Department of Family Medicine
Introduction
Mission
To develop mature professionals who will approach general practice with compassion, integrity and dedication.
About us
Department of Family Medicine was established by the University Grants Commission in May 2004. Family Medicine and Community medicine were a mega department named Department of Community Health when Faculty of Medical Sciences was first established in 1993 later renamed as Department of Community Medicine And Family Medicine. The founder, Head and Professor of this department was a senior Family Physician Dr. Leela de A. Karanaratne. She retired in 1996 but continued to work on visiting basis upto 2000. Dr. M. S. A. Perera, Senior Lecturer took over running of the academic program and later was able to establish separate Department of Family Medicine of which she was the Head.
This is the first department of Family Medicine which is established in a medical school in Sri Lanka. The Family Practice Centre was established in July 1997 and is a project of the department and is used to teach the students, provide the service function to provide primary care to the people of the surrounding villages and for research. The centre is recognized by the PGIM for training postgraduates for the Diploma and MD in Family Medicine.
More academic staff has joined the department now. Dr. A.L P des Seneviratne joined as a senior lecturer in September 2000 and now is the Head of the department. Dr. T. S.P Samaranayaka joined as a probationary lecturer in August 2001.
The academic staff members are
Prof.M.S.A.Perera
Chair and Professor of Family Medicine
Dr.A.L.P.de S Seneviratne
Head, Dept.of Family medicine
Dr.T.S.P.Samaranayake
Lecturer
Our non-academic staff includes 03 technical offices, a lab attendant and a minor employee. We also have a nursing sister on contract basis and two pre-intern demonstrators.
The external faculty members who the students are sent for their general practice appointment are the community GPs. They are the full time general practitioners with postgraduate family medicine qualifications either with DFM or MD in family medicine.
There are now 1340 registered families seeking treatment at the Family Practice centre. They seek advice and treatment from the consultants at the centre. The FPC is well equipped to provide out patient care to the community. We have a laboratory with qualified medical laboratory technician to perform common laboratory tests. We do have ECG facilities. We are also equipped to manage emergencies encountered in primary care. Our mini operating theatre is used to perform minor surgical procedures.
Our aim is to provide quality care to the community at Rattanapitya at a very nominal cost.
Teaching is more clinically oriented with the patient base. From year 2000 the clinical teaching started with the fourth year students at the family practice Centre and continues in the final year with the attachment to the GP tutors. Duration of the appointment is four weeks. Now this is in the final year with the professorial appointments. The classroom teaching starts in the 8th term and is continued in the 11th, 12th and 13th terms.
Courses Involved
Undergraduate
- MBBS
- B. Sc. Nursing
Postgraduate
Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM)
- Diploma in Family Medicine
- Diploma in Family Medicine by Distance Education
- Diploma in Family Medicine in collaboration with Indian Medical Association(IMA)
- MD by clinical training and examination (SL)
- MD by thesis Sri Lanka
- MD by thesis in collaboration with Indian Medical Association(IMA)
College of General Practitioners (CGP)
- MCGP
- MRCGP (Int)
- Training government doctors from Western province in Family Practice
Services and Facilities
Training students – Undergraduate & Postgraduate
The main facility available for undergraduate & postgraduate training is a purpose built Family Practice Centre (FPC) which renders primary medical care services to the people of the surrounding villages. There are 1500 registered families attached to the centre. The patients are seen at a nominal charge and have access to referrals to professorial units at Colombo South Teaching Hospital for shared care. There is collaboration between other departments such as Microbiology, Physiology, Parasitology, Pathology and Community Medicine for coordination of care. There is collaboration with the Help Age Lanka with services to elderly.
Family Practice Centre
This centre was built in 1997 and has five consultation rooms, a room for minor surgical procedures, an emergency room, a fully equipped laboratory for simple investigations, a physiotherapy room, a library and two seminar rooms for students.
Consultations
Approximately 40 – 50 patients consult daily. Services are provided for walk in patients between 8.00am and 12.00noon. Registration is restricted to families consulting on a continuing basis. Services are provided by academic staff members of whom three are specialists. In addition a doctor released from the Colombo South Teaching Hospital takes part in consultations. A paper based recording system is maintained for all registered patients.
Minor Surgical Procedures
The mini surgical theatre is available for minor surgical procedures, such as removal of nails, incision & drainage of abscesses, removal of sebaceous cysts. Dermatological procedures for example, electric and chemical (TCA) cauterization.
Emergency Management
Emergency management is available from 8.00am to 4.00pm on weekdays. A nebulizer, ECG machine and drugs for emergency situations are available.
Wound care
Wound care is carried out by a trained nursing sister.
Home visits
Home visits are done at a nominal cost for the population of Rattanapitiya.
Physiotherapy
An infra red lamp, parallel bars, heat pads and climbing frames and an ultra sound machine are available with visits from a trained physiotherapist on a regular basis.
Medical Laboratory Services
The investigations are done at a low cost considering the community’s economical status. Basic investigations such as Full Blood Count, Urine Full Report, ESR, Fasting Blood Sugar and Lipid Profiles are done. We have a well equipped laboratory with a qualified Medical Laboratory Technician and two assistant technical officers.
Seminar rooms
Two seminar rooms, a multi media projector, an over head projector and a slide projector are available for teaching and learning. One room is equipped with a CCTV system for training in communication skills. Each seminar room can accommodate 15-20 students at a time.
Department Staff
Academic Staff
| Prof.(Mrs) M.S.A. Perera MBBS (Cey- Col), DFM (SL), MD (FM) Col, FCGP | Professor Visiting Lecturer & Examiner DFM (SL) Examiner for DFM (INDIA), Examiner for MRCGP (Int) |  | |
| Dr. A.L.P.De S. Senevirathna MBBS (Col), DFM (SL), MD (FM)SL, FCGP | Head Dept of Family Medicine, Coordinator Family Practice Center |  | |
| Dr. Shyamalee Samaranayaka MBBS (SL), DFM (SL), DCM (Col), MD (FM) SL | Lecturer |  |
| Mrs. Amitha Jayawardena | Technical Officer |  |
| Mrs. L.D.K.T. Dasanayake | Technical Officer |  |
| Miss. N.K.T.A. Thilakaratne | Technical Officer |  |
| Mr. A.R.N. Premaratne | Lab Attendant |  |
| Mr. J.P. Kumara | Lab Attendant |  |
| Mrs. Juliet Alwis | Labourer |  |
Research
| Title of the Project | Grant | Commencement | Expected Year of Completion |
| Knowledge, attitudes and practices about menopause and related problems among peri-menopausal females | 2007 | 2009 | |
| Food habits among adolescents in Colombo district | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 2006 | 2008 |
| Guidelines in primary care | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 2003 | 2005 |
| Primary medical care in Colombo district | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 2005 | 2006 |
| Quality of health education over Sinhala Print media | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 2001 | 2002 |
| To compare the efficacy of Diethylcarbamazine provocation test and the antigen detection tests available with that of night blood film detection of bancroftian filariasis during day time in Sri Lanka | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 2001 | 2002 |
| Prevalence of skin diseases in a peri urban community | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 2001 | 2002 |
| Beliefs and practices associated with selected dermatological problems in Piliyandala University project area | University of Sri Jayewardenepura grant | 1995 | 1996 |
Contact Details
Telephone: +94115516914
email:alprs@eureka.lk