The 2023 graduating Class of Trinity School of Medicine (TSOM) included four Vincentian, who have qualified as doctors after training in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the United States of American, and who have secured residency at prestigious medical institutions in the USA.
The four were recognized on Friday 5th May when Trinity held a White Coat Ceremony. Each of them was presented with a certificate with the inscription, “A future guided by faith”, inspired by a line from the National Anthem of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, “What e’er the future brings, our faith will see us through”.
The four who were so recognized were: Dr. Shania Leslie who will pursue Pediatrics at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey; Dr. Geran Maule, Internal Medicine at University of Central Florida; Dr. Carmold Murray, Internal Medicine in Arizona; and Dr. John Rickards, Internal Medicine at Mercer School of Medicine, Georgia.
On his journey so far, Rickards sited the care for each other, “that close-knit nature is what made us excel as physicians now but also in medical school. …. it was just easy to network and make connections not only with our patients but other people in the medical community.”
Noting that the percentage of doctors that actually get a position is around 50%, the fact that this time so many Vincentians were able to get amazing positions at good institutions, Rickards said that this “speaks to not only the amazing things that Trinity is doing by allowing us that opportunity, but really what St. Vincent can really develop. ”
Dr. Shania Leslie from the island of Bequia, credited her current disposition to early life lessons – that everyone is family whether related or not and should be treated with a high level of respect and compassion.
“Forming these types of bonds with patients,” she was convinced, “makes caring for them much easier, as they know they can trust you as their physician.”
Dr. Geran Maule recalled his experience in the USA; how “we stood out most notably by our accent, which everyone liked. This always led us to explain where St. Vincent was, followed by conversations of agriculture, fishing and other kinds of things like how the society was set up different from the US.”
Dr. Carmold Murry felt that he and his colleagues were simply owning their heritage. “You don’t ever take a moment and step back from that,” he was clear, “of course, you bring your heritage into every environment you enter.”
He acknowledged that carrying a true Vincentian culture became a standout point everywhere. “Our politeness, hospitality, respectfulness, are all great in hospital for bedside manner. I’ve had patients, preceptors, the school in general compliment me because of my bedside manner; the way I treat them, the respect with which I observe their feelings, emotions, and speaking to them not just as a doctor but also like a human being.”
But the journey is not over. Even as these students pursue their specialties, they stand: ready to welcome Vincentian doctors willing to take the same journey as they did; prepared to walk a brother or a sister along the road they have travelled; and open to providing information and advice from their experiences.
In essence, the four have become beacons for young Vincentians everywhere.
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