A new batch of Cuban-trained Guyanese doctors graduated on Friday, boosting the pool of doctors that are providing health care services to citizens in Guyana. The 21 young doctors received their certificates from Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran during a simple ceremony held at the Grand Coastal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.
The new doctors underwent eight years of training before they were formally certified as doctors. Seven of those years were spent in Cuba.
The occasion was graced by Chief Medical Officer Dr Shamdeo Persaud; head of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Guyana, Dr Maria Del Carmen; Cuban embassy representative Praxedes Lovit Nardet; the professors who trained the new doctors, along with the proud parents of the graduates.
Dr Persaud congratulated the young doctors for realising their dreams of becoming medical practitioners and urged them to move onto higher heights in field of medicine.
“Medicine is always a learning environment, you never stop learning,” Dr Persaud said as he encouraged the new doctors to give of their best in healthcare delivery.
Proud
Dr Carmen said she is very proud and satisfied with the “humane scientific” qualities of the graduates. “We are providing the government and Ministry of Health of Guyana with 21 new interior doctors who exceeded a high humane sensitivity, a solid science preparation, capable of solving more than 800 health problems.”
She said the doctors, who received trainings at the prestigious Cuban School of Medicine, are assuming a high level of responsibility and social commitment to the people of Guyana, and must live up to their expectations.
She also urged the doctors to not only serve Guyana, but also other underdeveloped countries around the world.
Dreams
Meanwhile, Minister Ramsaran applauded the parents for supporting their children in fulfilling their dreams of becoming doctors, noting that arrangements have already been made with regard to the locations where the new doctors would be stationed.
He also urged the young doctors to remain in Guyana and serve their country, noting that they should take advantage of some of the benefits available to them, such as the “Young Professional Housing Scheme” initiative of the Housing and Water Ministry.
Of the 21 graduates, two received gold certificates, including Best Performing Student and valedictorian Keridesh Persaud.
