The Medical Faculty

• History
• The Present
• Fact File
• Medical Student's Activities
• Useful information

History

Organized teaching in western medicine did not exist in Sri Lanka till the Colombo Medical School was established in 1870. In 1868, the Governor appointed Dr. James Loos, the Colonial Surgeon in the Northern Province to conduct an enquiry into the spreading cholera and parangi (yaws) in the area. In his report, he recommended the establishment of a medical school to train " an efficient class of medical practitioners who will displace the present class of ignorant quacks". The Principle Civil Medical Officer, Dr. W P Charsley, agitated for the cause, and as a result, the new medical school was declared open on the June 1st, 1870 by the Govenor of Ceylon, Sir, Hercules Robinson. The school had an annual budget of 500 sterling pounds, 25 students and a staff of one Principal, three lecturers and one peon. Dr. Loos was the first Principal of the school.

The school acquired the status of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Ceylon in 1942. When the Faculty of Medicine in Peradeniya, Kandy was started in 1962, the Colombo Medical School was affiliated to the University of Colombo as its Faculty of Medicine.

Further information:

• Ceylon Medical Journal 1993; 38: p36-42
• Journal of Medical Biography 1993; 1, p129-36
• Ceylon Medical Journal 1982; 27: p49-65
• A history of medicine in Sri Lanka - from the earliest time to 1948. Uragoda C G. 1987. Sri Lanka Medical Association. Colombo

Present

The Colombo Medical School, now 125 years old, is one of the oldest in this part of the world. Since its inception, it has grown to be a leader among the six medical faculties in the country. We have a student population of nearly 1350, an academic staff of 115, 14 academic departments and 11 units. In addition to training of undergraduates leading to degree of MBBS, the medical school offers a wide variety of post-graduate courses. A wide spectrum of clinical, laboratory and consultative services are offered to many institutions, nationally and internationally by the academic staff. The medical school has been in the forefront of research in the fields of malaria, organ transplantation, adolescence, ageing, drug abuse, filariasis and human reproduction.

The Colombo Medical School, on the celebration of its125th anniversary, has shown sensitivity and consideration for the changing health needs of the individual and the community by introducing a new curriculum geared to produce a 'better' medical graduate who will fulfil the needs of the the changing society with more CARE, more COMPASSION and a higher level of COMPETENCE.

Fact file:

Units

Medical Faculty Student's Activities

Outside the day-to-day stresses of busy student's life, various extracurricular activites take place through out the year. The Medical Faculty Student's Union and about a dozen other societies take the lead in these. Our students have always excelled in sports at the inter-faculty and inter-university levels. The religious societies organize events such as pirith ceremonies, alms givings & christmas carols. The students engage themselves in music, drama and arts as well. Some of the most popular annual events of the Medical School are the Law Medical match, the dinner dance 'Block Night' and the arts festival 'Kala Ulela'. A cordial and a friendly atmosphere is always maintained in the School by the students under the leadership of the Medical Faculty Student's Union assisted by the Medical Student's Welfare Society.

Useful information