Thirty-one medical students enrolled at the All Saint’s University School of Medicine in Dominica have received white coats at a special ceremony held on Saturday.
The White Coat Ceremony formally marks an educational milestone for the students who have completed four semesters of basic sciences and now continue to pre-clinical studies.
Dean of the school, Dr. Terrence Marcelle, encouraged students to wear the coats with respect and dignity.
He also advised students to remain human as they go through their career, “as humanism is something that is pervasive but lacking in a number of people.”
“Humility will carry you through this world,” he said. “I trust that you will remember as you wear these white coats that facilities you will be working at, the members of staff where the Doctors will treat you with respect. Do not believe that you are bigger than you are. Some of the professionals believe that they are better than other people…you are not better, you are different. As Doctors we are different, we learn the act of healing.”
Meanwhile, Education Minister Petter Saint Jean noted that he is cognisance of the fact that the students who are putting on the white coat are doing so, “with an understanding that it symbolizes the vow that you make to provide comprehensive and compassionate patient care, to define each patient as a person first and then to consider the illness and to keep the patient’s best interest at heart.”
“In effect, I believe that you are committing yourselves to providing the best possible care to another human being and in so doing maintaining the professional integrity and adhering to ethical principles,” he noted.
He urged the medical students to take the responsibility seriously as the career they have chosen places them in a position to impact on so many lives, “so many livelihoods and so many economies.”
Acting Prime Minister, Dr. Kenneth Darroux has revealed that in Dominica All Saints University has not only survived, but has grown from strength-to-strength; from an enrollment of less than 100 students to over 500.
He told the students that they have taken a decision to have chosen a noble profession.
“Such a noble and humane profession requires noble men and noble women with noble hearts and noble intentions and whilst one has to aspire to be in a comfortable place financially, that is it should never be about the economic gains, and the love for humanity is what should drive you to be the best physician that ever was,” Dr Darroux remarked.
with all this Doctors receiving white coats and all these university pooping up here and there in Dominica .why must it take the U S navy to promote health in Dominica? is this the corruption tony Astaphan warned us about?
What’s going here? Someone gets a white coat for taking two years in “Basic Science” post secondary school. Are these students first level nurses?
That’s just great, good luck to all grads. They could have graduated in the quiet hills of Center in Grand Bay, but thanks to the coward and crooked politicians that grabbed and pushed their influence around, Grand Bay was denied the economic opportunities that could arise from the university, and got a nice new POLICE STATION instead. Sad! their Grandbay vote is guaranteed.
Why is this news?? All Saints is not an accredited university and most if not all of these so called white coats will never actually become doctors. All Saints has been operating in Dominica for years and how many real doctors have they trained?? This so called school is just a money making scheme and its sad that these students have spent so much money on a degree they will never be able to use.
And then what? Dominican students left hanging because the government doesnt oay for the second most important half of med school? So now you got a bunch of half doctors sitting at home looking for funds to finish their education…self included…this is a joke! Call it what it is an african school
love it love Dominica
Dr Darroux, if medicine is such a noble and humane profession why are you part of Skerrit’s cabal. Where is your pride, dignity, honesty and resolve. How can you sit there and participate in all the dictatorial edicts coming from the PM.In six months he gave away about $5,000,000 of duty free import tax to his cronies. The $150 tax on the motorists will only raise about $1,000,000 in revenue, do the math and you talk about nobility and humanity.
The 4 new appointees @ $80,000 per annum
Additional members of cabinet, check the money that could be saved in salaries.
What were you doing in Malaysia as part of a delegation regarding tourism when no one from the tourism department was present. What were you doing with Bitcoins? Sir it is quite evident that you sold your soul to the devil as well as your humility, dignity and principles and you have been relegated to singing for your supper.
You have brains are you content to see an ignoramus rule you like a little boy? I feel sorry…
whats going on here, All Saints is just for Black people man, just asking
Why should this be a problem?
So what? If you look at economic trends, demographics, etc., you may find that Africans are a better market for educational services in the long run than Americans are. All Saints could do worse than to focus on them from the start.
Excellent !