Preventive and Social Medicine Department

This department was debuted as the Department of Hygiene and Public Health in 1930.It had a part-time lecturer from the Directorate of Health, under Ministry of Health and Education. With the increasing importance of the subject, professorial chair was created in 1957 and the name of the department was changed to the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine.. This is the role of P&SM as Socialised Medicine, whatever term or titles the discipline or the department is called. In Myanmar, the subject was taught under the Department of Hygiene and Public Health, till the beginning of 1960s reflecting the contents of public health in Great Britain and British India. The Director of public Health was ex office professor of the department, till the then incumbent Dr. U Maung Gale retired from Directorship and took up the Dean’s position, first in Faulty of Medicine Yangon 1959-1964 .Foreign Teachers took up as acting professors – Prof. Visiting professors Dr. H. san Martin, M.D., M.P.H., and Dr.F.A.E. Crew, M.D., D.Sc., F.R.S. from the World Health Organization helped with the teaching from 1955 to 1958. Dr.U Myint Soe took over as lecturer in charge of the department against the professor’s post in 1958, succeeded around 1965 by Dr.U Thet Pe. At this stage, one needs to mention two or three developments taking place in Myanmar. In March 1962 the Government changed, having taken over by the Revolutionary Council. In 1964, the Health Ministry reorganized a majory way, the organization and administration of Directorate of Health Services and the Rangoon. Municipal partially being absorbed into DHS System. Seventeen PG schools were established in the mean while, with Professor U Khin Maung Win (Pathology )as Coordinator of PG shools, later called Director of Medical Education. Dr.U Thet Pe took the chair of P&SM in Institute of Medicine 1 (Yangon) and at the same time affective 1968, functioned as Dean of School of Publice Health, from where PG students for DP&TM training was reinforced by WHO professors in Health Administration , Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine . At one time the School of public Health moved premises to U Wisara Rd where SME office was established. In 1963 Institute of Medicine 2 in Mingaladon was opened with Department of P&SM in 1964 – 1965. Institute of Medicine. Mandalay was already operational at that time. Subesquent to 1974 Constitution and change of leading personnel  in PG School of Public Health , DP&TM course was changed as   to M.Med.Sc (public Health) in 1982. After that the course was incorporate again with Tropical Medicine, in aware of importance of clinical care in Public Health activities and renamed as M.med Sc (P&TM) in 1982 and conducted uptill 7^th batch. Again program name changed as M.Med Sc (PH) after 7^th batch of MPTM. MPTM course were conducted in UM-1 only. Later, M.Med.Sc (Public Health) course was conducted in UM-1, UM-2 and Manadalay until 2005-2006 academic year. After opening University of Public Health, Yangon in 2007 running Master of Public Health course in medical universities were suspended. In 2015, after extensive discussion with responsible persons from DOH, DMS ,the Master of Preventive and Tropical Medicine course were restarted again in medical universities and PhD Preventive and Tropical Medicine course have been implemented since 2017.