Vital Statistics

WHAT IS IT? A medical college to train doctors for the armed forces. WHO’S THE BOSS? Lt Gen. M.P. Jaiprakash is the director. HOW TO GET IN? Through an all-India written entrance examination. WHERE TO STAY? The college has hostel facilities for its cadets. WHAT ABOUT JOBS? Students can choose between short-term and long-term commissions in the armed forces. WHERE IS IT? Armed Forces Medical College, Sholapur Road, Pune 411001, Maharashtra, Phone: 020 - 26811205; Website: www.afmcpune.com

Set up in 1948, the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune is not your run-of-the-mill medical college. As its name suggests, AFMC trains doctors to treat members of the defence corps, both on and off the battlefield.

Getting into AFMC depends not just on your academic excellence, but also your physical fitness. Because, at AFMC, you are not merely a student, you?re also a cadet. Moreover, you have to sign a bond for Rs 15 lakhs at the time of admission. All graduates are expected to serve as short service commissioned officers. If they do not wish to do so, they have to pay the bond amount. That?s not too unfair, considering that once you get in, you don?t have to spend a penny. Whether it?s your fees, board, books, or even your haircut ? everything is paid for.

Doctors? drill

Life at AFMC begins at 6 am, with an hour-long physical training session. Theory classes, discussions, symposia, dissections and practicals at labs keep the cadets busy till late afternoon. The institute has some of the best state-of-the-art medical teaching facilities in the country. Apart from sophisticated labs and an electron microscope, AFMC is connected to four armed forces hospitals in Pune.

Lt Gen. M.P. Jaiprakash, commandant and director of AFMC, feels the institute has become very cutting edge of late. ?The emphasis on studies is much more today due to the increase in medical knowledge in recent years,? he says.

On completion of the MBBS course, students can opt for specialisations. The masters courses in medicine and surgery are for three years. At the super-specialisation level, students can opt for cardiac, neuro and orthopaedic surgery, besides reconstructive and plastic surgery. They can also enrol in doctoral programmes in pathology, medicine and surgery. Lt Gen. Jaiprakash reveals that with the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act and the risks posed by specialisations like medicine and surgery, many students now opt for ?safer? specialisations like radiology and pathology.

Serving the nation

On graduating, students can choose between short-term and long-term commissions. The short-term commission has a service period of five to seven years, while those opting for the long-term commission have to serve the armed forces for at least 20 years. But here again, it is merit that is the decider. Cadets are introduced to the world of ranks and titles a year before the passing-out parade. They go into their internships as lieutenants, followed by the ranks of captain, major and lieutenant colonel after four, nine and 13 years of service respectively.

Committed and efficient

AFMC has female students too, though their number is quite small. At a mere 25 in a class of 130, women form less than 20 per cent of the batch strength. This number, as Jaiprakash says, is based on field requirements. ?The men go into areas where women may not be able to. Remember, our doctors have to move with the fighting infantry.? In fact, it was the agility of these doctors, says Lt Gen. Jaiprakash, that saved many an injured soldier treated during the Kargil war.

Studies apart, AFMC has ample opportunities for extra-curricular activities. There are debates, dramatics, music, painting, tennis, squash, cricket and swimming. Sports is one of the facilities that makes things particularly interesting for two first-year students, Nidhi Garg and Sumit Singh. ?We couldn?t have found a better place than AFMC. We love it,? they say.

REENA MARTINS

Old memories

Dr Dinesh Bhugra, dean, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London, on his AFMC days

AFMC OPENED A lot of doors for me. I chose the college because it was rated among the top five medical schools in the country.

Having grown up in a small industrial town in north India, I found the atmosphere of AFMC daunting to begin with. But the sense of camaraderie and support from my peers helped — especially in the first year when we were ragged all the time.

We were a batch of 100 boys and 20 girls. We socialised in the evenings in the college’s open-air canteen or watched movies in the open-air theatre. We also went into town and returned an hour before midnight, when the hostel doors would be shut.

The sense of discipline we imbibed has stood me in good stead all my life. The college did not promote rote learning but encouraged us to think and ask questions. Whatever I have achieved so far, is primarily because of my training at AFMC .

As told to Reena Martins