KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 14, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister)– While on an official visit to Jamaica, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris shared in the excitement of more than 200 young persons from across the region who, after completing their five-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programmes, took the Hippocratic Oath and Pledge to become the region’s newest doctors.
Prime Minister Harris was among the hundreds of family, friends, well-wishers and faculty of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus, who witnessed the pledging of approximately 236 young doctors, including his own daughter Lavonne Harris, at the Faculty of Medical Sciences Pledge Ceremony 2019 on Thursday, June 13.
Of the 236 students, 25 of them graduated from the MBBS programme with Honours and two graduated with Distinctions.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister used the opportunity to interact with and congratulate the new doctors who have excelled in the fields of Pathology, Microbiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Paediatrics.
Prime Minister Harris, who is CARICOM’s Lead spokesperson on Health matters, expressed his pleasure in witnessing the passing out of 236 medical students who will undoubtedly bolster the medical fraternity across the region.
He also met with Dr. Tomlin Paul, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Science at the UWI Mona Campus. Dr. Paul indicated that the overall pass rate for the Class of 2019 across all the subjects was over 90 percent, with Obstetrics and Gynaecology recording pass rates of up to 97 percent.
Prime Minister Harris congratulated Dr. Paul and his faculty on the continued success of the medical programme at the internationally accredited University of the West Indies.