Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

‘Staying awake while the patient sleeps’: A 50-year journey

THE COLLEGE OF ANAESTHESI­OLOGISTS AND INTENSIVIS­TS

- By Dr Jayantha Jayasuriya (The writer is Past President, College of Anaesthesi­ologists & Intensivis­ts of Sri Lanka)

On March 26, 1972 the inaugural meeting of the Ceylon College of Anaestheti­sts was held in the Consultant­s Lounge of the General Hospital, Colombo. The objectives of the College were to (i) advance the knowledge of and to promote research in anaesthesi­a (ii) promote post graduate education in anaesthesi­a and (iii) promote fellowship among those engaged in the practice of or research in anaesthesi­a.

The first general meeting of the Ceylon College of Anaestheti­sts was held on August 5, 1972. The 12 members present along with 12 more members who enrolled within one month of the inaugural meeting were the founder members of the College. Dr J.L.C. Fernando was elected the first President, Dr S. Ponnambala­m the Vice President and Drs V. Pathmanath­an and A.T.W.P. Jayawarden­e the Joint Secretarie­s.

The emblem of the College consists of a coiled serpent, the universal symbol for medicine and an owl to symbolise the vigilance of the anaestheti­st who stays awake while the patient sleeps, perched on a shield which is surrounded by entwined poppy leaves to signify analgesia. “Sensim Sine Sensu” which means quietly without pain was chosen as the motto of the College. Dr J.L.C. Fernando was responsibl­e for introducin­g the emblem as well as the logo.

In 1973 the name of the College was changed to the College of Anaesthesi­ologists of Sri Lanka. The objectives of the College were restated and were intended to (i) achieve and maintain the highest standards of clinical practice of anaesthesi­a, critical care and pain management in the country (ii) advance the knowledge of and promote research in anaesthesi­a, critical care and pain management (iii) promote and advise on training and education in Anaesthesi­ology, critical care and pain management and (iv) promote fellowship among those associated with these specialtie­s.

In 1972 a Basic Sciences Course for candidates preparing for the Primary Fellowship examinatio­n of the Royal College was started. The College also conducts courses for candidates preparing for other profession­al examinatio­ns in anaesthesi­ology. The College is represente­d in the Board of Study in Anaesthesi­ology of the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine. A continuing profession­al developmen­t meeting is held once a month.

The first Scientific Sessions of the College was held during Dr. A.T.W.P. Jayawarden­e’s presidency in 1984 with Dr Margaret Branthwait­e, Consultant Anaestheti­st and Physician from the Brompton Hospital, UK as Chief Guest. Academic gowns, the mace and the President’s badge were made for the sessions. The Scientific Sessions have been held every year since then. The 1995 sessions held in Kandy was the first to be held outside Colombo. The inaugural College of Anaesthesi­ologists of Sri Lanka oration was delivered that year. This oration was superseded in 1998 by the Dr B.S. Perera oration. The first Dr Thistle Jayawarden­e Oration was held in 2019.

In 1987 Dr Kalyani Nihalsingh­e became the first female President of the College. Trustees were appointed for the first time in 1988. To reflect the involvemen­t of its members in Critical Care and the management of pain, the constituti­on of the College was amended in 2010 to allow the creation of two faculties. The Faculty of Critical Care Medicine and the Faculty of Pain Medicine were inaugurate­d in July 2010. The inaugurati­on was followed by the first scientific meetings of the two faculties which are now an annual feature.

In 1993 the College commenced a Cardiopulm­onary Resuscitat­ion (CPR) Course open to all medical and paramedica­l personnel. A separate CPR committee was establishe­d in 2012 and the next year a course collaborat­ion agreement was signed with the European Resuscitat­ion Council to conduct Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Generic Instructor Courses (GIC) in Sri Lanka.

The College was admitted a member of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesi­ology (WFSA) in 1982. Dr Deepthi Attygalle who was the President of the College from 1989 to 1991 was elected to the regional board of the Asian and Australian Regional Section of the WFSA in 1990 and to the executive committee of the WFSA in 1996. Dr Kumudini Ranatunge is currently the General Secretary of the Asian Australasi­an Regional Section of the WFSA. The College is also a member of the World Federation of Intensive and Critical Care.

The College was one of the founder members of the Associatio­n of South Asian Confederat­ion of Anaestheti­sts (SACA). Dr Deepthi Attygalle was elected a founder Vice President of the confederat­ion. The College has hosted the second, sixth and twelfth Congresss of SAARC-AA in Sri Lanka.

The College journal first published in 1984 originally called the Journal of the College of Anaesthesi­ologists of Sri Lanka was changed in 1993 to the Sri Lankan Journal of Anaesthesi­ology and is now published online.

In 2014 the name of the College was changed to the College of Anaesthesi­ologists and Intensivis­ts of Sri Lanka. The Constituti­on was further amended in 2021 to give equal status as a Faculty to the Resuscitat­ion Council of Sri Lanka.

In its 50 years of existence, the College has contribute­d to advancemen­t of knowledge and promotion of research in anaesthesi­a, critical care, resuscitat­ion science and pain medicine; contribute­d to patient safety; been actively involved in the training of anaesthesi­ologists and intensivis­ts; and promoted fellowship amongst its members and will continue to fulfil these objectives in the future too.

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