School of Health Sciences was established in 1991 with the objectives:

• Plan, Develop and launch doctoral, degree, diploma and certificate level programme for various categories of health professionals including in-service doctors and nurses.
• Plan, develop and offer health awareness courses for general public
• Conduct research on health issues

• Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing program was the first programme to be offered by SOHS, launched in 1994 for in-service nurses on the request of Indian Nursing Council (INC). It was flagship professional programme delivered through ODL mode in the country. Programme Study centres are established in the Colleges inspected and approved by INC. Admission of candidates is through Common Entrance Examination aimed at merit based selection by region-wise Counselling. The programme has been revised twice i.e. 1st year 2005-07 & 2nd revision in 2021 to 2023. Integration with CCH programme is also done and implemented from year 2023 of first year.
• The implementation of Post Graduate Diploma in Maternal & Child Health Programme (PGDMCH) in 1997 was a pioneering effort by IGNOU that created an implementation model of imparting clinical training through blended learning. It also integrated the training process in Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Community Medicine which are the corner stone for providing primary health care. The programme has been revised in 2003, 2008 and 2018.
• To multi-skill the surgeons working in rural areas, IGNOU launched Certificate Programme in Rural Surgery (CRS) in 2001.
• IGNOU provided competency in Geriatric Medicine through open and distance learning mode in the year 2004 when there was no precedence of training large number of MBBS doctors in this area. The programme has been revised and revised programme is on offer since January, 2022.
• SOHS in collaboration with Dental Council of India (DCI) initiated innovative PG specialization in Oral Implantology (PGCOI) and endodontic in 2008.
• To improve the provision of Cardiac Care in small towns & taluka level hospitals about 1700 M.B.B.S Doctors have been trained in Clinical Cardiology between 2006 to 2016.
• IGNOU pioneered in training about a hundred of medical college faculty in IMNCI in 2003 when national level training was being planned by Health Ministry. Similarly, IGNOU trained about a hundred of Medical faculty in adolescent health in 2007 in collaboration with World Health Organsiation (WHO) when it was yet to be taken up by Health Ministry, Government of India.
• IGNOU created a precedence at national level by designing and implementing an online programme of Post Graduate Diploma in Bio-ethics (PGDBE) Programme in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2011.
• To meet the training man power need for Medical Officers of ART centre, IGNOU in collaboration with NACO developed and launched the Post Graduate Diploma in HIV Medicine (PGDHIVM) in 2011.
• To meet the training man power need for start along dialysis unit across the Country, IGNOU in collaboration with DGHS, pioneered in starting a Post Doctoral Certificate in Dialysis Medicine(PDCDM) in 2011.
• Certificate in Community Health (CCH) programme developed in collaboration with Ministry of H&FW, GOI, was launched in 2017 with the objective to provide comprehensive primary health care at Grass Roots level by trained manpower as CHOs. IGNOU is contributing towards strengthening of health care as envisaged in Ayushman Bharat under NHM. Candidates are sponsored through states NHM and ensure 100% placement of the successful candidates at Health & Wellness centres. Awarded Best Certificate programme in 36th IGNOU Foundation Day on 19th November 2021. More than 40,857 students have enrolled in programme till July, 2024.
• Diplomat of National Board recognized and allowed learners of IGNOU completing one year Post Graduate Diploma in Maternal & Child Health (PGDMCH) & Post Graduate Diploma in Hospital & Health Management (PGDHHM) to provide lateral entry for its relevant courses.
• To scale up the implementation of biomedical waste management rules (2016) across the Country, Ministry has identified IGNOU to train the nodal officers & quality assurance officers of all States, through its Certificate in Health Care Waste Management (CHCWM) Programme. State of Delhi, Gujarat, Odisha have also sponsored their candidates for the programme. WHO Maldives also invited IGNOU to train its Masters trainers in Health Care Waste Management and supervised the cascade training in the Atolls in 2024. The programme was awarded the Best Certificate Programme in 38th IGNOU Foundation on 19th November, 2023.
• To create national preparedness for medical management of CBRNE disaster, IGNOU pioneered in designing the (PGCMDM) programme in collaboration with INMAS, DRDO in 2019. DGAFMS, CAPF, NDRF, BSF, ESIC Reliance, DGHS, and Hospital under DGHS sponsored candidates for this programme.
• Subsequently various Degree/diploma and certificate programmes were developed and are being offered to in-service nurses like Diploma in Critical Care Nursing, Diploma in Nursing Administration, Certificate in Newborn & Infant Nursing, Certificate in Maternal and Child Health Nursing. Few certificate programmes have also been developed for the general public, .i.e. Certificate in Home Based Health Care, Certificate in First Aid programme and Certificate Programme in Yoga (CPY). Certificate in Adolescent Health and counseling was re-launched in 2021 for school teachers and graduates. SOHS has played a pioneering role in launching Ph.D (Nursing) in 2009. School of Health Sciences has also contributed by developing training material for Patient Safety & Infection Control for DGHS.

Welcome Learners to School of Health Sciences (SOHS) The School of Health Sciences was set up in the year 1991 with the objective of augmenting educational avenues for medical, nursing and paramedical personnel through distance education mode. The various functions of the school are planning, developing and launching of degree, diploma and certificate level programmes for various categories of health professionals; health awareness courses for the general public and conducting research on health issues. The school is pioneer in developing competency-based programmes in nursing i.e. Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing, approved by Indian Nursing Council and various other Post Graduate Diploma like PG Diploma in Maternal and Child Health, Post Graduate Diploma in Health and Hospital Management, Post Graduate Diploma in Geriatric Medicine and various other diploma and certificate programmes for medical and nursing graduates. The school adopts an innovative approach in implementing programmes through a diversified approach i.e. three-tier system in medical colleges or nursing colleges as Learner Support Centres (LSCs)], district hospitals as Skill Development Centres and the learners’ work places i.e. hospital for hands on training. School had launched MBA (Health Care and Hospital Management) programme and Nurse Manager programme at Level 5.5 approved by NSQC.

The school is also collaborating with various National and International organizations i.e. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Nursing Council, National Medical Commission and reputed organizations like WHO, UNICEF, National Board of Examination,NIHFW, ICMR.

Vision of the SOHS is to offer programmes which will benefit the in-service healthcare professionals to update their knowledge and skills and are job ready for future. School also emphasises in building collaborations with various regulatory bodies, industry so that our learners contribute to achieve goals of Sustainable Development Goals to achieve Universal health Coverage and handle any epidemic/pandemic or emergency in future.

School of Health Sciences
New Academic Block,
Block - D, First Floor,
Room Number 101-103,
Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi,
New Delhi-110068