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The Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo
Early Development
The Ceylon Medical
College, established in 1870 during the British occupation, marked the beginning
of a formal system of 'western' medical education in Sri Lanka, known then as
Ceylon. Seventy years later in 1942 the Ceylon Medical College became the
Faculty of Medicine of the newly established University of Ceylon. Until 1952
there were no formal arrangements for postgraduate medical training or
examinations and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ceylon was focused
almost entirely on undergraduates. In 1952 the MD (General Medicine) and the MOG
(Obstetrics and Gynaecology) examinations were held by the Faculty of Medicine.
The MS (General Surgery) was held in the following year.
However, there was no systematic training or teaching programmes for those examinations, and the diplomas awarded by the Royal Colleges in the UK, such as the MRCP and FRCS were regarded the sole qualifications conferring eligibility for consultant posts in the Department of Health Services. The advisory Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education recommended to the government in 1973 that an institute be established for postgraduate medical training, providing formal courses of in-service training followed by the respective examinations, but it was not until 1976 that the Institute of Postgraduate Medicine came into being. It was established under the University of Ceylon Act No.1 of 1976 and was formally opened by Dr. Halfden Mahler, Director General of the WHO, and its first Director was Professor K N Seneviratne. The functioning of the Institute of Postgraduate Medicine was seriously hampered by a lack of resources and appropriate infrastructure, and because of the fact that the postgraduate diplomas of the Royal Colleges in the UK continued to be recognised by the government as an appropriate qualification for award of consultant posts in the Department of Health Services. With the departure of its first Director to accept a position in the WHO the Institute's progress suffered a further setback. In 1980 the government finally decided to grant full recognition to the local postgraduate degrees for the award of consultant posts, and the Institute, re-named as the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) was established under the provisions of the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978, with Dr. SA Cabraal as its Director. The PGIM Act No.1 of 1980 came into force in April 1980, and the recognised Boards of Study in twelve specialities, courses of instruction and examinations were formalised. Anaesthesiology, Community Medicine, Dental Surgery, Family Medicine and General Practice, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Pathology, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Radiology and Surgery were these specialities. In 1985 four more Boards of Study were established - Forensic Medicine, Microbiology, Otolaryngology, and Clinical Oncology. Prof. R G Panabokke was appointed Director in 1990. More Boards of Study were established - Medical Administration, Dermatology (1994) and Venereology (2001). Dr. J B Peiris was appointed Director in 1995 and Professor Lalitha Mendis in 2002. Professor Rezvi Sheriff was appointed director in 2006.
Current Status
The PGIM is the only institute in Sri Lanka that is responsible for the specialist training of Medical doctors. It is a national institute that is attached to the University of Colombo. It is internationally recognised and several of its training programmes have 'equivalence' recognition by the Royal Colleges of the UK The PGIM works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Training, the Ministry of Health, Faculties of Medicine of the Universities and Professional Colleges. The Secretaries Ministry of Health and Ministry of Higher Education, the Director General I Medical Services, Deans of all Faculties of Medicine and eight nominees by the University Grants Commission from among distinguished professional in the country sit on the Board of Management. |
