Dr George Rasanayagam Handy had his primary education at St John’s College, Jaffna. He qualified as a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery in 1927 from the Ceylon Medical College and commenced his medical career as a Lecturer/Demonstrator in Physiology at the Ceylon Medical College. He proceeded to UK for postgraduate studies and obtained the honours degree in the London MBBS. He was awarded the Gold Medal in the DTM & H (London). In 1942 he was appointed JMO in Colombo and soon became an authority in Forensic Medicine and Pathology. He proceeded again to UK and obtained the MD (Lond) and MRCP (Lond). He also specialised in Cardiology. On his return to Ceylon he was appointed Resident Physician, General Hospital Colombo where he was in charge of the blood transfusion services. He was subsequently appointed Visiting Physician, General Hospital, Colombo where he became a much sought after clinician with a bent for Cardiology.
He had a passion for bedside teaching and his bedside manner won him many affectionate patients from all over the country. In the 1950s he was conferred the OBE and was President of the Ceylon Medical Association in 1963. He became the President of the Ceylon Academy of Postgraduate Medicine. He pioneered Cardiology in Sri Lanka and was the founder President of the Sri Lanka Heart Association in 1968. In 1970 he was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Fellow of the American College of Cardiologists.
| YEAR | TOPIC | ORATOR |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Inaugural Oration | Dr PR Anthonis |
| 1998 | Management of Heart Failure | Dr Upul Wijayawardane |
| 1999 | The burden of coronary artery disease: perspectives in management | Dr PN Thenabadu |
| 2000 | Valve replacement – what have we learnt? | Dr PA Gooneratne |
| 2001 | Cardiac electrophysiology – prospects for the millennium | Dr Mohan Nair |
| 29.10.2002 Birth Centenary | Coronary artery disease in the 21st Century | Dr Mathew Samuel Kalarickal |
| 2003 | Prevention of cardiac events in coronary disease | Prof Henry Purcell |