Rajarata University opens Medical and Allied Sciences Faculty amidst challenges

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

A few days ago the first batch of doctors passed out from the youngest Medical faculty of the country joined the National Health Service. Started with fragments of a faculty, these students achieved their aim with sheer dedication and courage in due course creating a fully fledged medical faculty that was created in the recent past of the history in Sri Lanka.

A medical student comes with dreams, aspirations and with a load of expectations about their future. While convincing such youth about the brighter side of a growing up faculty, heads, professors and lecturers who were appointed to head of the Medical and Allied Sciences Faculty of the Rajarata University had a tough time in the process.

"First we had students and then came the rest of the segments of the medical faculty," said Dean of the Faculty Professor Malini Udupihilla "The first building we had was that of a previous youth program and the entire building needed to be refurbished to suit the environment of a medical faculty. And that was very difficult. We had only few lecturers - people who were retired from the University of Peradeniya were recruited. So we all had to do everything basically," said Prof. Udupihilla.

At the start in September 2006 the faculty did not have either labs or furniture - just students and lecturers. "Since then we were building up gradually and at present we can be satisfied with the development of infrastructure, labs and many other facilities. But our problem at the moment is the recruitment of staff. We need more lecturers. Especially at senior level," she added. As she pointed out a remedy is needed for the problems lecturers facing in admitting their own children in to schools and of course a lecturer for this university should be a person who would love to live in a quiet and slow moving life in Anuradhapura.

State-of-the-art operation theatre	Dr. Sujeewa Thalgaspitiya	Dr. Sujeewa Thalgaspitiya

"Though all medical schools provide doctors for the national service, we at the Rajarata University try to lead medical students in a direction which might be beneficial to the people in the North Central Province. We are specially concentrating on issues like chronic renal disease and snake venom poisoning. And also we have set up a Research Centre for Ayurveda," she said.

The University takes 180 students annually and they have about 30 - 35 lecturers at the moment. As Prof. Udupihilla said when some of the lecturers go on study leave and the shortage of staff created by this becomes a big problem as replacements are difficult. "We have informed the Higher Education Minister on these matters and promised to look in to these issues," she said.

Yet, for these almost seven years this medical school has done pretty well," said Prof. Udupihilla.

"The first batch graduated and the results were quite satisfactory. In spite of all the problems students have done well. Only two students failed and 25 are being referred. All the others passed. We had fifteen upper seconds and fifty lower seconds out of the total 164 students who sat for exams," Prof. Udupihilla said.

Great start

Dilan Senevirathne, Rivikelum Samarasinghe, Damitha Abeysinghe, Upeksha Wickramasinghe, Gihan Thenuwara

Since this is a state university the recognition of the degree is the same. "Our academics are trying to work on building connections with foreign universities with better facilities in order to broaden the research and academic aspects," she said.

"Although we started with great difficulty, the students of the first batch showed good results. We have ten distinctions in Medicine. Only five failed in medicines as a subject. Totally we have about 26 failures out of 164 students. Two distinctions in Obstetrics Gynaecology, one distinction in paediatrics and one distinction in surgery," said Professor Sisira Siribaddana, a founder professor of Medicine and Chair, Department of Medicine.

As Professor Siribaddana said, the faculty has four senior consultant grade medical professionals to teach medical students as well as post grads.

"We have a heavy work load at the faculty; apart from studies we treat patients. Every third day we are on call. We get patients with ailments that give examples throughout the medical spectrum - three or four snake bites, some with leptospirosis, 5 -10 patients with heart disease or problems, poisoning etc.," he said. And also the hospital gets patients transferred from areas like Mannar, Vavuniya, Dambulla, Kebitigollewa, Padaviya and Sripura hospitals as well.

Following the establishment of the faculty a new professorial unit was established within the Auradhapura University and almost all medical facilities are available at the professorial unit of the Anuradhapura hospital to teach students.

The start was very difficult for the staff as well as students. Everyone had to make sacrifices and adjust themselves to this developing environment," said Dr. Niroshana Dassanayake, one of the first senior lecturers to join the faculty.

A faculty is not of professors, lecturers, buildings and labs. Its main component is students. A successful batch of students is the sign of success of the faculty.

Speaking of the rough patch of history they went through Dilan Senevirathne, Rivikelum Samarasinghe, Damitha Abeysinghe, Upeksha Wickramasinghe, Gihan Thenuwara explained about the transformation representing their entire batch.

After being eligible for university study we were the students left without a medical faculty. We accepted it as we needed to start our higher studies. Studying was a big battle for us," said Dilan. And as Gihan added we were about to enter a faculty that was only suggested at that stage. Yet they succeeded though the first days, months were really hard for these students. They had only one building and no canteens or libraries. "Sometimes we had to buy those books that were needed for references until a library was established after five months," Gihan said.

What was the positive factor that kept these youth in this emerging medical faculty? According to them they knew after some time it would be easier. "We went through harsh situations together. We faced challenges as one team - the entire batch," they said.

How do they compare themselves and see where they are now? "Comparing ourselves to students who passed out from other medical faculties knowledge and skills we don't have any differences. Our lecturers were with us at all times - when we went through all the difficulties in trying to do our studies best. They dedicated so much time for us. Looking back, we see so many achievements in our struggle to study. Those hardships made us strong - professionally and personally," they said.

The Anuradhapura Hospital is added with a state-of-the-art professorial unit with the establishment of the Medical faculty at the Rajarata University.

Two high-tech theatres

According to Surgeon Dr. Sujeewa Thalgaspitiya, Head of the Department of Surgery, the unique feature of the unit is its two high-tech theatres. "At emergencies we cannot let patients wait as at times surgery can save a life. So for a hospital like this two state-of-the-art theatres mean more possibilities of saving lives," said Dr. Thalgaspitiya.

In addition to this benefit surgeons like Dr. Thalgaspitiya and researchers of the Medical Faculty are conducting research on various aspects of surgeries including finding correct paths to inculcate traditional medicinal knowledge in surgeries to the modern.

Colombo and Kandy cities are developed in the country as health hubs. Because all these places have developed with a faculty, said Dr. Darshana Sirisena, Consultant Neurologist of the Anuradhapura Hospital. "When we take patient care wise Anuradhapura is the health hub, not only for the North Central Province but for North Province, Eastern Province as well. By being affiliated with the Medical Faculty this major hospital gets many benefits. Quality of patient care and health facilities gets improved," he said. "North Central Province has a unique illness that was neglected in the past. So being affiliated to the faculty a lot of scientists interested in such research get a better opportunity to carry out their research, thus giving a clear picture of many such unique instances. Along with the lot of facilities available with hospital, this collaboration can bring a big change in the medical field," he said.