CLINICAL TRAINING

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said that the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) has advised Nawaloka private hospital not to permit SAITM medical students to attend clinical classes in the hospital as the private institution was not in the legal capacity to do so.
GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe said this advice was given at a recent discussion among private hospital owners and directors, the SLMC Chairperson, Health Ministry Director General, the Health Minister, GMOA committee members and other stakeholders of the medical sector.

“The SLMC stated that SAITM students cannot be allowed to do clinical training in private hospitals as the institution received legal recognition only after the issuing of a gazette notification on August 30. Therefore students that were enrolled to SAITM before this date cannot be allowed to work in private hospitals as they do not comply with the conditions in the gazette notice. As all SAITM students were enrolled before this date, none of the students are eligible to work in hospitals,” GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Sankalpa Marasinghe said.
He said that earlier this week Nawaloka hospital had agreed to give four rooms in the hospital free of charge for clinical training of SAITM medical students but Dr. Marasinghe said this would be inadequate. “It is absurd. In government hospitals students take on clinical training from 6am till 10pm in the night. We do not understand the ad hoc manner in which they are trying to conduct clinical training for the SAITM students,” he said.