Student Activities

The MBBS Batch of 1973 was the first group of students who were required to sign a commitment to serve in a rural area of India for a period of two years. Over the past 50 years, hundreds of graduates from St. John's Medical College have provided their services to the underserved areas across India. Students have worked in small primary care centres located from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Gujarat and Rajasthan to Manipur and Nagaland, and even in the Andaman Islands. The number of centres recognized for this social obligation scheme has grown from a mere two dozen to 360, including hospitals serving special underserved groups like HIV positives, physically challenged and the elderly.

The social obligation service also emanates from the fact that our medical students have learned their skills at the bedsides of poorer patients in the hospital. Hence this is a means by which our medical graduates return to society what they have gained from this form of training, while fulfilling the mission of St. John's to underserved. Currently 250 students from the recently graduated batches are pursuing their Social Obligation Service in various parts of the country. Over the years, about 70% of our students have fulfilled their commitment and about 20% of our graduates have continued to dedicate their lives to serving the underserved.