It is with regret that we have had to withdraw our Sri Lanka Medical Pathway (SLMP) that was introduced in 2019 to provide medical students with the opportunity to learn from healthcare settings in the UK and Sri Lanka, while studying for their University of Aberdeen MBChB medical degree.
The Sri Lanka Medical Pathway was developed as part of an institutional partnership with the Sri Lanka-based International Institute of Health Sciences. The pathway aimed to improve accessibility to quality medical education for Sri Lankan and international students, providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills to work in an increasingly global healthcare environment.
Unfortunately, it has not proved possible for the third-party healthcare provider we were working with, to provide the year 4 and 5 clinical placements planned for the students for their time in Sri Lanka. While there may be other clinical placement providers that could step in, Covid-19 restrictions prevent us from doing all the necessary due diligence to ensure the quality assurance and teaching excellence we demand.
This is obviously a disappointing development as the SLMP was developed in response to demand from students from the South Asia region and elsewhere for an international medical degree, and who would also have benefited from enhanced understanding of global healthcare. It also supported the desire of Sri Lanka to become an educational hub for the region.
Rather than spending the majority of years 4 and 5 in Sri Lanka, students currently on the SLMP will now complete all their programme based out of Aberdeen.
The withdrawal has no impact on separate projects the University has with IIHS in relation to other programmes.
The University remains committed to extending its networks and pathways across the world and creating global learning opportunities
Potential applicants can address any queries to medadm@abdn.ac.uk.