In 1963, I was thrilled to be accepted into the medical program at the University of the West Indies (Mona, Jamaica). There is always room for one more at meals! Our home was constantly filled with visitors (some lived with us for extended periods of time), students, colleagues, friends and relatives. This meant immersion in the people, culture, art, literature, languages and values.
Our father’s career took him to universities in England, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Nigeria and the United States. My parents, gifted educators, encouraged their children to be the best we could be while helping others. When and how did my passion for medicine start? Who knows? As an eldest child in an extensive clan, always happiest when caring for others, I knew from an early age that a life in nursing or medicine was where my niche lay. So let’s see if something in my journey will assist you to become the best physician and person you can be, while enjoying your journey! On reflection, I realized how much my own life and career had been influenced by serendipity, willingness to work hard and ‘try things new and untested’, and an insatiable curiosity about the human condition.
Whatever can I add to inspire and help you? During eight instructive years as Associate Dean, Student Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario), I witnessed the anguish of countless students as they agonized over the “best career choices” and how to secure a residency position in “the best programs”, decisions they had to make long before exposure to sufficient clinical material or medical lifestyles to make informed choices.