Continuing a 100-year-long family legacy – Andrew Hanoman

Andrew Hanoman (first from left kneeling) poses with fellow 2012 National Scholarship Winners of Presentation College, Chaguanas and prinicpal

Andrew Hanoman is focused on becoming the fifth generation of doctors in his family. The aspiring doctor hopes to use his medical knowledge to address health issues; making his country a healthier nation.
Andrew would be the fifth generation of doctors in the Ramdeholl-Hanoman family, dating as far back as 1913. So far his family has produced 23 doctors and a similar number of lawyers.
Andrew won an Open Scholarship from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, and has been accepted to study medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK where several of his family members were educated, including his grandfather Dr Hughley Hanoman Snr.
Early successes
As a student at the Specialist Learning Centre, St Augustine, Trinidad, a studious Andrew appeared in The Trinidad Guardian after gaining third place in the country’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) Examination. According to the article in the newspaper “some 19,786 students wrote the exam on March 17, 2005; most of those students were 12”, Andrew was at that time only ten years old.
His principal said in the article, “Hanoman scored full marks in the creative writing and mathematics sections, and 97 per cent in the language arts portion, and will attend Presentation College in Chaguanas in 2006.” She went to say that Andrew has consistently been in the top three in his class since Standard One.
When a young Andrew was asked to comment, he exclaimed, “I feel exuberant! I can’t believe it!” He then attributed his academic success to all those who have guided him—his teachers, parents, and especially his grandfather, Dr Hanoman, a cardiologist.
Questioned as to what he would like to become, Andrew answered, “Definitely a cardiologist,” then added, “I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, pilot or the president.”
The article also stated that Andrew was “a model student, not only for the devotion he has for his own academics, but also for his fellow students.” This was mentioned because of Andrew’s helpful nature. The article went on to say that “for two months, Andrew helped a classmate prepare for the exam every day at lunch. He said that by the end, that student was scoring 96 per cent in language arts.”
Now grown-up and a focused research coordinator at the University of the West Indies, Andrew recently completed his CAPE examinations and attained distinctions in nine units. He is on a one-year hiatus from studying to get work experience in the medical field.

Andrew Hanoman

Andrew in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, revealed his plans to pursue a medical degree in England or Ireland. Although he is not entirely sure what he wants to specialize in as yet, Andrew said neurology seems like the most attractive choice for him.
“This is because it is relatively straightforward for the brain to understand all the other systems in the body; it is definitely a great challenge for it to be able to understand itself. The West Indies in particular also lacks neurologists, and it would be great way for me to provide such a service to a society that has given me so much. I am working in the Pharmacology Unit of the University of the West Indies and I am involved in several projects, the main one being the development of an adverse drug reactions manual,” he disclosed.
Andrew pointed out that the first minor project he worked on had to do with the genetics of alcoholism; looking at if one’s genetics makes one more inclined to have a higher alcohol tolerance, or to become more attracted to it than others. The other major project is the adverse drug reactions manual.
“As far as I know, Trinidad does not have a native manual for bad or unwanted reactions to different medications that patients sometimes get, so the pharmacology unit of UWI in Mt. Hope is keen on developing one. My job is to record the observations of whatever reaction the patients had and correlate it with the medication they took so that these unwanted effects can be known. When completed it should contain many medications and their possible adverse effects; it will most likely have pictures as well,” Andrew said.

Family inspiration
“I have always had an innate attraction to learning, and have been exposed to medicine from a very early age. I remember sitting in my grandfather’s heart clinic in Brickdam when I was very little; and the smiles that lit up on the patient’s faces when they heard that there was some hope to hold on to, really made me realise that a medical degree was what I wanted to pursue. Even now in Trinidad I would observe my father (a cardiac sonographer) and grandfather at work and it continuously inspires me,” he revealed when speaking about his motivation to continue his family’s legacy.
“My family has produced many role models for me that have always been supportive of my dreams, and encouraged and guided me as necessary. While I myself have worked hard to develop the traits indispensable for success, I would not have been successful had it not been for their guidance. I still go to them for advice at times, and the relevant recommendations are always forthcoming. The guidance of many other members of society has also helped to mould me, and it is for that reason I hope to repay society through my service as a dedicated doctor,” he related.
He noted that he received a few years of his primary education in Guyana and it would be remiss of him to not plan to give back to the country that had initially propelled him to great heights.
When he has completed his medical training, Andrew hopes to return to the West Indies to serve, as he considers himself “a true West Indian with origins in Guyana.” Additionally, he plans to give back to both of the countries that he has spent the majority of his life: Guyana and Trinidad.
On a recent trip to Guyana, Andrew stated he visited the Georgetown Public Hospital and the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, to get a feel of what working with the great people in those places would be like in the future; something he is definitely looking forward to.