GPHC honours overseas-based Pre-Med students

Jul 24, 2017 News

Two young overseas-based Guyanese scholars were honoured on Friday by officials of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, (GPHC) for successfully completing attachments at the institution.

From left: Crystal Griffith, Secretary of the Board of Directors, Karen Lindore and Kelly Hyles

During a simple ceremony, officials of GPHC gathered at the hospital’s Resource Centre to honour Kelly Hyles and Crystal Griffith, both of whom are currently pursuing medical studies at Universities in the United States.
The two students understudied doctors and nurses at GPHC for six weeks. They were therefore presented with certificates of appreciation on Friday in the presence of officials of GPHC including Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Brigadier George Lewis.
Griffith, a former student of Queens College, is currently a pre-med at the University of South Florida and Hyles is a Guyanese teenager, who became renowned after she was accepted by 21 top Universities across the United States following her completion of high school.
Hyles, an aspiring neurosurgeon, is currently a rising sophomore at Harvard College on the Pre-Medical track.
In her remarks, Chairperson of the Board at GPHC, Kesaundra Alves expressed appreciation to both Hyles and Griffith for choosing to render their services at GPHC.
“I am thrilled that GPHC has been able to play a part in helping Kelly and Crystal along the path to fulfilling their dreams of becoming doctors. Kelly would like to become a neurosurgeon, a rare specialization in Guyana and the Caribbean.
I hope that their interest in Guyana never wanes and that in years to come, we can look forward to their contributions in the medical field,” Alves said.
During their remarks, both Hyles and Griffith expressed gratitude to the GPHC board and staff for accommodating them.
Hyles said for the past six weeks, she had the privilege of shadowing various physicians at Georgetown Public Hospital.
Hyles said , “I must thank the CEO (Ag), Brigadier George Lewis, and the Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr. Amir, as they were instrumental in my being here.” Hyles said that her experience at GPHC has reaffirmed her desire to pursue a career in Medicine.
“I was allowed to observe doctors and surgeons in the Medical and Surgical Out-Patient Departments, Internal Medicine Clinics, Pediatrics Ward and finally, the OB/GYN clinics.
“Though I enjoyed each department that I rotated in, my experience would not have been the same without Dr. Dukhi and his team. After hearing of my interest in neurosurgery, Dr. Dukhi personally invited me to accompany his team on ward rounds and in the theater. I aspire to remain as composed and humble as Dr. Dukhi always is, as I, too, remove my patients’ frontal meningioma in the next fourteen years.”
In her remarks, Crystal Griffith said that given her goal to attend Medical School she decided to engage in voluntary work at the GPHC.
“My overall experience has been nothing short of extraordinary.
The kind of exposure that I was afforded, beyond the classroom, with Dr. White and her team in internal medicine, has helped to acquaint me a little more with a career in medicine. It has challenged me and moreso increased my passion for medicine. I had a chance to witness doctor-patient interactions, the teamwork among doctors in diagnostic problem-solving and I think the most exciting/peak in all my experience was having the chance to witness two thoracic surgeries.
Overall it was an excellent occasion for me to gain some practical skills as I continue my educational journey. I consider it a headstart on my course to medical school, perhaps when I return to University I will be able to make crucial connections between what I was exposed to here, and my theoretical classroom lectures.”