The best medical college

AFMC all the way

The Armed Forces Medical College in Pune is the first medical college to be set up by the armed forces in Asia. AFMC was rated the country’s third best medical college in 2006 after AIIMS, New Delhi and CMC, Vellore

Aditi Thirani Golibar Maidan

The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) in Pune holds the distinction of being the first medical college set up by the armed forces in Asia. The college combines medical education with training catering specifically to the healthcare needs of the armed forces. AFMC was rated the country’s third best medical college in 2006 after AIIMS, New Delhi and CMC, Vellore.

The college was established on May 1, 1948. It was earlier known as Army Medical Training Centre (AMTC). AMTC was established on August 17, 1945 and grew after being merged with the Army School of Hygiene, JCOs and NCOs Training School, Army School of Radiology, Central Military Pathology Laboratory, Army Transfusion Centre and the Medical Research Organisation. In the recently concluded Maharashtra University Of Health Sciences (MUHS) examination, medical cadets of AFMC saw a pass percentage of 100 in MBBS.

This year, students are also slated to receive twelve out of sixteen gold medals being awarded by MUHS. Out of 118 students who graduated this year, 110 have joined the armed forces. Commenting on AFMC, Bangalore-based National Assessment and Accreditation Council said, "The teaching-learning methodology is student centric and the college needs to be commended for its efforts in producing work-books, study manuals, protocols and computer aided learning manuscripts. A notable feature of the various departments are the museums, which are a rich source of information for students…" Official delegations from the US armed forces, Army Medical Services (UK), Zambia, UAE, Israel and Maldives have visited AFMC from time to time.