I was Proud to be a Doctor from the Colombo Medical Faculty

The answer to the question,Where are we really? came in a surprising way.It was from Dr.Lalith Perera from an article published in LANKA NEWS WEB.

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I was Proud to be a Doctor from the Colombo Medical FacultyPosted
on April 27th, 2010

Dr Lalith Perera

This is neither a confession nor redemption. But at least telling the truth that was suppressed in my mind for a long time might put me at ease. I don’t know how to begin this article. Anyhow, I try to follow my memory lane. By writing this letter, I know my colleagues would hate me and denounce me as a traitor. I will be subjected to a long witch hunt. But I hope one day they would understand me and realize the point that I tried to highlight in here.

I was astonished when I came to know that I was selected to the Faculty of Medicine Colombo and the day I came to the Medical Faculty I felt like a king. We lookdown upon the Medical Graduates from Peradeniya , Ruhuna and Jaffna because we were the best. We were the cream. We were very much proud of ourselves.

I still remember when the Private Medical Collage issue came in mid Eighties we openly protested. I recall one incident when some students from the PMC came for a practical session at the Colombo Faculty; we ragged them and humiliated them. We organized meetings to educate our fellow students. Along with some of our Medical students ( Balasooriya , A.M Jayasiri , Prasanna Gunasena etc) we launched a poster campaigning against the PMC.

In 1996, the AMP (Assistant Medical Practitioners) matter emerged and we protested them. I encouraged some of my batch mates to continue the protest and we organized some strikes.

After some years, the Foreign Medical Graduates from USSR, Bulgaria, and Cuba came to Sri Lanka and started practicing as doctors. Again, we made a big protest to safeguard the Medicine in Sri Lanka. In 1997, I fully supported a poster camping against Foreign Medical Graduates.

Inside us, there was a rejection and disregard for the doctors who were not originally from the Colombo Medical Faculty. We considered them as inefficient and practitioners without high-quality knowledge.

In 2005, I went to USA and England and had the opportunity to visit some hospitals. Also I visited some Universities and exchanged ideas. Gradually I started questioning my self about our supreme position as the Doctor from the Colombo Medical Faculty. Are we the best? Or whether we were in a deception for a long time believing that we were the best and rest of others were buffoons.

My exposure to the outside world told me that we were living in a false dream for many years. I realized that there are other educational institutions much better and far advanced than us.

Recently I came to know that according to the international ranking the position of the University of Colombo has drastically gone down and it plays below 500 th rank . In the Asian university, ranking The University of Colombo is the last. Over the past few decades, our Medical Faculties have not contributed significant international research or publications. None of our Sri Lnakan professors were recognized in the international medical field. But in the other hand the Universities and in India, Nepal, Bangladesh had made remarkable impacts. Their university professors are invited to the international forums and they contribute a lot.

In UK I met a Sri Lankan Doctor who had passed out from the PMC Ragama and later migrated to England. He works as a Consultant Anesthetist in a prestigious Hospital in the United Kingdom. In the USA, I met a Doctor who had a Russian degree now serving as an associate Professor in Microbiology in one of the top Universities in Los Angeles. For many years, we fought with these people and chased them from our health system. Now they are doing extremely well in other countries giving their knowledge and skills to other people.

Now I have a guilty feeling that we blocked these people serving the Sri Lankans. Although we said that, we wanted to protect the free education and the health system of Sri Lanka most of my collages (including me) are much focused on private practice rather than the health system or the interests of the average Sri Lankans. This may be harsh but it is the truth. Most of my colleagues would say yes to this fact if they were questioned by their conscience.

Why we behaved in a superior mentality? Because we were not exposed to the outside world. All these years we were living like frogs in a deep well without seeing the outer world. We thought that we were the best, we disregarded other graduates and but finally I realized that we were wrong.

We fought AMP s disregarding their prolong service (over 125 years) to the public. When I was working in peripheral hospitals I have met skilled assistant medical practitioners, but I was unwilling to admire them may be due to my high ego.

Recently I did a small study, medical negligence in Sri Lanka starting from Priyani Soysa vs Arsakularatne case, the death of Granville Rodrigo, the death of Prabath Manawasinge etc. Shockingly I found that the most of the accused were local graduates predominantly from my Alma Mater.

Why our universities became more and more inefficient? I blame the university mafia that ruined the system. The university authorities were not interested in recruiting the best students as lecturers and train them as future professors. They gave priority to the family members, relatives and family friends. Finally, a bunch of clowns became top people in various departments and they did not do any intellectual work.

Our superior mentality made us dormant; we did not do any internationally identifiable research, any valuable publication or discovery. So we are lower than the universities in Africa.

I hope my colleagues and the present young generation would understand my point. Before denouncing me or criticizing me, I urge you to think what I have experienced. Still we are not too late if we truly work for the science leaving our ego issues apart we can win.

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We also 100% agree with the fact that the medical education in Srilanka has been unable to meet the demands of the new era.This issue is not limited to undergraduate education but also to the post graduate education.When compared to developed countries where some sort of post graduate qualification to each doctor is the norm,our situation is quite pathetic.

We have to keep in mind that the answer to any sort of external threat is the fortification of our own system!

Nurses threaten to strike

By Ishtartha Wellaboda(Bottom Line)
The Government Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA) warned of a possible trade union action on May 12, the day that marks the International Nurses’ Day. They will resort to this action to protest against the University Grants Commission’s decision to cut the study period for the nursing degree from four years to three years.
According to Saman Rathnapriya, President of the GNOA, his association will push for discussions with the UGC, but if all else fails they will resort to a trade union action together with a number of other associations.
Meanwhile, UGC Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayake stated that they arrived at the decision in keeping with a Supreme Court order. However, the GNOA continues to protest against the UGC’s decision stating that the Supreme Court did no pass any order for the reduction of the degree’s time period but only said that the UGC should take a decision after discussions with the relevant parties.
The UGC published an advertisement in local newspapers on April 19 announcing the change in the time period for the nursing degree programme. The announcement read that the decision was the result of close discussions that the commission had carried out with relevant parties following the Supreme Court
decision. However, according to Rathnapriya they were left out of these discussions. “As the representatives for the nurses in this country we should have been included in these discussions,” he said.
Furthermore, he stated that the UGC had announced that students who applied for the degree programme already may change their order of preferences or may choose to leave the programme. According to the GNOA this is a clear indication that even the UGC does not believe in the effectiveness of reformed the programme.
According to Rathnapriya, the Sri Lankan nursing degree was formed according to international standards after closely studying similar degree programmes from reputed universities like King’s College UK and the University of Adelaide Australia. Therefore, one of the major drawbacks of this decision would be the possible threat that prospective foreign employees would face.
“It is clear that this decision will lower the quality of the degree beneath international standards. Therefore, the market value of our nurses in the international job market will go down,” Rathnapriya said. He added, “The country can earn four times as much by sending a professional abroad than sending a labourer. The cut back would do immeasurable damage at a crucial time when there is a huge demand abroad for health service workers.”

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Dear Colleagues,
Let me update you about the newest development of the paramedical degree programme.
It is very interesting the range of replies we get regarding this.The replies range

from-
Nurses in srilanka do not need a degree.

Let them do any thing they want.

They also have a right for education.

Nurses degree is not a big thing for us.Does the GMOA know how much we suffer
in peripheries.

To- The present EX CO has come to power since they can work.Why asking for
our opinion?


I should take this opportunity to thank Peradeniya and Kandy branch unions of the GMOA for continuously following up this issue.The total credit should go to them.Their pushes made the EX CO to act.

But do you know where we are really!

Cont.....

Pluses and Minuses...........!

Our opinion on removal of the previous minister of health is complex. In spite of all the disadvantages of Siripala we could see some positive points of him being the minister.

Firstly, due to the presence of the common enemy the unity among the doctors was great. Even the ones with extremely different opinions on professional issues and even ones with different political back grounds had one thing in common. That was the universal hatred towards Siripala.

The second point was at times when our doctors /the union wanted to protest against Siripala, it was an easy task for it to be rationalized in front of media and the public. The bad past history of Siripala, made the task easy.

At the same time, if the new minister also tries to follow the same anti doctor behaviour of Siripala, the media and the public will then start looking at us suspiciously. They may think that both the ministers could not be wrong and the doctors are the real trouble makers. Some times Siripala also may come up and tell the public that the GMOA is not allowing to do anything in the health sector.

Even the attitude of the President towards the doctors may not be the same when notorious Siripala is not in the picture.

The main purpose of this post is to highlight that the universal remedy for all these aliments is –the UNITY.

Do not forget “Unite we win, divide we fall”.

This should be our cat !!!!!

What is the openion of the GMOA regarding the next Miniter of Health?

What would have been our answer!
As a trade union consisting of professionals, throughout the history of last 80 year or more we have come across many health ministers. While our primary obligation is towards our membership we have been constructively criticizing the authorities for a better heath care provision towards the general public. Our criticisms were impartial and were free of any political motives.
Publically in the past also we have revealed about our dream of having a better Minister of health.
Whoever comes as the minister we will deal with him accordingly.

In the future also, corruptions in the health sector (which are of public importance) will be revealed irrespective of the fact who is the minister.
“An insect in the drug vial will be “an insect” to us always.

Hence we do not bother too much about who is going to be the next minister!

Cats out of many bags!...Where is our cat...?

Health unions fear losing old foeSay Nimal
most suited than any to hold health portfolio
by Dilanthi Jayamanne

Several health sector trade unions which have long been at loggerheads with former Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva now claim that he is more suited for the job than most other former ministers.

When contacted by The Island, President of the Public Service United Nurses Union Ven. Muruttetuwe Ananda Thero said that they had no issues with him being reappointed.
"It would make no difference to us as we would continue with our work while he can continue in his capacity as Health Minister," he said. But the Ven Thero predicted a change. "We have information to that effect," he said.

The President of the Sri Lanka Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologists, Ravi Kumudesh, was of the view that changing the Minister would be unhealthy for the Ministry. "The change would only increase the issues. De Silva had his plus and minus points as Health Minister. He lacks diplomacy when dealing with trade unions and that was the main reason why trade unions disliked him. But on the other hand he was impartial to all trade unions and treats them alike," Kumudesh said.

A Health Minister should be able to take straight forward decisions for the good of the public, especially on issues which had been mishandled. The former Minister had the potential to do so. As Minister he did a lot to increase the human resources in the health sector through recruitments and education for nurses, and other allied health sciences (mainly by commencing the controversial degree programme for Allied Health Sciences). A regulatory Act was brought in for Private Health Institutions and several other health policies were also introduced or were on the verge of being introduced by him, Kumudesh said. However if the post changes hands the next person to take up the portfolio should be someone who would not just pander to the unions in hope of gaining popularity but should be someone who is able to take up the responsibility, challenge and work for the public, he said.

President of the Government Nursing Officers’ Association, Saman Ratnapriya reiterated that if there was to be a complete change in the Cabinet it would be good. But, he pointed out that one outstanding plus point in favour of the former Health Minister was that he was unbiased and never favoured any of the health trade unions. He also had thorough experience and knowledge in handling the Health Ministry. So, who ever gets appointed would have to have the same degree of experience and knowledge to assume duties like de Silva, he said.

However, President of the All Ceylon Health Workers Union, Gamini Kumarasinghe held a different view. He accused de Silva being the cause of the deterioration in the free health sector. "Being at the helm, he lacked the skills of administration to carry out his duties as Health Minister. He was not even able to handle health workers at grass root level".

He blamed De Silva for not being able to implement the Senaka Bibile drug policy and several patients losing their lives due to deficiencies in the Health sector.

"But unfortunately we don’t believe that there is a single person in the government who can take on the responsibilities of being the next Health Minister," he opined.

The Government Medical Officers Association could not be contacted for comment.

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OPEN FOR YOUR COMMENTS!

The next Minister of Health!- Known devil,known angel or an unknown......

Dear Colleagues,
According to the new developments in the political circles in Colombo,names of three UPFA heavyweights have been nominated for the post of Minister of health.They are the names of Mr.Siripala,Mr.W D J Senevirathne and Mr.Basil Rajapaksha.

Mr.Siripala is most likely to loose his post while Mr.W D J Senevirathne IS MOST LIKELY TO GET APPOINTED.But if Mr.Basil is not appointed for the post of Prime minister as most predict he may also turn back to this ministerial post.

But who ever gets appointed for the above post,what ever the benefits we get for our membership will depend on,how strong our arguments are on a particular issue.Our arguments need to be rational, and membership friendly.At the same time they should be backed by a strong trade union muscle power.

So,Dear Colleagues this is your time- to contest for the upcoming GMOA election or at least vote for the group whom you think will represent you best.

The Saptha Aparihani Dharma ,GMOA and the profession.

Dear Colleagues,
After observing the new developments in the profession during the past few weeks (eg-abusing(yet to be proved) of female doctors by their own colleagues) and after witnessing the immature satisfaction a few get with the low participation at the last GMOA meeting We thought of quoting the 'saptha aparihani dhamma' for the benefit of our viewers.

Saptha Aparihani Dharma include the following.

* Having meetings and assemblies frequently.
* Rulers assembling in harmony, conducting their affairs in harmony and dispersing in harmony.
* Adhering to the accepted ancient noble traditions and not extirpating the accepted established norms and traditions by introducing new laws.
* Respecting the elders, worshiping them, consulting them, and believing that they must be listened to.
*Respecting and protecting the women folk and not living with them forcibly or molesting them.
*Paying respect to all internal and external places of worship, paying homage to those worthy of veneration and continue to make spiritual offerings traditionally done.

Lord Buddha preached that a society which follows these concepts can not be defeated.

It is up to each individuals of our profession to think how far these concepts are applicable to us and to our profession.
This is very important in the eve of a general election of the GMOA.
Thanks.
(This is open for discussion)