All India Institute of Medical Sciences

All India Institute of Medical Sciences Hindi: भारतीय आयुर्विज्ञान संस्थान
Akhil Bharatiya Aayurvigyan Sansthan
Official Seal of AIIMS
Established	1956
Type	Autonomous Institution
Endowment	450 crore (US$91.26 million) per annum
President	Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
Dean	Dr. Rani Kumar
Director	Dr. Ramesh C. Deka
Academic staff	550
Undergraduates	77 per year
Location	New Delhi, India 28°33′54″N 77°12′36″E / 28.565°N 77.21°E / 28.565; 77.21
Website	www.aiims.edu

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)  is a premier medical college and teaching hospital based in New Delhi, India. The Institute operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India).

According to India Today, AIIMS consistently ranks as the most prestigious medical college in India. Established in 1956 by the Indian Parliament with the objective of developing a strong curricular foundation for undergraduate and post-graduate healthcare education in India, AIIMS continually seeks to achieve a high standard of healthcare education in India.

Location

AIIMS is located in Ansari Nagar in south Delhi. It is adjacent to the South Extension-II market, and lies on the south-eastern quadrant of Aurbindo Marg and Inner Ring Road crossing. Across AIIMS is Safdarjung Hospital and associated Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University). Also, adjacently lies the headquarters of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the body that coordinates and funds medical research in India. In vicinity, also lies National Medical Library, run by the Directorate-General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Government of India. It has a vast collection of scientific and medical journals that can be accessed by researchers. Farthest along the stretch is the NAMS house, the official building of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, which is a prestigious body of eminent doctors from across India.

Central lawn, with teaching block in the background

History

Foundation stone at the Academic Building of AIIMS, placed by Queen Elizabeth II

AIIMS was inaugurated in 1956, and was built with a grant from the Government of New Zealand. AIIMS was established in New Delhi after former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's initial proposal to set up the institute in Calcutta was turned down by the then Chief Minister of West Bengal Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. It was the vision of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first Health Minister of India, to establish an institute of such nature in India. She envisioned an autonomous medica

Ranking

AIIMS has been consistently ranked the top medical college in India to pursue an MBBS degree by India Today in annual surveys starting in 1997. AIIMS has held the top slot for the last six years in a row, and has been ranked first for 11 out of the 12 years that India Today has conducted the survey.

AIIMS' excellence has to do with several factors - small class size, excellent library facilities, liberal clinically oriented teaching, research exposure and the ability to set its own curriculum.

Several surveys by The Week and Outlook magazines have named AIIMS the best hospital in India overall, as well as the best in several individual fields such as Cardiology, Neurology, Gastroenterology, Gynaecology and Ophthalmology, ahead of several specialised institutions.

The hospital has been able to maintain high standards of quality while seeing large numbers of patients (3.5 million in 2006) at very low cost to patients (10 (US$0.2)), many of whom live in extreme poverty.

This hospital is providing the excellence in his field.

Academics

The courses offered by the institute are:

• M.B.B.S. (Annual intake of 77 students)
• M.D./M.S. (Annual intake of around 217-220 students in 24 disciplines)
• D.M./M.Ch. (in 12 and 5 disciplines respectively)
• M.D.S.
• M.H.A.
• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Optometry/Radio-diagnosis (Annual intake of 14 and 9 students in each discipline respectively)
• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Nursing (Annual intake of 70 students in BSc Nursing)
• B.Sc. in Nursing (post-certificate)
• M.Sc. in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Pharmacology and Physiology
• M.Sc. in Urology Technology, Perfusion Technology & Nuclear Medicine
• M.Sc. in Nursing
• M.Biotech
• Ph.D. in 47 disciplines.

Admissions

Undergraduate courses

M.B.B.S.

Every year AIIMS accepts 77 Indian students, of which 34 belong to General Category and 16 belong to the reserved category (SC/ST), 19 Seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and 3 orthopedic physically handicapped, based on the results of an all-India entrance examination for its undergraduate M.B.B.S program.The number of students who take the entrance exam every year varies from 80,000 to 100,000. The acceptance rate for admission to the undergraduate course (medical school) is thus 72/90000 i.e. 0.08%.

Five international students (nominated by Government of India from SAARC nations) complete the class size of 77. AIIMS also specializes in paramedical and basic science training for its undergraduates. AIIMS is one of the few institutions where the faculty-student ratio is actually the reverse of the norm, i.e. there are more faculty members than students.  

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Ophthalmic Technique

This course is of 3+1 years duration, and is aimed at enabling the students to achieve general understanding of Human Biology and in-depth knowledge of medical science related to basic Ophthalmology, viz., Ocular Anatomy, Ocular Physiology, Ocular Biochemistry, Ocular Pathology, Ocular Microbiology and Ocular Pharmacology, as well as clinical Ophthalmology, viz., Physiological Optics, Orthoptics, Investigative Ophthalmology, Low Vision Aids, Contact Lenses. The objectives of the course are:

• To enable candidates to work in hospitals, clinics and community, in order to help in the execution of integrated approach of promotive, preventive, diagnostic, curative and rehabilitative aspects of ophthalmic care,
• To carry out refraction of normal as well as low vision patients and prescribe glasses of appropriate power and other parameters (coatings, tints, refractive index, asphericity, design, etc.),
• To assess contact lens patients and fit contact lens in various conditions, such as, keratoconus, aphakia, corneal scarring, etc.
• To carry out various ophthalmic investigations, such as, Perimetry, Tonometry, Biometry, O.C.T., etc.
• To be able to assess disorders of ocular motility and monocular and binocular visual functions, give orthoptic and pleoptic exercises.

The teaching exercises include lectures, seminars, demonstrations and postings in operation theatres, mobile eye camps and various investigative labs. Admission to this course is done yearly and about 14 students are admitted.

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Radio-diagnosis

This course is of 3 years duration. The objectives of the course are:

• To provide basic knowledge of Human Anatomy and Physiology for understanding Human Biology,
• To provide basic understanding of the beneficial and harmful effects of X-ray radiation and protective measures while working with it,
• To understand physical principles of other imaging modalities like ultrasound and MRI,
• To train the students to perform all routine radiographic techniques and produce images of good diagnostic qualities with minimum radiation dose,
• To train students to work independently as competent imaging technologists

Post-graduate courses

There are about forty-two speciality post-graduate courses conducted at AIIMS. The entry is through a nationwide competitive examination held every six months. Each year nearly 50 thousand medical graduates across the country compete for the limited number of positions, approximately ,<1% of the candidates are admitted through the process- making it one of the most difficult tests. These courses are highly coveted by the medical graduates across the country because of the institution's excellent medical services, exposure to unusual and referred cases and excellent opportunities for research.

Integrating clinics and research

AIIMS was originally built as a Superspeciality tertiary care (refers to India's three-tier health system with Primary clinics, which refer cases to secondary district level hospitals, which in turn refer cases to regional tertiary hospitals) centre with primary emphasis on research and specialized training facilities. MBBS is the basic medical course, the same as medical school. This is followed by specialization, which is the term for postgrad training in General Surgery, General Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and other fields. Superspecialities are those healthcare fields whose practitioners need specialised certification after completing their postgraduations, examples being cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, rheumatology, Neurology, Pediatric Neurology etc. There are at least 45 superspecialities at AIIMS. Having clinical superspecialities in the same campus as its major research facilities makes AIIMS optimally suited for nurturing best quality translational research, which can translate into clinically useful end products, in India. 1234 AIIMS publishes The National Medical Journal of India, among India's most prestigious clinical journals. Its impact factor is the highest among Indian journals after the Indian journal of Medical Research (published by the Indian Council of Medical Research).

Medical services

As per the AIIMS Citizen's Charter, doctors & staff at AIIMS strive to provide comprehensive, high quality tertiary care services including specialty and super-specialty services to all without consideration of caste, creed, religion, sex, economic status or disability. However, there may be some deficiencies due to extreme patient load and finite resources. Acquiring newer equipment for investigation, research and patient care is expedited as it is not constrained by funds.

Speciality centres at AIIMS

There is a separate cardiothoracic and neurosciences centre (CNC) offering superspeciality level patient care, training and research in the respective fields.

AIIMS CDER, and in foreground, hostels and the basketball court

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences is a 300 bed ophthalmic (eyes) speciality centre designated as the apex eye referral centre for India, and is the WHO collaborating centre for ophthalmic programs.

Recently Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital's construction has been completed. It specializes in medical, radiation and surgical oncology.

Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre is India's first full-fledged centre to treat victims of trauma. It is located about 1 KM west from the main campus.

CDER, the Centre for Dental Education and Research, located adjacent to the Hostels, is AIIMS' newest speciality centre.

AIIMS also runs the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at Ghaziabad, one of Delhi's suburbs.

The Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS maintains a teaching and treatment facility at Ballabgarh, which is a periurban area outside Delhi, it also provides comprehensive services to 84000 population. Faculty members from AIIMS are posted there by rotation.

Residential facilities

AIIMS is a residential university where the faculty members, staff and students live on either the main campus or one of the several campuses which form a part of the Institution. There are five hostels for men undergraduate students (Hostel No.1-5) and a single hostel available for women undergraduate students (Hostel 10). These six hostels together can accommodate 850 students. For Post-graduate students, there are three hostels available for the men students and married couples(Hostel No.6-8) and a single hostel for the women students(Hostel No.9). Additional hostels for Nursing students and Post-graduate students are available at a facility in the Masjid Moth area, situated near to the main AIIMS campus. Hostels for MBBS/ MD / nursing students are also located at Ballabgarh, Dayalpur and Chainsa used during Ballabgarh posting.

Student life and academics

MBBS life in AIIMS has a distinctive laid-back character. Attendance was not made compulsory until a few years ago, with students being given full liberty to organize their own study patterns.

AIIMS students educating residents of a Delhi slum about preventing mosquito-borne illnesses

The limitation of class size to just 50 per year ensures a close-knit student community of just over 250 people. The student body is predominantly male, with men forming approximately 80% of every batch. This is in contrast to the situation with most other medical colleges, where women are represented in larger numbers. Hostel life centers around the Quadrangle in the Gents' hostel, where most students can be seen lounging or studying.

AIIMS has a cosmopolitan student body, owing to its location in the national capital, as well as its countrywide reputation. Students from Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Mauritius and other nations add some of their own flavor. Exchange students from several Indian and international medical schools also mix with the existing crowd. The students are represented by the AIIMS Students' Union, headed by an executive committee that is elected every year from students of 4th year.

Students of AIIMS involve themselves in extra-academic movements, including Pulse, the annual, inter-college festival hosted by AIIMS. Pulse is easily India's largest medical fest, with daily attendance ranging from 5000 to 15000. A large, well-equipped students' gym, swimming pool and courts for tennis, basketball, volleyball, squash and soccer provide ample recreational opportunities. Prayatna is a student organization that arranges blood donation camps for the fulfillment of perpetual shortage of blood at the AIIMS blood bank.

Achievements

• AIIMS is the first Indian center to perform a successful cardiac transplant. The surgery was performed by Dr. P. Venugopal, the ex director of AIIMS in 1994.
• AIIMS is a leader in Stem Cell therapy, especially Cardiac and Neurological.
• AIIMS has India's first and only minimally invasive surgery training centre, under collaboration with Germany.
• It is a pioneer of robotic surgeries in India, particularly the Da Vinci system for urology, and robotic CTVS.

Controversies

Controversy regarding its Director

The Director of AIIMS has been sacked in 2006, after a certain amount of controversy which also included filing a case before the Delhi High Court.This happened as a result of a resolution which was passed by the 17 member governing body of the institute. Many people have touted this to be an extension of the Ramadoss (The Union Health Minister & The President of AIIMS) and P Venugopal rivalry. On 8 May 2008,Venugopal was re-instated as AIIMS director by a Supreme Court judgement.

Institutional quota

Prior to Supreme court judgment of 25 August 2001 and changes in institutional quota, AIIMS was criticised for the way 33% of Post Graduation Seats were reserved for those who complete their MBBS in AIIMS. This has been rectified and now admissions to the post-graduate courses at AIIMS are much sought after from medical graduates throughout the country. There is now a curtain on the controversy for the present, since the Supreme Court judgment has in effect clearly defined the administrative intricacies and application of rules.

The honourable Supreme Court of India, stated that reserving 33 per cent seats for institutional candidates was in effect 100 per cent reservation for subjects, which was declared ultra vires the Constitution, and, hence, was struck down.

The quota has been quashed by the Supreme Court as per its Judgment in the year 2001.

Caste based quota

Main articles: Indian anti-reservation protests, 2006 and Reservation in India

AIIMS students joined in the nation-wide protests which took place in May, 2006. During the strike all the medical services were shut but parallel OPDs were started after the strike had been carried out for a long time. The strike continued till 31 May when the doctors called off their strike after the Supreme Court of India orders.

There is also a minuscule section of AIIMS students and doctors under the banner Progressive Medicos and scientists Forum (PMSF) who have traditionally taken a pro-reservation stance on the basis of social justice. Eventually the Supreme Court found sanctity in the voice raised by RDA-AIIMS and the NGO YouthForEquality  through a PIL. The hon'ble SC stayed the OBC reservation bill on ground of being politically mooted and its judgment is awaited.

2006 controversy over AIIMS' autonomy

AIIMS doctors again went on a flash strike in June–July 2006 over the issue of increasing political interference in the institution by the Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. The doctors decided to go on strike following the controversial sacking of P. Venugopal, the former director of AIIMS. Venugopal challenged his sacking in the court of law, and the strike ended following the Delhi High Court's decision staying Venugopal's sacking on 7 July 2006. However, Ramadoss filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of India against the stay on the removal of AIIMS Director on the same day. On 25 July, the government offered to withdraw its order sacking Venugopal but would raise charges against him before a single-bench court. During this controversy some patients of AIIMS died due to lack of treatment.

Notable faculty and alumni

• Professor P. Venugopal, Padma Bhushan. Apart from being one of the longest-serving doctors at the institute, he is also credited with being the first Indian to perform a heart transplant.
• Prof. Ramesh C. Deka (Current Director), AIIMS
• Prof. A. S. Paintal, Internationally renowned Physiologist.
• Dr Pankaj Jay Pasricha, Chief,Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology,Stanford School of Medicine.
• Professor J. N. Pande (Former Head of Dept. of Medicine)
• Professor Emeritus Prakash Chandra, Padma Shri, B. C. Roy Awardee, founder editor of The Indian Journal of Orthopaedics; conceived the project of Centralised Services for Trauma and Accidents in Delhi, initiated undergraduate B.Sc. (Honours) courses in Human Biology and Nursing .
• Professor G. P. Talwar
• Dr Sudhir k Gupta MNAMS,Additional Professor Forensic Medicine & Toxicology,Advisory member Asia Pacific Association of Medical Toxicology for Penang,Malaysia.
• Professor V. Ramalingaswami (Former Director), Padma Vibhushan, first Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
• Professor Samiran Nundy, Padma Shri, Former Head of Dept. of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Founder of The National Medical Journal of India
• Prof. Suneeta Mittal, Eminent Surgeon, a compassionate teacher, pioneer in field of research and public health for the welfare of women. She is presently the HOD of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Director in Charge WHO-CCR in Human Reproduction, and Chief of IVF Facility at AIIMS.
• Dr. S. N. Mehta (Former Head of Dept. of Surgery) Senior Consultant, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals
• Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, Padma Bhushan, Head of Public Health Foundation of India, Head of the Prime Minister of India's Medical Team
• Prof. T.P.Singh, (Distinguished Biotechnologist, DBT)
• Dr. Deepak Chopra (popular spiritual Guru)
• Dr. Sanjeev Chopra (Dean of CME, Harvard Medical School)
• Dr. Abul K. Abbas (Chair Pathology Dept. UCSF, Author or Abbas Immunology, Editor of Robbins' Pathology 7th edition)
• Professor Vinay Kumar (Chair Pathology Dept. Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Editor of Robbins' Pathology 7th edition)
• Dr. Anoop Misra - Director and Head, Department of Diabetes and Metabolism, Fortis Group of Hospitals, Padma Shri
• Dr. Neerja Bhatla - Editor of Jeffcoat's Principles of Gynaecology
• Dr. Ramesh Kaul, Pulmonologist and Founding chairman of American Journal of Biomedical Research
• Dr. Anil Aggrawal, Forensic Pathologist, and editor of Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology [Studied for M.D. in Forensic medicine from 1979 till 1982]
• Dr. A. K. Hemal, Padma Shri
• Prof MC Mishra, HOD Surgical Disciplines and Chief, Trauma Center.
• Dr. N. P. Gupta, Padma Shri.
• Dr. Randeep Guleria, Physician to the Prime Minister of India, noted Pulmonologist
• Dr. Sandeep Guleria, ex Surgeon- ( Former Sub-Dean - AIIMS, Secretory- Indian Society of Organ Transplant)- noted Transplant surgeon ( now in Apollo hospital)
• Dr. K. K Talwar, former Professor in Dept. of Cardiology, present Director of PGIMER Chandigarh
• Dr. Maharaj K. Bhan - Professor of Pediatrics, presently on deputation as Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India
• Dr. V. S. Mehta - Padam Shri, Former head of department, Neurosurgery, and Chief- Neurosciences Centre. Presently Director of Neurosciences, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.
• Dr. P. N. Tandon, Former head of department of Neurosurgery at AIIMS. Founder President of National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana.
• Prof. Purushottam Upadhyaya - Former Chief of Paediatric Surgery at AIMMS. Founder of AIIMS Department of Paediatric Surgery. Performed the first successful separation of conjoined twins in India.
• Dr. A. K. Banerji. Former head of department of Neurosurgery, AIIMS. Former head of Neurosciences at VIMHANS Hosptial, New Delhi.
• Dr. B. S. Narang, Professor of Pathology and Biochemistry. Honored by establishment of Dr. B.S. Narang Memorial Prize awarded to the Best Undergraduate in Biochemistry at AIIMS
• Dr. Abhimanyu Garg, Professor of Internal Medicine, Chief of Human Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, pioneer in lipodystrophy research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
• Dr Bhagyashree S Chandra , Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
• Dr Mandeep Bajaj, Endocrinology, Baylor college of Medicine
• Dr Paresh Dandona, Chief of Endocrinology, University of Buffalo, NY
• Dr. Dheerendra Prasad MD MCh, Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology, University at Buffalo, NY
• Dr Arun Sanyal, AASLD president, Chief of Gastroenterology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
• Dr. B.Saikia ,Professor of Medicine ,Weill Cornell Medical College,Division of Cardiology,NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
• Dr. Atchuthanand Budi, Pediatrician and Neonatologist Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Dr K.K Handa , Director ENT and Head Neck Surgery , Medanta Medicity , Gurgaon , NCR Delhi
• Dr. M. A. Padmanabha Rao, Medical physics Lecturer in Nuclear Medicine (1964-1983), Assembly Member from India to World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology, Tokyo (1974), reported Bharat Radiation and UV dominant optical radiation emissions from radioisotopes and XRF sources in 2010.
• Narayan P Verma MD FACP FAAN, Professor of Neurology, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Recipients of SS Bhatnagar Award for medical research

Several present and former faculty members from AIIMS have won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology. Given by the CSIR, they are among India's most prestigious research awards.

• B. K. Anand - Physiologist
• V. Ramalingaswami - Pathologist
• Pradeep Seth - Microbiologist, developed HIV vaccine
• M. K. Bhan - Pediatrician, worked on diarrhea
• Shashi Wadhwa - Neuroscientist
• N. K. Mehra - Immunologist
• Y. D. Sharma - Biotechnologist
• S. K. Panda - Pathologist specializing in Viral Hepatitis
• Ravinder Goswami - Endocrinologist with work on Hypocalcaemic disorders in India
• Dr. Indira Nath - Founder head of Biotechnology Department in AIIMS.
• Dr.Anzal Fazil- founder of college Jn fans association college for average students at kavalppura in iravipuram district