The Community Medicine Department trains the undergraduate and postgraduate students in the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency through organized community The main of goal of the Department of Community Medicine is to provide community oriented health care education blended with research, leadership and management, and thereby prepare medical students to function as community and primary care physicians. The main values inculcated among the students are (i) Community oriented, (ii) Community participation, (iii)humane and cost effective health care, (iv) Ethically driven primary health care, (v) Intersect oral coordination in health care, and (v) Research with ethical and moral values.
To move towards the achievement of these goals, the department conducts many programs.
It provides Undergraduate Training and Post Graduate Training. It offers health services at Rural health Training Centre /Primary Health Centre situated at Kannamangala, field practice areas; and the Urban Health Training Centre. It extends its health services by holding screening, school health appraisal services, family health services and Outreach health education sessions on issues of public health importance in the field practice areas and the nearby areas and also participate in various national programmes and important Health Days. The Department has to its credit excellent infrastructure, good facilities, a good research background coupled with trained and highly qualified manpower. The students who go through this course during their tenure at VIMS & RC are placed to learn and practice Primary health care at the Urban and Rural Health Centres in the field practice areas. During their internship period, the students work in various places like RHTC / UHTC/ CHC and General Hospitals for 12 weeks period.