A new chapter in medical training and Barbados-Ghana relations was marked on the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill on Friday as Ghanaian medical student Fafa Hanson grew to become the first student to finish the college’s Bachelor of Science in Preclinical Sciences earlier than returning residence to proceed her medical coaching.
Hanson obtained her pin and coat throughout a ceremony on the Jacqueline Wade Conference Room within the Hilary McDonald Beckles Administration Complex, symbolising the completion of the programme’s preclinical section and making her the inaugural graduate of the partnership between UWI Cave Hill and the University of Ghana.
Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Dr Damian Cohall, described Hanson because the first of many college students anticipated to learn from the programme and urged her to embrace technological advances whereas remaining grounded within the core values of drugs.
“As you go forward, try to get as much exposure as you can within the digital interface because it will become an important part of practice,” he stated. “We have no issues with technology being used to assist us… but our brains will not be replaced with AI. These tools are here to assist and to facilitate.”
While encouraging her to pursue excellence, he reminded Hanson to stay centered on the aim behind her occupation.
“I want you to continue to be grounded in your pursuit of academic excellence and also to hold on strong to your professional goals. Strive with purpose… your purpose should be central to making the lives of people around you better… Continue to be guided by empathy.”
Reflecting on the broader significance of the collaboration, Dr Cohall stated the programme represents excess of an instructional trade.
“When we had an entrance committee meeting a month and a half ago, we had quite a number of applicants to the BSc Preclinical Sciences programme… based on the experience of Fafa and other students in the programme, and them sharing that experience, it has certainly encouraged other persons to consider taking this path.”
Deputy Principal Professor Winston Moore stated Hanson’s achievement carried added significance as a result of she was the programme’s pioneer.
“A first cohort carries a particular weight. There’s no precedent to lean on, no cohort ahead to explain how the examinations are run… You have to go through all of that yourself.”
He famous that Hanson had helped form the programme merely by way of her experiences.
“Much of what the faculty now knows about this degree, it knows because of your experience.”
Professor Moore additionally linked her journey to UWI’s strategic goal of attracting extra worldwide college students whereas strengthening the financial system.
“Higher education is a tradable service. When international students enroll here… they not only pay fees, but they also contribute to the fixed costs of the laboratories, libraries and the university.”
He added that Hanson’s resolution to check right here demonstrated the UWI’s rising worldwide status.
“She could have studied in Accra, in Britain, in North America. But that she chose the UWI Cave Hill Campus tells us something about the standing of this faculty.”
Looking past economics, Professor Moore stated her resolution carried historic significance.
“The Atlantic that separates West Africa from the Caribbean has carried people between these regions for 400 years, mostly under conditions no one chose. That a young woman from Ghana should now cross it by her own decision… is a small correction in a long history.”
Minister of Technological and Vocational Training Sandra Husbands described the ceremony as the start of a a lot bigger imaginative and prescient linking Barbados and Ghana by way of training, analysis and growth.
“The Bible tells us never despise the day of small beginnings because small beginnings will expand into big moments,” she stated.
“For Fafa to be here, she is our beginning. The beginning of a river. A river that will allow us to do a number of things that are so important for this country and, more importantly, this world.”
Husbands stated the initiative represents a couple of student’s success.
“I want to today celebrate not only your remarkable achievement… but also the enduring value of the partnership it represents, the pursuit of excellence and the promise that education holds for transforming lives and strengthening our nations.”
She stated Barbados intends to deepen its relationship with Ghana past training.
“We want to engage Ghana not only in education, we want to engage it in culture, we want to engage it in trade, we want to engage it in joint government policy, we want to engage it in foreign policy.”
The minister added that such partnerships kind a part of Barbados’ dedication to South-South cooperation and will ultimately result in collaborative medical analysis centered on illnesses affecting individuals of African descent.
“This moment is not small, and this moment is not insignificant,” she stated. “You have grasped the vision… you’ve seen beyond the Caribbean region, and you’ve started to look at how you’re going to define yourself in the wider space.”
Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology Dr Jeanese Badenock congratulated Hanson and acknowledged the work concerned in establishing the programme.
“It was wonderful having you in our faculty,” she stated. “Congratulations to all of the staff that were involved in this process of building this programme from the ground up… and we look forward to the next cohort of students.”
In an emotional response, Hanson mirrored on how learning in Barbados had reworked her outlook.
“I now embrace the newness. I now embrace the foreignness. I now embrace… anything that keeps me from being small.”
She stated each problem had revealed new alternatives for progress.
“Every time I think I’ve cracked a wall in my mind or a wall in my capabilities, there’s always another shell underneath that can crack again and again and again.”
Hanson credited religion for carrying her by way of the programme.
“Working hard and staying focused is rewarding, yes. However, I have also come to learn that the race is not to the swift, nor is the battle to the strong… but time and chance happen to them all.”
(LE)