The history of hospital service in Nepal starts in the year 1889 with the establishment of Bir Hospital, the oldest hospital now providing general care to tertiary care to the people of Nepal. Bir hospital is the first teaching hospital for compounders, dresser and later nurses. For the same reason the first medical school called Civil Medical School was established in 1933 AD in Bir Hospital. It was also the centre for the training of FRCS, MRCP and MRCOG since 1987. Therefore Bir Hospital has been a postgraduate Training centre from the beginning. In 1979 super-specialization medical services was expanded in this hospital.

Modern medical education had started in Nepal along with the birth of Bir Hospital in 1889 AD. Although MBBS program was introduced in 1978 in Institute of Medicine, it did not have its own teaching hospital in beginning, so the clinical teaching and learning activities were centered in Bir and other hospitals in the valley. With the support of Tribhuvan University post graduate education was started in Bir hospital and other hospitals in the valley through Post Graduate Medical Education Coordination Committee from 1994 AD.

Building up on these experiences and based on the national need, Bir Hospital was developed into the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) on its glorious 114 years in 2002. This was another landmark achievement in the fields of medical education and health services which has provided great optimism and opportunities for the doctors working under the Ministry of Health to teach and to be taught.