114 doctors commissioned in armed forces

Share this News:

Armed Forces Medical College, Pune achieved an important milestone on 19 March 2019 when thefifty third batch of medical graduates was commissioned into the Armed Forces Medical Services. Lt Gen Bipin Puri, PVSM VSM, PHS, Director General, Armed Forces Medical Service and Senior Colonel Commdant was the chief guest at the Commissioning Ceremony. This is the only ceremony in the country in which officers are simultaneously commissioned into the Army, Navy and Air Force. Dr VK Paul was the Guest of Honour for the Commissioning Ceremony. Dr Paul is Chairman of the Board of Governors of Medical Council of India and Member, NITI Aayog. Dr Paul was a member of the faculty at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for over 32 years and Head of the Department of Paediatrics for nearly a decade.

Surgeon Vice Admiral Ravi Kalra,NM,VSM Director & Commandant, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune accompanied the DGAFMS in reviewing the parade and commissioning officers. The ceremony was witnessed by a galaxy of senior serving and retired officers of all three services and parents of the newly commissioned officers.

According to Surgeon Vice Admiral Ravi Kalra, Director & Commandant, AFMC, one hundredand fourteenmedical graduates including eighty male officers and twenty threewomen officers were commissioned into AFMS. Ninety five graduates joined the Army, five joined the Navy and fourteen joined the Air Force.The solemn ceremony which witnessed a praiseworthy standard of drill, marked the transition of young medical graduates into soldier doctors. Parents and invitees of the the Passing Out Parade also witnessed the showering of petals by Helicopters of the Indian Air Forces

Since 2008, the commissioning ceremony parade has been commanded by a newly commissioned officer. This year the parade was commanded by Medical Cadet ( Now Lt) Gurwinder Singh.He hails from Patiala in Punjab.

A total of 6645 medical graduates have passed out of AFMC since 1966. This year, medical graduates of AFMC have completed fifty threeyears in the service of the nation, in uniform. As part of this landmark event, the parade concluded with a display by the Air Warrior Drill Team, ARJAN. Air Warrior Drill Team was formed in 2004 and in 15 years of its glorious existence has bagged various national and international preformances making it the very first drill team of the Indian Armed Forces ‘

The Commissioning Ceremony was followed by the Academic Awards Presentation Ceremony for which Dr VK Paul was the Chief Guest.He presented trophies,prizes and medals to recognize outstanding achievements in academics and all round preformanc by undergraduates. . This year, the prestigious “President’s Gold Medal” was awarded to Lt Priyanka Gupta and ‘Kalinga Trophy’was awarded to Dr Paritosh Kotak. Dr VK Paul also inaugurated the MCI approved Department of Regional Medical Education at AFMC. AFMC has always placed extensive emphasis on high quality medical education using innovative educational strategies. The Regional Medical Educational department will now promote faculty development through courses and research in medical education and also present their works in national and international conferences. The Department will help implement the new Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) undergraduate curriculum and the Attitude Ethics and Communication (AETCOM) Module

Another highlight of the occasion was the inauguration of the Multidisciplinary Research Unit (MRU) by Lt Gen BipinPuri, PVSM, VSM, PHS DGAFMS and Sr Col Comdt. The MRU, a brain child of the Dean and Dy Commandant, Maj Gen MadhuriKanitkar, AVSM, VSM was conceptualised in 2017 and MoD approval was received in 2019. It has been funded by DHR/ICMR and the process of acquisition of equipment and infrastructure has already commenced with state of art Molecular Laboratory and Cell culture Laboratory being established in the MRU. The MRU will enable collaborative research between multiple institutions and will also support vibrant and thriving PhD programmes , which will ensure continuity in research.

BRIEF BIODATA OF MED CADET PRIYANKA GUPTA

BEST ALL ROUND OUTGOING MEDICAL GRADUATE

Hailing from Patna, she has done her schooling from Navy Children School, Vishakapatnam. Her father is a defence veteran and her mother is a Yoga Instructor. She has secured distinctions in 10 out of 14 subjects taught in MBBS and in all four subjects of the final MBBS exam (part II). She stood first in MUHS in Pathology. She is a keen basketball and volleyball player. She represented MUHS in aquatics. She will be awarded the Presidents Gold Medal for the best outgoing cadet for the year 2018.

BRIEF BIODATA OF MED CADET PARITOSH KOTAK

BEST OUTGOING MEDICAL GRADUATE IN ACADEMICS

Hailing from Ahmedabad, Gujrat. Med CdtParitosh Kotak completed his schooling from Zybus School of Excellence, Ahmedabad. His father is a stock broker and his mother is a home maker. His younger sister is presently pursuing her MBBS.He secured distinctions in 12 out of the 14 subjects taught in MBBS and in 3 subjects of his final MBBS. He topped MUHS in his first MBBS examinations. He is a keen quizzer and won the Pre and Para Clinical Quiz at AFMC Pune. He has represented MUHS in Chess. He is being awarded the prestigious Kalinga Trophy for the best academic performance. He is also being awarded the Maj Gen Karnani Trophy for second best outgoing cadet and the DGAFMS Gold medal.

BRIEF BIODATA OF MED CADET GURWINDER SINGH

PARADE COMMANDER

Hailing from Patiala, Punjab he completed his schooling from APS Patiala. His father is a defence veteran and his mother is a home worker. He is an accomplished sportsman and earned his college colours in Volley ball and Gymnastics. He won the title of the best power lifter and weight lifter at AFMC in the year 2016-2017.He also holds the college record for power lifting. He also represented the university in Volley ball.