The Department of Community Medicine at Ramaiah Medical College successfully conducted the 21st Interdisciplinary Community-Based Training Programme (IDCBTP) from January 3rd to January 10th, 2026, to strengthen experiential learning and community engagement for 332 undergraduate students from Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Pharmacy at Kaiwara, Chikkaballapur.

The programme provided hands-on exposure to real-world public health challenges through structured field visits to government healthcare facilities, including Primary Health Centre, Taluk Hospital, and Old Age Homes, as well as household surveys, health assessments, and community-based interactions. Community health education activities and health camps were also organized to help students understand rural healthcare delivery systems and prevailing public health needs. Students worked in interdisciplinary teams under the supervision of faculty members and postgraduate trainees, promoting collaborative learning and integration of clinical, social, environmental, and health-system perspectives.

Key activities included social mapping, simulation exercises, a medical humanities workshop, demographic profiling, environmental determinants of health assessments, geriatric surveys, and community engagement. Emphasis was placed on ethical conduct, informed consent, effective communication, and respectful community engagement.

The IDCBTP served as an important platform for developing CBME-aligned competencies, including professionalism, teamwork, leadership, and public health problem-solving, reaffirming the Department’s commitment to socially accountable and community-oriented medical education.