The Spice Route Sri Lanka CPD programme
A CPD programme was organized by the Spice Route Movement (Movement for Young Doctors) of Sri Lanka on February 17, 2018. The evening was attended by a large gathering of enthusiastic general practitioners, both young and young at heart, who were intrigued by the topics.
The event started with the welcome address by the National Chair, Dr Hiranthini De Silva, who after welcoming the guests, the speakers and all those present gave an overview of the Spice Route Sri Lanka Movement and also spoke about the activities that have been undertaken already and that are planned in the future.
The President of the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka, Dr Carmel Fernandopulle, addressed the gathering next and spoke about Spice Route Sri Lanka, the achievements so far and it’s combined efforts with the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka, and motivated the young GPs in being involved in advancement of Family Medicine in Sri Lanka
The first speaker, Dr Maulee Arambewela, a senior registrar in Endocrinology, and currently a lecturer at the University of Sri Jayawardanepura was called upon to speak on ‘Interpretation of a DEXA scan, and the pitfalls and management of osteoporosis’. It was a comprehensive lecture covering a variety of aspects. Through this lecture all present were enlightened on how to interpret a DEXA scan and many salient points were highlighted, including the importance of educating patients on when it needs to be performed. The management of osteoporosis and the current trends in ttreatment were also talked about and the role of the GP in prevention of falls was mentioned.
The second speaker Prof Shalini Sri Ranganathan, professor of pharmacology, paediatrician and the head of the Department of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo was introduced and welcomed. She spoke on ‘Rational antibiotic prescription for common infections encountered in General Practice’ and her lecture was very inspiring and entertaining and kept the listeners at the edge of their seats throughout! Her way of communicating this important message was definitely an eye opener. She encouraged the Spice Route Sri Lanka committee to discuss the implementation of guidelines on prescribing antibiotics for use in general practice in Sri Lanka.
Following the lectures both speakers were awarded with tokens of appreciation by Dr Carmel Fernandopulle on behalf of the Spice Route Movement.
Finally the vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Sankha Randenikumara, the national chair elect of the Spice Route Sri Lanka.
The CPD programme ended with a sumptuous buffet at the rooftop of Asiri Surgical Hospital with a variety of wonderful dishes and fellowship among all those present.
