FACULTY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES - USJ

Colombo South Teaching Hospital (CSTH) is the second largest government hospital in Colombo district, located in Kalubowila. The hospital has a bed strength of 1093 with 2320 staff involved in patient care. It provides treatment to about 150 000 inward patients and 75 000 out patients per year.

It serves as the teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura while functioning under the Ministry of Health. The head of the institute is the director. In addition to the University professorial units, the hospital runs an out patients department (OPD) round the clock and admits inpatients to wards of all major disciplines and several medical specialties. In addition to the honorary consultants (specialists) from the faculty, there are about 49 other consultants (specialists) in Anaesthesia, Histopathology, Orthopaedics, Eye Surgery, Neurology, ENT Surgery, Chemical Pathology, Haematology, Judicial Medicine, Microbiology, Rheumatology, Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Radiology, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Oral-maxillofacial (OMF) Surgery, Medicine, Cardiology, Paediatrics, Surgery, Genitor Urinary Surgery, Orthodontics, Psychiatry, Endocrinology, Transfusion Medicine, Vascular and Plastic Surgery Serving CSTH. The hospital is also equipped with intensive care units for Medical, Surgical and Neonatal patients and special unit to treat sexually transmitted diseases. There is also an acupuncture centre located within the hospital premises training and serving local and foreign individuals, even though it has no affiliation to the hospital.

The Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) is a government owned, not for profit tertiary care institute which was gifted by the people of Japan, honoring the late President His Excellency J.R. Jayawardana. Established under the provision of parliament Act number 54 of 1983 and has been managed by a board of members since its inception on the 17th of September 1984.

It is located in Sri Jayewardenepura, the capital of Sri Lanka, on nearly 30 acres of beautifully landscaped garden with serene nature. This state of the art green conceptual hospital maintains and preserves its environmental policies thoroughly for sustainable development. Eco-friendly hospital environment of SJGH has a nurturing, therapeutic effect and this helps to reduce patients' anxiety and stress, accelerate recovery, shorten hospitalizations, and promote a sense of well-being while uplifting the tranquility of the staff

This multi-specialty tertiary care Centre, offers a comprehensive full spectrum of care for the last 37 years, ranging from minor ailments to complex brain and heart surgeries at a substantially low cost. With over 1000 beds, our in-ward patient care facility is classified into three classes. Class 1 with en-suite room facility with all necessary amenities, class two consist of six bedded cubicles with one shared bathroom while the latter offers spacious non-congested separable beds with clean sanitary facilities. This allows the patient to conveniently choose their stay affordably as billing is itemized unlike in the for profit hospitals.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) also known as the Apeksha Hospital - Maharagama is the leading hospital under the Ministry of Health dedicated to the diagnosis and follow-up treatment of cancer patients. The NCI offers both the diagnostic facilities necessary for the identification of all types of cancer, and specialised care in surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A team of expert Consultants manage the hospital services alongside medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical physicists, laboratory technicians and minor workers. Anyone can access the services, free of charge. In addition to delivering quality care services, the NCI is the major training centre for medical undergraduates and postgraduates of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM).

The integrated MBBS curriculum with a preclinical phase, a para clinical phase and a clinical phase combines sound theoretical knowledge with practical skills in laboratory settings and applications in real life situations through teaching learning activities in many diverse setting. Clinical teaching takes place in 2 teaching hospitals; Colombo South teaching hospital and Sri Jayewardenepura General hospital and many other local health care facilities and preventive health care is learned at the Boralesgamuwa Medical officer of Health area.

The present curriculum is an integrated system based curriculum spanning over three phases. Phase I consists of five terms. (The duration of each term is ten weeks). Ten modules are included in Phase one. The Personal and Professional Development (PPD) stream begins in Phase 1 and continue throughout phase II and Phase III.

Phase II consists of six terms (Term 6 - 11). Sixteen modules, Community Health Stream (CHS) and the PPD stream are included in Phase II. Each module/stream committee is chaired by a chairperson and assisted by a convener with an average of 5-8 committee members representing the relevant departments. The committee members are selected on the basis of the main subjects which are to be included in the module to facilitate smooth implementation.

One of the Institutional objectives of the Faculty of Medical Sciences University of Sri Jayewardenepura is to train a graduate to work in a primary care setting. Many inputs are made into the curriculum to achieve this. This year the Community Based Medical Learning programme (CBML) focused on supervised exposures to state primary care facilities with self directed learning and reflective writing.

Professorial unit appointments span over the final year in Phase III conducted at the university professorial units in the Colombo South Teaching Hospital at Kalubowila rotating through 8-week attachments in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Paediatrics and 4 weeks each in Family Medicine and Psychiatry.

A variety of extra-curricular activities are available within the University providing students with ample respite from academic work. The undergraduates take part in a wide range of sports and aesthetic activities and have represented the University and excelled at both national and international events. 

Take every opportunity to make the most of your student life at the faculty and we strive to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible through a range of services and facilities. 

We have pioneered research in diverse fields ranging from basic medical sciences, clinical medicine, behavioral sciences and intervention research through interdisciplinary collaborations at national, regional and international level.

The faculties' institutional objective is to keep abreast of advancing medical knowledge, contribute to new knowledge through research. In order to achieve this academics, students and researchers based in different departments across the faculty are looking at major challenges that face our society, ranging from vector borne diseases, non-communicable diseases, risk factor and behavior modification, cancer and palliative care to social and cultural issues locally relevant and internationally important.

Many academics have taken interdisciplinary initiatives, and make significant contributions to society - regionally, nationally and internationally - through their dedicated and sustained efforts.