Community Medicine

Community Medicine, as a branch of medicine and a major subject of MBBS course, is concerned with health of populations. It aims to protect and promote the health and well-being of communities and populations through Primary Health Care approach. It deals with analysing and measuringthe health needs of populations, their health status and then develops appropriate and technically and practically feasible strategies to prevent and control diseases and improve health of populations through Health Promotion, Health Education and Health Protection.

Training in Community Medicine aims at nurturing Primary Health Care professionals and physicians who can recognise and manage common ailments and health problems in the community near their door steps and in their community environmental milieu. The primary health care provider should have the ability and skills to identify, prioritise and manage the health problems of the community in tandem with the perception of the com-munity leaders and with their active cooperation and participation.

The community physician will be an effective leader of health team at Primary Health Care level and sound in academics, health research and leadership skills. He/She is in-strumental in development of Public Health policy, design and implement health pro-grammes, suitably modified and aligned to local needs, and then evaluate these health activities and programmes.

Being Primary Health care, physicians, they shall have the ability to practically apply knowledge and skills gained in various clinical subjects during MBBS course to treat common health problems, for the benefit of the community, by applying preventive, cura-tive, promotive, restorative and rehabilitative measures.