University College of Medical Sciences

The University College of Medical Sciences, 'UCMS', Delhi, is one of the premier institutes in India for imparting medical education.

It was founded in the year 1971, with the classes for the first batch being held in the department of Chemistry, Delhi University, North Campus. It then started having its clinical postings at Meerut Medical College. Shortly, it shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in South Delhi. In 1986, it shifted to its present campus at Dilshad Garden with Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, a 1000 bedded institution, as its teaching hospital. Soon, two more hospitals- Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and The Oncology Institute, will come under its umbrella to further expand its ambit.

The institution is situated off the main road from University of Delhi to Shahdara via Wazirabad. It can be approached easily from I.T.O. bridge over the Yamuna, and is also connected by the G.T Road (via I.S.B.T). The College is fairly well connected by D.T.C. bus service and the Delhi Metro ( nearby stations Welcome and Shahadara). The UCMS & GTB Hospital Complex is spread over an area of 115 acres comprising of :

College Block, Out Patient Departments, Wards, Central Laboratory Services & O.T. Block and other ancillary facilities (Library, Animal Housing, Mortuary, General store, Blood Bank, Central kitchen for In Patients, Central Sterilization Services).

It also houses a Nursing College. UCMS also conducts Bachelor courses in Radiology, Lab Technology, Preventive and Social Medicine (PSM).

Separate hostels for under-graduate Boys & Girls, Nursing students, Post Graduate students and resident doctors are available in the campus. Separate residential buildings for faculty and staff exists.

Well laid-out playgrounds, with outdoor facilities for tennis, basketball, football, hockey and cricket are available along with the indoor games for the students and staff.

The institute has consistently been ranked among the top few medical institutes of the country by the MCI. It is also considered among the top research centres of the country as far as biomedical research is concerned.

Facts about the Institute
Famous alumni of the institute include, Dr. Sanjiv Malik, President IMA and President, SAARC Medical Association Prof A.K. Sethi (Anesthesia), Prof SB Sharma (Biochemistry), Dr. Harsh Vardhan Sharma, Dr. Anil Bansal,Past President DMA, Palash Sen, lead singer of Euphoria, Dr Mahesh Sharma, and Prof Anil Aggrawal (1972 batch) among others.

Several students of the 1972 batch have excelled in various fields. Dr. Jagdish Suri now heads the department of respiratory medicine at the prestigious Safdarjang Hospital. Dr. Ravi Gupta is a leading radiologist of Delhi. Dr. Ashwani Mehta is the managing director cum chairman of the prestigious Kolmet Hospital. Dr. Upinder Singh Arora heads the department of rehabilitation at AIIMS.

The institute has produced top rankers at PG entrance examinations in the past (which reached its zenith in 2001 when 7 out of the top 10 DPG rankers were from UCMS), the USMLE results are always fascinating and the institute, surprisingly, has a good success rate at CAT also, with its alumni having been students of IIM [A,L,I], ISB, FMS,IMT, and other top b-schools in India.

The institute is a network centre for the National Brain Research Centre and plans to start a telemedicine centre are underway.

It is also the nodal centre for AIDS in Delhi along with Safdarjung.

It is the only Trauma centre in delhi apart from Susruta Trauma Centre at Lok Nayak.

It also has a fully equipped Burns Ward.

Alumni of UCMS who excelled in other branches than medicine
Palash Sen, lead singer of Euphoria, is arguably the leader among this unique section. Others are Anil Yadav of 1972 batch who succeeded as a mainstream politician, and even fought an election for M.P. Some doctors branched off in Indian Administrative service and management lines. Dr. Ashok Gupta (1972 batch) became a successful book publisher (Dehati Pustak Bhandar)

Co-curricular activities
The institute's students are famous for their fighting spirit in their co-curricular activities. The choreography team of the college (CELESTE) has a long legacy of being one of the finest teams in Delhi and have won competitions in virtually all intercollegiate festivals in Delhi. They are unique in having a refreshing well done theme set to a blend of classical and contemprory dance year after year. The fashion society of the college, LARZISH, was the first team from a medical college to leave behind NIFT at various cultural festivals. The college annual cultural festivals, RIPPLE (spring) and AVALANCHE(Autumn) are a major attraction among the colleges in Delhi.

Newsmakers
According to recent survey by India Today the college stands 8th in factual rankings and 18th overall( factual and perceptive). Another survey by Outlook ranked the institute as 5th in biomedical research and the 23rd best college in India.

The college recently grabbed headlines when it became the hotbed for the anti-reservation protests. The forum leading the protests, Youth for Equality, was conceived at this institute.

The nodal centre for YFE delhi chapter is located at the institute.

Also, it is amongst the top ten medical schools in INDIA as per the biomedical research published in indexed journals