The Department of Medical Education ensures the effective and efficient functioning of the medical and other healthcare curricula offered by the Faculty. It supports the academic staff and the extended faculty to enhance their teaching scholarship through various staff development programmes and research activities.

The  Department of Medical Education primarily supports and coordinates the activities of the integrated undergraduate medical curriculum by:

• Training medical teachers in the principles and methods of Medical Education through regular seminars, workshops, etc.

Department of Medical Education runs short workshops on various important aspects of Medical Education, for academic staff in the Faculty as well as for the extended Faculty. The most important of these is the ‘Basics of Medical Education’ workshop, which together with the ‘Enhancing Research Competencies’ workshop, form the first 2 modules of the induction programme for probationary academic staff in the Medical Faculty.

• Providing continuing advice and guidance to the Faculty regarding curriculum, teaching-learning methods, and evaluation.

Department of Medical Education also provides guidance to the Faculty in terms of revising, monitoring and evaluating course curricula. This has been particularly important since the Faculty decided to change its MBBS curriculum, and with the introduction of the new BSc (SHS) programme. MEC is responsible for obtaining regular feedback from students regarding the MBBS study programme.

• Monitoring and evaluating the study programmes conducted by the Faculty.

Regular feedback from the both staff, students and other stakeholder groups (e.g. hospital clinicians, other healthcare professionals, patients) is obtained to evaluate the effectiveness of study programmes. Necessary measures of improvement are proposed to the Faculty Board through the curriculum committee. The evaluation cycle is continuously maintained to enhance the quality of the study programme.

•  Conducting and promoting educational research activities.

The Department of Medical Education conducts collaborative research project with its counterparts in Sri Lanka and around the world to support an evidence-based approach to medical education.

Department of Medical Education academic staff also teaches basic and advanced psychology to students on both MBBS and BSc (Speech and Hearing Sciences) courses. It has a significant role to play in the Behavioural Sciences strand of the undergraduate medical curriculum.

The Department of Medical Education staff members are supported by many academic staff from other Departments, who have a special interest and commitment to Medical Education.