Europe can learn from Sri Lanka in the arena of dermatology training
German Professor praises the MD programme as thorough, efficient & excellent
TFocusing on these links, Prof. Elsner says that he has been impressed over the scope of the MD examinations in Sri Lanka which were “thorough, efficient and excellent”.
he general belief in Sri Lanka is that most of our doctors head either to the United Kingdom or Australia for their specialist training, but in mid-January this is debunked effectively.
In Colombo was Professor/Dr. Peter Elsner from Germany as an external examiner for MD (Doctor of Medicine) Part 2 in Dermatology. Currently, Prof. Elsner is a Board Member of the German Society of Dermatology (DDG) and President of the International Society for Dermatology in the Tropics (ISDT). He is also Professor Emeritus of Dermatology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena University Hospital, Jena.
It is not just a one-off or ‘only skindeep’ liaison but deep-rooted, this German-Sri Lanka collaboration in dermatology, since the 1980s.
“Do you know that over this period, 10 Sri Lankan Consultant Dermatologists have gone for their post-graduate training to Germany and more will follow,” says Professor and Consultant Dermatologist Jayamini Seneviratne.
It is he, Prof. Elsner and Dr. Dieter Reinel also from Germany who have been vital links in this strong bond.
“The Sri Lanka College of Dermatologists (SLCD) and the DDG – Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft – have had fruitful links over the years,” says Prof. Seneviratne, a veteran in this field.
Prof. Seneviratne retired after 40 years of service in the outstations and finally as the Head of the Dermatology Unit of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) for Children, Colombo, last year. He was also the long-time Chairman of the Board of Study for Dermatology at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) and has served as SLCD’s Secretary and President. He is also an active member of the South Asian Regional Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists & Leprologists (SARAD).
As we chat, Consultant Dermatologist Subani Perera who trained in Hamburg arrives with a colourful bunch of flowers for Prof. Elsner, as also the current SLCD President Dr. Sriyani Samaraweera and PGIM’s current Board of Study Chairman for Dermatology, Dr. Janaka Akarawita.
The Sunday Times learns that while Sri Lankan post-graduate trainees in dermatology have headed to Germany over the years, in June last year (2023), a German trainee had done a month’s stint at the LRH with hopes of a vibrant exchange programme between the two countries in the future.
Focusing on these links, Prof. Elsner says that he has been impressed over the scope of the MD examinations in Sri Lanka which were “thorough, efficient and excellent”.
This was why he had turned global attention on this country when he addressed the topic of ‘Dermatology training and specialist examinations in Sri Lanka: Is it the best practice for Europe as well?’ at the Annual Summit of the International Society of Dermatology held in Basel, Switzerland, in October last year.
“We could really learn from Sri Lanka,” Prof. Elsner had reiterated, pointing out that Sri Lanka’s training was better than theirs, while suggesting the implementation of a similar programme for European countries including Germany.
Sri Lankan post-graduate trainees, meanwhile, acquire a thorough training in skin surgery in Germany, which they are not exposed to in other countries.
In Sri Lanka, dermatology had originally been part of internal medicine but with major support from DDG, it had been able to take control of its future, with an initial liaison between Dr. Gunter Schwenzer and Dr. W.D.H. Perera. With an endowed professorship at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, a Dermatology Department had come into being under the Department of Medicine, through a trilateral cooperation agreement among the university, the SLCD and the DDG. Prof. Seneviratne was the first to hold a full professorship since 2006.
With regard to skin issues, Prof. Elsner says that in Germany currently, not so much in Sri Lanka, there is an epidemic of skin cancer. This is while, in addition to age-related impacts on the skin, there are also genetic, infective, metabolic, allergic and auto-immune conditions, making way for an array of sub-specialties and also research.
“The good thing is that with experience we can make a diagnosis quickly and precisely without huge laboratory investigations,” he says, pointing out that they can do a lot of good. There is also something always new and it is never boring. He is now into dermatology pathology where biopsies are tested to zero-in on diseases.
He adds that he likes to concentrate mostly on medical conditions rather than the beauty aspects of the skin. This is because the impact including stigma on patients living with such diseases as vitiligo (an autoimmune disorder that causes loss of pigmentation, leaving the skin with white patches); leprosy (a bacterial infection) or psoriasis (an immune-mediated disease which leaves the skin inflamed and scaly) is tremendous.