Rangaraya Medical College

History

Dr. Datla Satyanarayana Raju and Dr. M. V. Krishna Rao had been dreaming of starting a private medical college to cater to the students of coastal Andhra Pradesh, and particularly Godavari districts. They founded and registered the Medical Education Society on 16 April 1958. The objects were of promoting Medical Education, Research and Relief through voluntary effort. They started collecting donations assisted by I. Joga Rao, P. V. N. Raju, K. Chandra Rao, A. Perisastry, B. Venkata Raju and P. R. Hari.

Mullapudi Harishchandra Prasad of Sri Mullapudi Venkata Rayudu Memorial Educational Trust of Tanuku, offered a donation of Rs. 500,000. Hence the college was named after his late brother-in-law Sri. Pendyala Ranga Rao, Zamindar of Dommeru. He became the Vice President of the Society. Sri Kotamarthi Venkanna gifted 61/2 acres of land, now called Kotamarthi Park. Sri Draksharama Choultry Trust gave a donation of Rs. 50,000 towards construction of a Lecture Hall.

Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipati Surya Rau, the Maharaja of Pithapuram leased the Palatial Orphanage buildings. Two Lecture halls and a Dissection hall were newly constructed. The Rangaraya Medical College was inaugurated on 17 November 1958 by Sri. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. One hundred students were admitted in the first year. Their teaching work was initiated on 15 August 1958 by late Dr. V. S. Krishna, Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University. The idea was conceived on feb 24 by Col.D.S.Raju n his associates. The society was formed on 16 April, the first lecture was delivered by Dr. Moturu Bhanu Sankar Prasad on sept 17.

Prominent among them in the medical field during 1958 were Col. Dr. D.S.Raju, valiant freedom fighter and a close associate of Netaji and Dr. M. V. Krishna Rao, a man of great vision. These two stalwarts who had been dreaming of starting a private medical college to cater to the needs of the students of coastal Andhra in general, and East & West Godavari districts in particular, founded and registered the Medical Education Society on 16 April 1958 with the triple object of promoting Medical Education, Medical research and Medical relief through voluntary effort. While Col. Raju was engaged in the task of collecting donations to the proposed Medical College, Dr. M.V. Krishna Rao did all the spade work for the starting of the institution. Eminent doctors like I.Joga Rao, P. V.N.Raju, K. Chandra Rao, A. Perisastry, B.Venkata Raju and P.R. Hari extended a helping hand. The then Municipal chairman Sri Dantu Bhaskara Rao heartily cooperated with the endeavour, with the result the starting of a Medical college, which was till then an ambition, became a reality

On behalf of Sri Mullapudi Venkata Rayudu Memorial Educational Trust of Tanuku, its Chairman Sri. M. Harischandra Prasad offered a Donation of five lakhs for the college. The college was named at his request after his late brother in law Sri. Pendyala Ranga Rao, Zamindar of Dommeru and Sri Harischandra Prasad was taken as Vice President of the society. Prominent among other donors was Sri Kotamarthi Venkanna, a generous business man of Kakinada who gifted a site of 61/2 acres. This site is now called the "Kotamarthi Park" on which stands the present men's hostels.

Sri Draksharama Choultry Trust represented by the Pydah family gave a donation of rupees fifty thousand with which a Lecture Hall has been constructed. Many other worthy persons contributed smaller donations amounting to about rupees 2.5 lakhs.

The Maharaja of Pithapuram leased out the Palatial Orphanage buildings(now the Main Campus) to house the Medical College. The Government General Hospital would serve as the teaching hospital. Within 21/2 months two lecture halls and a Dissection hall were newly constructed and ready for occupation.The formal inauguration of the Rangaraya Medical College was done on 17 November 1958 by Sri. N. Sanjeeva Reddy, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. One hundred students were admitted in August 1958, and the teaching work for first MBBS was initiated on 15 August 1958 by late Dr. V.S. Krishna, Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University. The paraclinical Departments, the central library and two more lecture galleries were constructed opposite to the Hospital. The hospital also began to see expansion in the late 1960s and 1970s.

In the year 1977 Government of Andhra Pradesh took over the privately managed RMC. In 1981 Rangaraya Medical College became a full-fledged Government Medical College.

More recently the college and Hospital have seen numerous changes. Two Exam halls capable of accommodating almost 400 people at once were constructed in 2002. A new lecture gallery for the Department of physiology was constructed behind the Exam halls.

Volleyball and basketball court were renovated with flood lights. New tennis courts were constructed, and are at present being used to provide tennis coaching by the East Godavari District Tennis Association. The Badminton court flooring was also renovated recently.

During golden jubilee celebrations of the college the Auditorium was renovated with air-conditioning and new sound system facilities making it one of a kind among the auditoriums of its sister colleges in the State. A medical exhibition was organised by students and staff after almost 25 years which attracted huge crowds from the beginning to the end of the event. During the golden jubilee celebrations the RMCANA(Rangaraya Medical College Alumni Association of North America) helped construct a new digital library with internet facilities and free access to world-renowned medical journals. Several sports and cultural festivals were conducted involving several colleges around the state, The most recent one being "NEXUS" conducted in 2010.

A statue of Hippocrates (the father of Medicine) was erected near the entrance of college which gives a new Identity to the college on the map of Kakinada. More recently a Clock tower was constructed in front of the auditorium.

The Government General Hospital which serves as the teaching hospital has also seen considerable change. A new casualty block was constructed to manage the increasing flow of patients. Several super specialty departments are being created and their offices are being constructed in the renovated 2nd floor of the main OP building. A new hostel for internees was constructed as super specialty departments were being housed in the old internees hostel at the OP Building. New blocks for Antenatal wards and Pre-op gynecology wards were constructed adjacent to the existing Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics departments. New buildings were also constructed to house the ENT,Ophthalmology and psychiatry departments and their respective Operation Theaters. An ART(Anti Retro-Viral Therapy) center which caters to the special needs of patients affected with the HIV virus was moved to a new building, It is one of the largest of its kind in India based on the patient volume served giving it a vital role in affecting the epidemiology of HIV in India. Neonatology course has been added by MCI in 2012 making it the 1st medical college in Andhra pradesh and 8th in the India to provide D.M. Neonatology

Academics

The courses offered in the college are:

M.Ch [neuro surgery, plastic surgery, Pediatric surgery,] bscmlt

Departments

Here is the list of departments in the College and Hospital campuses combined.

Emblem

The emblem of Rangaraya medical College is similar to some extent to the emblem of Andhra University. It consists of two snakes surrounding a lake with a lotus flower and 2 lotus buds on either sides of the flower during sunrise, which denotes the peace and calm which prevail when a physician cures a patient, above the sunrise is an inscription in Sanskrit in devanagari script and below is the same inscription in Telugu script which is "Sarve Santu Niramaya" meaning "FREEDOM FROM DEATH AND ILLNESS." This inscription is also the motto of the Indian Army Medical Corps.