Nashauna Drummond, Lifestyle Coordinator

Rosemarie Wright-Pascoe is the second female to head her organisation. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

Dr. Rosemarie Wright-Pascoe is only the second female to head the 130- year-old Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ).

Noting that her gender shouldn't be an issue, she told Flair, "There are women in medicine who are very bright; they are mothers, wives and leaders in service clubs. But many female physicians just do not seem to be interested. I hope to be a role model to them."

Dr. Wright-Pascoe notes that during her tenure as president, she hopes that members of the MAJ will become more active in the association. She is excited about the task ahead of her.

"Dealing with representing physians at a national level is going to be very stimulating. I'm excited by the possibility. I'm very pleased to have been made president and proud that my colleagues thought me capable," she notes with a smile.

Dr. Wright-Pascoe is a consultant physician and endocrinologist who teaches internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the West Indies. An endocrinologist specialises in the study and diagnosis of diseases that affect the endocrine system which, simply put, is the system (of glands) that produces hormones in the body.

Dr. Wright-Pascoe explained that she chose her area of speciality through a process of elimination. In medical school, she toyed with the idea of specialising in different areas.

"Becoming a paediatrician was out of it. Surgery wasn't it, because everyone who knows me knows that I'm very clumsy. Obstetrics and gynaecology was exciting, but I couldn't deal with the placenta after birth; so really, it was a process of elimination."

Perfect Choice

Rosemarie Wright-Pascoe makes her point.

After 10 years in internal medicine and over 20 years as a physician, it's obvious the right choice was made. Though not sure when her love for medicine was sparked, her passion today is unquestionable.

"It might have been when I was in third form at Excelsior High School. I remember seeing a programme with a nurse and thought that was me. I love medicine, interacting with patients, being in the hospital, caring for my patients. It's intellectually challenging. Medicine is so exciting because you have to be a teacher and do research. It's very stimulating, so many different aspects to it. I get a lot of satisfaction out of my profession."

However, in the midst of that joy, there are sometimes moments of sorrow, especially when she loses a patient. "With each patient you lose, it's like you lose a little bit of yourself, because you are driven to save lives. But you have to tell yourself, 'I did the best I could'. With maturity, you realise that humans die. It's a matter of experience. You can't be too involved as you will get too emotional. Doctors do cry when they lose patients. We grieve like everyone else."

Achievements

Dr. Wright-Pascoe has been a visiting physician in the department of medicine at the University of Miami and Miller School of Medicine at the Jackson Memorial Hospital, Florida. She has been elevated to Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Endocrinology and the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. She did postgraduate work in endocrinology at Tel Aviv University in Israel in 1992.

"I loved Israel. The sense of purpose that is the need to ensure that there is a home for Jews all over the world is palpable in everything that they do. The sense of history is overwhelming, both recent, historical and Biblical. To walk the same route that Jesus did when he was crucified, to see the Jordan River is really out of this world. I loved it," said Dr. Wright-Pascoe.

With all these achievements, including numerous publications of her work, she feels a sense of pride.

"I am most proud that I have succeeded in all I wanted to do. I wanted to be a physician and I am, I wanted to do internal medicine and I did."

However, despite all her achievements, she is quick to point out: "My proudest moment was the birth of my son."