Wright-Pascoe

Dr. Rosemarie Wright-Pascoe is the new president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ).

The consultant physician and endocrinologist who is only the second female president of the association in 130 years, teaches internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies.

Having campaigned on a manifesto titled 'Knowing the past, understanding the present, planning for the future', Dr. Wright-Pascoe, in her inaugural address, delivered at the annual general meeting of the MAJ on the weekend, called her colleagues to action with the objective of making the MAJ a more relevant and pro-active organisation to its membership and the society at large.

High ethical standards

Elected on a platform of the advancement of high ethical standards in medicine; protection of academic, professional and economic independence of medical practitioners and improvement in patient/physician communication, Dr. Wright-Pascoe said she had not accepted the charge to lead the association blindly.

"As individuals we are weak and susceptible to discrimination," she told her colleagues, "As many we make a unification that is powerful and influential."

Turning to the matter of ethics, one of the critical issues on her election platform, Dr. Wright-Pascoe lamented media reports citing dubious practices among some doctors.

"We will nip this in the bud," she said. "We propose to work closely with the Medical Council of Jamaica to legislate sanctions against our colleagues who breach the law."

Dr. Wright-Pascoe was also mindful of good work being done by doctors.

"In this profession, it is the norm for us to volunteer our services, we do so selflessly and without praise or notice," she said, adding that a 'Medical Doctors' Week' is to be implemented, during which the society will be reminded of the essential role that doctors play.

Congratulating the new government, she said the MAJ welcomed its expressed desire to improve the health services in Jamaica.

Public health teaching

She pointed out that a recent report by the Caribbean Commission on Health points to the deficiency in public health teaching and public health function, the poverty of quality assurance and public health research in the region. This, she said, concurs with the MAJ's 2006 Position Statement on Health Policies, which speaks to the need for strengthening the health system infrastructure and increasing financing of the health sector, to the level of six per cent of GDP

"Colleagues, we pledge to work with the Ministry of Health and Environment and other regional bodies to make these recommendations possible and thus to improve the health of our nation and of our patients," Dr. Wright-Pascoe concluded.

Dr. Rosemarie Wright-Pascoe (centre) is the new president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ). She is flanked (left to right) by the members of her executive, Dr. Ann Gibson, honorary secretary; Dr. Lucien Tomlinson, assistant treasurer; Dr. Fay Whitbourne, second vice- president; Dr. Winston De La Hay, vice-president; Dr. Takeyce Palmer, assistant secretary and Dr. Neville Graham,treasurer. - Contributed