August 25, 2010
Health Sciences Campus, Kochi
 

Smt. P. K. Sreemathi Teacher, the Honorable Minister for Health in Kerala was at the Health Sciences campus in Kochi recently to inaugurate two unique postgraduate programs.
 

DM (Doctor of Medicine) in Pulmonary Medicine was begun as also MDS (Master of Dental Surgery); the former by the School of Medicine and the latter by the School of Dentistry.
 

The Honorable Minister spoke to the assembled students of both new programs, expressing her joy at participating in the inaugural function with the Amrita family.
 

“Effort is the key word behind success,” she emphasized. “Amrita is blessed to have a dedicated and expert management team who put in all their efforts for the betterment of the institution at the right time and at the right point.”
 

The Honorable Minister was perhaps referring to the fact that the Amrita School of Medicine is now only the second institution in the country that offers a DM program in pulmonary medicine.
 

The Amrita School of Dentistry also joins a list of select colleges in Kerala by beginning the MDS program. At the outset, MDS is offered in oral medicine and radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, prosthodontics, periodontics, conservative dentistry and endodontics.
 

The inaugural function also saw the release of the first college magazine of the Amrita School of Dentistry, Amritaspandanam. Sampoojya Swami Poornamritananda Puri released the magazine and gifted its first copy to Smt. P. K. Sreemathi Teacher.
 

The Honorable Minister also inaugurated the services of the Amrita Mobile Dental Care Unit on this occasion.
 

Subsequently, a presentation was made by Dr. J. Chandrashekar, Head of the Department of Public Health Dentistry titled “Reaching the Unreached;” this depicted the importance of Amrita’s dental outreach program.
 

Other who spoke, included Dr. K. Narayanan Unni (Principal) and Dr. Balagopal Varma (Vice-Principal) of the Amrita School of Dentistry.
 

Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director, Dr. U. Krishnakumar, Director, Amrita School of Arts and Sciences and Dr. K. G. Revikumar, Principal, Amrita School of Pharmacy, also offered their felicitations.
 

“With the commencement of the new postgraduate programs, the quality of training is bound to enhance the profile and prestige of both the medical and dental schools,” remarked Dr. Prem Nair.