pharmacy are recent additions.
The Institute of Chest Diseases was inaugurated on 20 September 1990 by the then chief minister E.K. Nayanar and the then Health Minister A.C. Shanmughadas. M.Sc. Nursing was started in the College of Nursing during 1997. The multistory super-speciality complex was functional in 2006. The renovated IMCH building, constructed under the NRHM scheme was inaugurated by the then Health minister, P.K Sreemathy on 18 December 2010. The institute of sports medicine was also inaugurated on the same day.
During the last decade many modern specialty services in medical care have been developed in the institution for kidney transplants, complex open heart surgeries, neurosurgical procedures and modern cancer treatment options. A well equipped Cath Lab and Cobalt tele-therapy are recent additions to the hospital complex. A well equipped Medical Education Unit was also started. The college also conducts Nursing, Pharmacy, Lab technician training, training of Radiological Assistants and Ophthalmic Assistants. The Medical library and most of the departments of the college have been provided with computer facilities.
The Indian coffee house in the campus is famous amongst the staff and students of the college.
Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences
The Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences is an autonomous institution established in 1983.The principal objective of this institute is to develop a community mental health programme in North Kerala. IMHANS provides wages and vocational training to persons recovered from mental illnesses. Rehabilitation centres function at Feroke, Balussery, Manjeri and Edavanna.Institute of Chest Diseases
The Institute of Chest diseases was commissioned on 20 September 1990 by the then Chief Minister of Kerala, E.K. Nayanar. The Institute is located 200 m away from the main hospital complex. It stated as a 100 bedded centre for respiratory diseases. The institute has facilities like sleep lab, medical thoracoscopy, pulmonary function tests, and a well-equipped intensive respiratory care unit. The Institute undertakes community orientation projects in implementing the DOTS programme for treatment of tuberculosis.Institute of Palliative Medicine
in medical college campus was started in 2003 as a separate full-fledged project of the pain and palliative clinic which originally started in 1995. It is the largest training centre in Palliative care in South Asia. IPM also houses an inpatient unit for patients with chronic, incurable or terminal illnesses. IPM is the first World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Community Participation in Palliative Care and Long Term Care in developing countries. The institute has been instrumental in developing the “Kerala Model” of palliative care, a concept now popular among the palliative care fraternity worldwide.IPM is also the international partner for the WHO collaboration Centre, Oxford, UK. The Basic Certificate Course in Palliative Medicine run by IPM is affiliated to Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.
In 2009, IPM launched a project SREE in collaboration with the Kozhikode city police in order to help terminally ill patients.
Collaborative Programme on Pediatric Immune Disorders
The Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College, Kozhikode along with the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, a National laboratory pioneering in genomics and translational medicine under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research have been working together to create a comprehensive program on Primary immunodeficiency Disorders in children. The centre is a part of the collaborative network - Genomics for Understanding Rare Diseases India Alliance Network initiative, one of the largest of its kind in Rare Genetic Diseases in India. The center is also supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board and Foundation for Primary Immune Deficiency Disorders. The centre provides clinical diagnosis and genetic testing and counselling services on every Mondays.MBBS Batches
The annual intake of undergraduate students was 50 in 1957. It was increased from 150 to 200 in 1989 and to 250 in 2011. The MBBS batches are named after the numerical order of joining, the initial batch being the '1st Batch' which joined in the year 1956. The 63rd batch joined in August 2019. The college offers post graduate courses and PG diploma courses in many subjects. Post doctoral training programmes are also being offered. The collegiate hospitals are accredited centres of Dip.NB examinations in many disciplines, which are conducted by the National Board of Examinations.CMC Alumni Association
Calicut Medical College also has a strong alumni Association. The Calicut Medical College Alumni Association takes an active role in the academic and co-curricular advancements. The Alumni association supports the Calicut Medical Journal. In addition, the association contributes to the Institute in a number of ways, including conducting regular academic programmes and organising coaching classes for Postgraduate Entrance Examinations. The association also maintains the Alumni Wards and the computer, xerox and audio-visual facilities at the college.The Association office functions on the College premises.
Many of the CMC Alumni have become famous in areas ranging from Clinical practice to Research. Dr. Vinod Scaria of 42nd batch has been recently in news for sequencing the human genome for the first time in India. Prof. Sasidharan P.K from 1982 batch is famous for his studies on malnutrition in India.
Notable alumni
- Azad Moopen Indian physician and philanthropist
- K. C. Joseph Politician
- Khadija Mumtaz Malayalam author
- M. K. Muneer Former minister
- Sasidharan Puthenpurakkal
- Vinod Scaria
Journals
College union elections
Historically, the college union elections have been a major event annually which has in the past been subject to intense competition and controversy. Over the past few years the elections have been fiercely contested amid violence between "Students' Federation of India" and "Independents" which is a non-political students organization founded by the students their self.Since the affiliation of the college was changed from University of Calicut to Kerala University of Health Sciences, college union elections have been suspended, and an interim students council was instituted.But the general election restarted in 2014 and all the 10 seats are won by Independents.