New healing headquarters AIIMS Jodhpur
The remarkable rise of AIIMS Jodhpur as a leading medical college is built upon a unique blend of classroom teaching, varied clinical experience, focus on research and close mentorship by faculty
ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES JODHPUR
No. 10 (2025) up from No. 25 (2020)
On September 17, 2012, when AIIMS Jodhpur was established with 50 students, three commitments were made to ensure quality medical education. Dr Shilpi Gupta Dixit, present acting Dean (academics) and professor (anatomy), recalls them clearly. 'Patient care, research and public health were three unique aspects that AIIMS Jodhpur chose to focus upon,' she says. 'We had AIIMS Delhi as our model and mentor. It was our vision statement to be as good, or next as good as them,' she adds. That aim seems to have been realised. Indeed, for many, AIIMS Jodhpur is the second preference after AIIMS Delhi. 'I am sure I won't make it to AIIMS Delhi…. I have been targeting a seat at AIIMS Jodhpur throughout. It is as good and is part of a safer city,' says Payal Varma, 17, who sat for the NEET UG exams this year.
In 2020, the faculty here contributed 409 research papers; this year, it has been 3,869. 'We are the first for research amongst the new AIIMS,' says Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, executive director, AIIMS Jodhpur. Infrastructure, too, has improved, with OTs at the hospital increasing from 16 to 32 in five years, beds from 728 to 960, ICUs from 19 to 134, junior residents from 328 to 476, senior residents from 145 to 398 in the same time period. Unsurprisingly, the college is the most improved in India Today-MDRA medical rankings.
'We have a close mentorship programme where a faculty member and a student are paired and there is always someone to guide and support them through the years,' says Dr Dixit. A self-directed and problem-based learning approach unique to AIIMS Jodhpur is applied in two ways—horizontal learning (characterised by a broad collection of knowledge, and focusing on connecting disciplines), and vertical learning (which deals with subjects with depth and applies scientific concepts to clinical practice from early on). With 1.3 to 1.4 million OPD patients every year, students say there is a wealth of opportunity to learn about patients and diseases.
The institute connects to communities in Rajasthan through two unique endeavours. First is the two-year school of public health. Started in 2017, it aims to impart training through problem-solving exercises, observerships in public health organisations and case studies. Second, the institute is recognised as a 'Centre of Excellence for Tribal Health' by the Union ministry of tribal affairs and a unique centre was conceptualised to address the health needs of tribals.
It is precisely this unique blend of classroom teaching, diverse clinical exposure, inter-disciplinary learnings as well as mentorship by faculty that makes AIIMS Jodhpur a desirable choice now for many an aspiring medical student.
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