Annual Academic Sessions (AAS)
The Annual academic sessions of SLSIM 2018/2019 was held over 3 days from 2nd to 4th November 2018 at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo. It consisted of 2 full days of academic sessions, 4 pre-congress workshops, e-poster presentations, Prof T Varagunam Oration, Award ceremony, and Conference dinner.
Pre-congress
4 half day Pre-congress workshops were held on 2nd November 2018 at ClinMARC building, National Hospital of Sri Lanka.
- Workshop 01 – Research writing & presentation skills
- Workshop 02 – How to pass the MD Medicine Examination
- Workshop 03 – How to prepare for overseas training
- Workshop 04 – Critical care scenarios: Case-based discussions
Inauguration Ceremony
The Ceremonial Inauguration of the AAS took place on the morning of the 3rd of November 2018 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel.12th of September. There were over 400 members and invitees in attendance. The Chief Guest was Professor Derek Bell OBE, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. He stated that the Edinburgh College is proud of its excellent working relationship with the SLSIM and looks forward to continuing this strong association in the coming years. He also pointed out the ability to improve care for patients by working in partnership, sharing successes and challenges.
The Guest of Honour, Professor Janaka de Silva, Director of Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo mentioned that he is pleased to note that the focus of the sessions was on strengthening the basics, through a range of clinically relevant and timely topics. He also stated that the pre-congress workshops provide an exciting opportunity for internal medicine trainees to optimize their performance at examinations, research and overseas training.
The SLSIM was also privileged to have Dr. Adri Kok, President of the International Society of Internal Medicine (ISIM) and Professor Quazi Tarikul Islam, representing the American College of Physicians attending the Inauguration ceremony.
Main Congress
The main congress was held from the 3rd-4th of November 2018 with 12 overseas speakers. The scientific programme included 10 plenaries and 6 symposia. The sessions were conducted from 7.45am to 4.15 pm. This also included a free paper presentation session, Breakfast meeting with all international internal medicine associations as well.
E-Poster Presentations
There were nine e-posters presented at the main conference. Abstracts were reviewed by, Dr. Arosha Dissanayake, Dr. Suranga Manilgama and Dr. Madhuwanthi Hettiarachchi and the posters were judged by Dr. Matthew Giles and Dr. Parthipan Pillai to select the best poster presentation.
Breakfast meeting: RCP Edin, ISIM ACP and SLSIM
There was a very successful meeting with representatives of RCP Edinburgh, International Society of Internal Medicine, American College of Physicians and SLSIM members on the formation and enhancement of links between international societies. It was decided to arrange a meeting with ACP during ACP sessions in 2019 to discuss on the formation of a Sri Lankan chapter at ACP.
Professor T. Varagunam Oration
Professor T. Varagunam is considered as one of the most renowned consultant Physicians in our country. He has contributed immensely to the field of Internal Medicine for several decades both locally and internationally. This year the oration was selected by application. Professor T. Varagunam oration 2018; “Lifestyle, diabetes and complementary therapies: Sri Lanka at a glance” was delivered by Professor Arjuna Medagama, Professor in Diabetic Medicine at the Department of Medicine, University of Peradeniya.
The Award Ceremony and Conference Dinner
The following awards were selected from an application and were awarded to SLSIM members selected by the panel of Judges which consisted of Professor Senaka Rajapakse, Professor Thilak Weererathna and Dr Wasantha Dissanayake.
Award for the Best Published Paper in 2017 (overall)
This award was presented to Dr. Champica K. Bodinayake, for the paper” Evaluation of the WHO 2009 classification for diagnosis of acute dengue in a large cohort of adults and children in Sri Lanka during a dengue-1 epidemic, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2018
Best Poster Presentation at SIMCON 2018
This award was presented to Professor Arjuna Medagama, for the abstract “Platelet count and Aspartate transaminase (AST) can reliably predict the onset of plasma leakage in dengue, a low-cost triage tool during epidemics”
The Most innovative service improvement project
This award was presented to Dr. Shamitha Dassanayake for the project he carried out in Infrastructure development at Base Hospital – Padaviya, which provides health care facilities for a population exceeding 95000 residing in the Padaviya, Sri pura, Welioya, Pulmudai Divisional Secretary divisions and part of the Kabithigollewa division. This is the only hospital in the country that is catering for patients of three provinces in the Island– North Central, Northern and Eastern for patients with CKDu.