The Madras Medical College is situated in the city of Madras (presently known as Chennai) in India. The college was established in 1835. It is one of the oldest Medical Colleges in the Indian subcontinent. Earlier known as the Government General Hospital, it was one of the premier institutions in the country. The Government General Hospital started its operations on 16th November 1664, as a small hospital with a view to treat the sick soldiers of the East India Company. The credit of establishing the first British Hospital at Madras goes to Sir Edward Winter, an agent of the company.
In the early days, the Government General Hospital was located at the Fort St. George and it grew into a formal medical facility, within the next 25 years. The then governor, Sir Elihy Yale, took a lot of initiatives for developing the Hospital and he also worked hard to give it a new premise within the fort in 1690. After the Anglo French War, the hospital moved out of the fort and settled in its present place in 1772. By this time the hospital started to provide training to the Europeans, Eurasians and natives in the allopathic branch of diagnosis and treatment and in the methods of preparing medicines. After completing training, most of these trained personnel were posted to various dispensaries in the district headquarters of the then Madras Presidency for assisting the qualified doctors. The institution earned the recognition of the model hospital of the East India Company, by 1820. In 1827 Dr. D. Mortimar was appointed the Superintendent of the hospital.
Dr. Mortimar made the private medical hall run by him, regularised as a medical school and the then governor of Madras, Sir Fredrick Adams inaugurated the medical school on 2nd February 1835. The Governor also issued an official order for making the school a state sponsored one and attached it to the General Hospital. The Indians got the chance of getting into the hospital from the year of 1842 and within the next two decades, the teaching staff of the medical school increased significantly. The school administration also extended the duration of the course and made the curriculum comprehensive, as well. Apart from that, some senior courses spanning 5 years were also introduced and the administration allowed the private people to get admitted in the institution, for the first time. The school council submitted proposals to the government for according the status of a College a in the early part of 1850 and the Government granted this request. The medical school was then rechristened as Madras Medical College, 1st October 1850.
The first batch of students of the Madras Medical College (MMC) was graduated in 1852 and they were granted the Diploma of Graduate of the Madras Medical College. The college got the affiliation to the University of Madras in 1857. After getting the affiliation the college started working hard towards becoming a center of excellence by imparting training in all the fields of medicine and surgery. The Madras Medical College is, thus, considered to be one of the premier institutions in the country and also holds a place of pride in having the first lady doctor in the English speaking world, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi, who graduated from this medical institute.
The Madras Medical College (MMC), Chennai has approximately 84 departments. It awards 80 medals and prizes to its candidates every year. Amongst these the Johnstone medal is the most prestigious medal. This medal is awarded to the medical student of highest academic excellence at the completion of their medical education. There are also a number of 10 medical colleges and institutions currently affiliated to the Madras Medical College. The Government General Hospital is considered to be one of the best in the state of Tamil Nadu and it also ranks among the top ten in the Indian subcontinent.
The Madras Medical College offers a large number of courses at the under graduate, post graduate and super speciality level. The undergraduate courses that the college offers include MBBS, B.Pharm, B.Sc (Nurs), B.Sc (Nurs) and B.PT (Physiotherapy). The Post-Graduate degrees offered by the Madras Medical College are M.D. in General Medicine, Anaesthesiology, Biochemistry, Community Medicine, Dermatology, Forensic Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Microbiology, Paediatrics, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychiatric Medicine, Radio-Diagnosis, Radio-Therapy, Tuberculosis & Chest Diseases, Venereology and Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Post-Graduate degrees like M.S. in Anatomy, E.N.T. or Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, M.Pharm and M. Sc. (Nurs) are also offered by the Madras Medical College (MMC). There are some Post-Graduate Diploma courses offered by the college also and they include D.G.O, D.C.H, D.L.O, D.M.R.D, D.M.R.T, D.A, D.Ortho, D.V, D.D, D.O, D.T.R.D, D.P.M, D.C.P, D.P.H, Doles, D.Diab and D.Phy.M. Apart from the undergraduate, Post Graduate degree and diploma courses, the Madras Medical College (MMC) offer some Post Graduate Super Speciality Degrees, as well. The degrees offered include D.M in Neurology, Cardiology, Oncology, Rheumatology, Gastro-Enterology and Nephrology. M. Ch courses in Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Genito-Urinary Surgery, Neuro Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Surgical Gastro-Enterology and Vascular Surgery are also offered in the Madras Medical College (MMC).