DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE

• To provide quality community-oriented medical education to the undergraduate and post graduate medical students.

• To create social physicians capable of providing comprehensive care.

• To provide preventive, promotive and curative services to the community through community outreach centers and outreach activities.

• To conduct socially relevant field-based research.

• To facilitate the implementation of National Health Programs.

VISION: 

·         Leadership and innovation to promote resilience and wellness, personal growth and social responsibility in our learners.

·         To be center of Excellence in imparting medical education in diverse specialties and to foster an atmosphere that is conducive to quality learning.

MISSION:

·         To provide an integral system of academic delivery that focuses on quality education, character development and superlative health care to ensure an effective and practical learning environment that is aligned with the needs of our society.

• To create a top notch health care system that delivers physical, mental and spiritual health needs to all socio-economic strata, locally, nationally and globally, and also to educate and train the students to emerge as an efficient doctor in the community.

The foundations that make for a great doctor are firmly rooted in basic science, clinical experience and in-depth research, and lie at the heart of curriculum implementation. The undergraduate MBBS and postgraduate courses follow the MCI guidelines.

Undergraduate:

Three main concepts are incorporated throughout the undergraduate course:

• The scientific basis of medicine
• Focus on patient care
• Special emphasis on the unique skills essential for all students, such as communication, medical ethics, and professionalism

Postgraduate:

• Learning aspects of hospital safety, waste management and safe medication communication are constantly applied.
• Postgraduates undergo special training in research methodologies and statistical analysis which facilitate them throughout their careers.
• The Skill labs offer training through simulation and tissue dissection which emphasizes their basic scientific basis.
• We are involved in the education of superior physicians and specialists, and our college emphasizes the basic scientific disciplines and ethical and professional concerns necessary to achieve this goal.

Dr. D.R. Vedapriya ,Professor & Head

• Public health museum: Models of public health importance are displayed and posters depicting the significant contributions of scientists towards advances in public health exhibited.

• Departmental library cum seminar hall: Library has an adequate collection of books and journals, which are being utilized by the postgraduates and faculty. 

• Demonstration rooms: Two spacious demonstration rooms where teaching programs and practical classes for undergraduates and postgraduates are conducted.

• Public health laboratory: Public health procedures like water analysis are conducted. Undergraduate and Postgraduate practical classes are held.

• Research laboratory: The laboratory is equipped with a Computer and instruments of public health importance and is well utilized by the faculty and postgraduates. 

• SERVICES:

  Services delivered by the Department through Rural and Urban Health Training Centres: 

  • Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC), Valavanur: It is situated 15.5 kilometers from Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Center, delivering 24 X7 primary health care and training for interns, postgraduates. Accommodation and mess facilities have been provided. Weekly immunization, antenatal care and deliveries are routinely conducted.
  • Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC), Villianur: It is situated 7.8 kilometers from Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Center, campus.  Primary health care with weekly immunization, antenatal clinics, training for interns, postgraduates and transport to carry out field activities are provided.
  • A MOU has been signed with Government and to the Government regarding training for our interns at three Government Primary Health Centers located at Ariyur, Villianur and Nettapakkam.
  • We run School Health Services at schools located in and around our service areas.

     Evening clinic and special outreach camps at Government Primary Health Centre (PHC), Villianur:  Department runs evening clinic and conducts special outreach camps, in coordination with  PHC, Villianur, as a part of  Memorandum of Understanding with District Health and Family Welfare Society.

·         National Health Programmes: Department is involved in the implementation of various National Health Programmes, in coordination with the District Health and Family Welfare Department.

·         Family Medicine OPD:  Department runs a Family Medicine OPD in the teaching hospital, providing primary care and health promotion services to patients from rural and urban field practice areas and health camps.

·         Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) clinic: Department runs NCD clinic for early detection of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cancers. Health education on NCD prevention is conducted twice a week in the UHTC, Villianur and RHTC, Vallavanur through interactive sessions and group discussions.

·         Mother Craft Clinic: Conducted twice a week at postnatal wards and involves interactive health education sessions for postnatal women and their caregivers.

• Water Surveillance: Conducted on a monthly basis in the various hostels of the campus.

• Weekly Specialty OPD’s are conducted in UHTC, Villianur – General Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, Pediatrics and Dentistry.

• Regular health education activities are done in various industries.

• Health check up camps are also organized in various such industries, in and around villages.

The MBBS teaching program in Community Medicine is spread over a period of three and half years.

Undergraduate students are provided with state-of-the-art facilities to learn different aspects of community medicine through lectures classes, group discussions, problem solving exercises, Clinico-social case presentations and by posting them to various community based organizations in the Primary Health Care setting both in rural and urban areas including exposure to other NGOs / Voluntary Organizations. This helps them to acquire clinical acumen and communication skills to enable them to serve as effective and efficient primary health care physicians as per the MCI norms for an Indian medical graduate.

Teaching, Learning Tools & Activities

Training and facilitation of the learning process will be aided through the following methods of learning:

• Lecture discussions / Small Group Teaching
• Practical Demonstrations
• Field visits – Family Studies / Clinico-Social Case Studies / Site Visits
• Focused group discussion (FGD), Participatory Learning Appraisal (PLA)
• Institutional visits
• Seminars & tutorials
• Epidemiological Exercises  Learning by doing
• Assignment writing
• Involvement in Specific Departmental Project works
• Students Library Projects
• Conducting of epidemiological Surveys / projects
• Planning and Organizing Health Education activities.
• Self-learning modules
• Interactive learning and e-modules

Course Contents:

 Practicals

• Clinico–Social case studies
• Exercises in Epidemiology and Biostatistics
• Spotters related to Nutrition, Entomology, MCH & Environmental Health etc.,
• Analysis and presentation of data from Demographic survey, Morbidity Survey and Community Diagnosis
• Development of Health Education Materials
• Basics of Research Methodology
• Family Health Advisory Program (FHAP)

Field visits for Undergraduate Medical Students

• Sub centre / Primary Health Centre
• Community Health Centre / District Hospital
• Rural Health Training Centre, Urban Health Training Centre
• Anganwadi Centre
• Water Distribution System and Sewage Treatment Plant
• Industry visit
• Infectious Disease Hospital
• DOTS Centre
• Malaria Research Centre
• Urban Leprosy Centre
• School Health services
• Old Age Homes

Topics for Integrated Teaching

• Nutritional Disorders
• Communicable diseases of National importance
• Non Communicable disease of National importance
• Geriatric Medicine
• Adolescent Health
• Rational drug use
• Mother and Child Health
• Industrial health
• Ethical issues
• Genetics
• Mental Health
• Disaster Management

Assessment methods:

Students at SVMCH & RC are under continuous Formative Assessment (PBL sessions, quizzes, assignments, clinical case discussions, and others). Summative Assessment would also be held (Mid-term, End-of-term, send-up and ward-leaving test) apart from the University examinations. The drawn up schedule will be published in the Academic Calendar. Their performance reports will be shared with parents via email notifications and by post regularly.

Post graduate training:

                    Postgraduate students, in addition to regular training programmes in academics, undertake short term  research projects, participate in community development activities, organize service camps, monitoring and evaluation of National Health Programmes and community surveys which equip them with academic, administrative and managerial skills to serve as effective professionals in any academic/research institution or public health organizations. The activities of the postgraduates are monitored and formatively assessed by the Department.

Teaching and training of postgraduates in Community Medicine is directed towards achievement of the goal of “Health for All”.

Lecture discussions:

On various topics like epidemiology, concepts in Community Medicine, statistics, nutrition, public health administration, research methodology, environmental sanitation, occupational health, international health and health systems.

Clinical Training:

Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases, DVL – Importance should be given to the learning outcome rather than to the duration of the posting. After an initial posting for familiarization with the procedures and staff of the concerned department a “credit system” could be followed. In this the candidate would be required to follow up cases both in the wards and in the field. The management of the cases will be discussed with the staff members and “credit” given to the performance of the candidate. The duration of the postings could vary from two to four weeks. The “credit” given could be used for evaluation.

Learning Methods:

1. Practical exercises to cover epidemiology, statistics, medical entomology, Clinico-social case study, practical teaching to undergraduates on environmental sanitation, Health Education. Field investigation of outbreak
2. Dissertation on a topic of public health importance to train the candidate in research methodology, approved by the Scientific Research Committee and Institutional Human Ethics Committee. The dissertation is to be approved by the board of examiners.
3. PG Presentation: Weekly seminar presentations and in-depth discussion;
4. PG Presentation (Journal Club): Weekly in-depth discussion of articles appearing in public health related scientific journals.
5. Others Inter-departmental postgraduate seminars and discussions with visiting Professors. Visits to place of Public Health interest and other training centres E.g. NTI, CLTRI, etc.

• Naik BN, Kar SS, Premarajan K, Sarkar S. Awareness about IUCD: As a method of contraception among the eligible couples of Ramanathapuram village, Puducherry. Indian Journal of Maternal and Child Health 2015;17(2): 1-8
• Naik BN, Sahu SK, Kumar SG. Wound management and vaccination following animal bite: a study on knowledge and practice among people in an urban area of Pondicherry, India. Int J Community Med Public Health 2015; 2(4):501-505
• Naik BN, Majumdar A, Sahu S. Understanding the perceived reasons and practices related to gender preferences in an urban population of Puducherry: an exploratory study. Int J Contemp Pediatr 2015; 2(3): 227-232
• Kumar SG, Majumdar A, Kumar V, Naik BN, Selvaraj K, Balajee K. Prevalence of acute respiratory infection among under-five children in urban and rural areas of puducherry, India. J Nat Sci Biol Med 2015;6(1):3–6.
• Kar SS, Narayanan SL, Ramalingam A, Naik BN, Sujiv AG. Burden of Occupational Health Problems and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Selected Industrial Population in South India: Should We be Concerned. J Cardiovasc Dis Res Vol 2015;6(3):117-123.
• Ramachandran N, Srinivasan M, Thekkur P, Johnson P, Chinnakali P, Naik BN. Mobile Phone Usage and Willingness to Receive Health-Related Information Among Patients Attending a Chronic Disease Clinic in Rural Puducherry, India. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2015;9(6):1350–1.
• Thekkur P, Reddy MM, Ramaswamy G, Naik BN, Lakshminarayanan S, Kumar SG. Medication adherence and its correlates among diabetes and hypertensive patientsseeking care from primary health care centre, India. International Journal Current Research and Review 2015; 7 (21): 33
• Naik BN, Veerakumar AM, Manikandan S, Kar SS. Prevalence of Domestic Poisoning in a Rural Area of Tamil Nadu. Indian J Forensic Med Toxicol 2016 ;10(1): 11-13.

• Naik B, Reddy M, Kanungo S, Kar S. Speed detection device in preventing road traffic accidents: A realistic approach in India!. J Fam Med Prim Care 2016; 5(3):741-2.
• Thekkur P, Reddy MM, Naik BN, Subitha L, Kar SS. Attack rate and household secondary attack rate of acute conjunctivitis during an outbreak in South India: A community-based survey. Indian J Ophthalmol 2016;64(4):266–71.
• Majella MG, Naik BN, Mahalakshmy T, Chinnakali P. Comment on the maternal and neonatal outcomes of gestational diabetes. J Fam Med Prim Care 2016;5(1):190–1.
• Naik BN, Kar SS, Majella MG, Parthibane S. Does awareness on health hazards of tobacco use promote quit attempt? An observational study from urban Pondicherry. Int J Community Med Public Health 2017; 4 (5): 1787-88
• Aggrawal S, Krishnamurthy S, Naik BN. Assessment of quality of life in children with nephrotic syndrome at a teaching hospital in south India. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2017; 28 (3):593-98
• Datta, Shib Sekhar, Rupesh Kanna, R & Rangaswamy, Surendar & S, Rajkumar. (2017). An epidemiological study into risk factors of suicidal ideation and attempt among young and adult population in rural Pondicherry, India. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 4. 803-808. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20170762
• Arthi M, Narayan K A, Surendar R, Lokeshmaran A. Quality assessment of nutritional components of Integrated Child Development Services provided in rural Puducherry. Int J Med Sci Public Health. (2018), [cited March 15, 2019]; 7(5): 338-341. doi:10.5455/ijmsph.2018.0925206022018
• Radhika, B & N. Vrushabhendra, H & Surendar R & Arthi, S. (2018). Association of diet and physical activity with BMI among dental students in Puducherry. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health. 5. 3410. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183071.
• Radhika, B & N. Vrushabhendra, H & Surendar R & Arthi, S. (2018). Association of diet and physical activity with BMI among dental students in Puducherry. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health. 5. 3410. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183071.
• Radhika, B & N. Vrushabhendra, H & Surendar R & Arthi, S. (2018). Association of diet and physical activity with BMI among dental students in Puducherry. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health. 5. 3410. 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183071.
• Hadaye RS, Thampi JG. Catastrophic health-care expenditure and willingness to pay for health insurance in a metropolitan city: A cross-sectional study. Indian J Community Med 2018;43:307-11

• Thampi JG, Hadaye RS. Attitude towards and utilization of health insurance in a metropolitan city: A cross-sectional study – to be published in Volume 6, Issue 9 of IJCMPH, in September 2019

• Thampi JG, Hadaye R. Morbidity profile and anthropometry among the elderly in an urban slum in Mumbai. Int J Community Med Public Health 2019;6:4352-6.

• Naik BN, Rangasamy S, Vrushabhendra HN. Time management among undergraduate medical students: A study from a tertiary health-care teaching institution in Puducherry. J Integr Health Sci 2019;7:39-43.
• Surendar R, Durgapriya G, Arthi M, Srikanth S. Quality of life among post – menopausal women in rural Puducherry. Public health Rev: Int J Public health Res 2019;6(3):112-118.doi:10.17511/ijphr.2019.i3.03.
• Surendar R, Arthi M, Madhumadhi S, Saravanan R, Karrunya S, Srikanth S. Awareness on Health Insurance among a selected Urban Population in Puducherry. Nat J Res Community Med 2019;8(2): 176-179
• Rangasamy S, Marimuthu A, Subramanian R, Narayan KA. Evaluation of revised national tuberculosis control programme in rural Puducherry. Int J Community Med Public Health 2019;6:3842-7
• Vighnesh CS, Rangaswamy S, Arthi M. Awareness and practices of foot care in patients with diabetes mellitus in an urban area in Puducherry. Galore International Journal of Health Sciences & Research. 2019; 4(3): 150-157
• Subramanian R, Rengasamy S, Arthi S. Maternal risk factors for low birth weight in neonates – A community-based prospective study in rural area of Puducherry. Int J Med Sci Public Health 2019;8(5):386-391
• Arthi M, Surendar R, Srikanth S, Latha S, Radhika. Bio-medical waste management rules 2016. Are the health care workers aware? – Evaluation of an intervention. Int J Med Bio Studies 2019; 3(4)
• Ramya MR,  Srikanth S, Surender Rangasamy, Vrushabhendra Halevoor Nanjundappa, Hemapriya S, Soumya Nambiar. Prevalence of internet usage among selected professional College students in Puducherry. Nat J Res Community Med 2019;8(1):15-19
• Naik Bijaya N, Rangasamy S, Kanungo S, Vrushabhendra HN.Self directed learning readiness among undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care health institution in Pondicherry. Nat J Res Community Med 2019;8(1):20-24

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