Sunday Times 2
PeMEx 2015: ‘A Tale of Medicine Untold’
PeMEx 2015 “A Tale of Medicine Untold”, the 8th Medical Exhibition organised by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, is currently open to the public at the Faculty premises. The exhibition has been organised with the purpose of sharing information on the human body, its functions, deviations from the norm, and prevention of diseases as well as inculcating a commitment to social responsibility among medical faculty students.
Pic by Ashwin Dominique Jayalath
“It is not difficult to get this information nowadays but it is difficult to get reliable information,” points out Chairperson of the Organising Committee Dr. Sampath Tennekoon. “As the theme suggests, we want to focus on discussing things that people don’t usually talk about,” adds Chief Student Organiser Dilan Rathnayake. The exhibits are vivid and taken from real-life, making the learning experience that much more effective and practical.
Staff and students of the faculty have been involved in preparations since July 2014, and warmly welcome the general public to participate at the event today and tomorrow. “We will not be extending the exhibition this time as we usually do,” explains Rathnayake, adding that although this has been the trend during the last two medical exhibitions (of 1998 and 2003), their academic schedules make it impossible for them to extend the event further than August 31.
The Peradeniya Medical Exhibition takes place once every five years and draws thousands of visitors from all over the island. This year’s exhibition hotspots are the Anatomy, Reproductive Health and Forensic Medicine departments. Stalls have been organised to form a “journey” through life’s stages, in 18 different departments including Life before Birth, Childhood, Adolescent Health, Psychological Diseases, Surgery, First Aid, Non-Communicable Diseases, Sports Medicine and Oral Health.
The whole exhibition is likely to take between 4 and 8 hours to walk through, so we suggest an early arrival to avoid having to wait in long queues. If you don’t have a lot of time to spare, the organisers suggest getting more information from their website at www.pdn.ac.lk/uop/events/pemex to help you decide which sections you want to prioritise. There are also maps of the exhibition grounds and other useful links on the event website.
PeMEx 2015 ‘A Tale of Medicine Untold’ is open for public viewing at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The final exhibition day is Monday, August 31. Tickets priced at Rs.100 are available at the gate. Call the exhibition hotline – 081 2392151 for more information.