 university of guyana delivers 13 new dental surgeons for guyana ceremonial white coat ceremony held university of guyana delivers 13 new dental surgeons for guyana ceremonial white coat ceremony held andydindial mon 2212022 1408 guyana s health care system has been boosted with the addition of thirteen 13 dental surgeons who recently graduated from the university of guyana s school of medical sciences with their bachelor s in dental surgery on february 6 2022 the school of medicine dentistry department hosted a white coat and awards ceremony at the regency suites banquet hall where the newlyminted dental surgeons were officially presented with their ceremonial white coats the annual white coat and awards ceremony signifies a transition from the preclinical year to the clinical years of a dental surgeon university of guyana s vicechancellor xi prof paloma mohamed martin congratulated the graduates their lecturers family and support network acknowledging that they were the best of the best a small percentage chosen from a large pool 0f eligible applicants she indicated that this always worried her and that the university s pace unit through support from the partnership between exxonmobil hess cnooc and greater guyana initiative ggi was able to secure funding for 10 dental chairs which will soon be commissioned this will critically change the programme in several ways 1 it will allow the dental programme to triple its current small intake thereby increasing the number of dental surgeons in the country 2 it will ensure broader regional impact of the programme through communitybased internships in especially hard to reach areas she noted that the programme established 15 years ago by prof cummings dr leslie ramsammy and dr ali had already given the country close to 100 dental surgeons this year s graduating class is the largest in its history since the university has been expanding the numbers within the context of its capacity over the last few years she lauded the students who received awards accomplishments and the faculty now headed by dr cecil boston and dr carlos varona for the advancement and enhancement of the dentistry department at ug vicechancellor mohamed further encouraged the graduates to aspire to be the best at what they do as opportunities and blessings follow diligent and excellent work university of guyana s deputy vicechancellor academic engagement prof emanuel cummings who delivered the keynote address on behalf of dr leslie ramsammy highlighted six 6 key characteristics the dental surgeons must have in order to be an excellent health care professional according to prof cummings it is expected that health care workers should practice effective communication skills have emotional stability empathy attention to detail problemsolving skills and respect for every human being prof cummings said it is important to communicate well with your patients supervisors and colleagues and adding to that as a doctor you need to put yourself in the position of your patient and treat each patient in like manner as if he or she were a family or friend the dvc who was the founding dean of the dental school added as doctors you need to ensure that you read and gain additional knowledge as there is much to learn since science is continuously evolving more so you need to be innovative and think outside the box but within the regulations of dentistry prof cummings further encouraged the graduates to be an instrument of change respect every human being in your environment your peers the security guards the cleaners and everyone because everyone has a role to play the dvc urged director of the school of dentistry dr carlos varona congratulated the graduates and extended best wishes to them as they embark on their careers now is the time to put into practice the knowledge and skills acquired during the past four years so that you can become honourable professionals to gain the trust of each of your patients and colleagues and to give the best to our society principal dental surgeon dr kester sullivan noted having achieved success at this level is only the beginning because as you begin to work you will have to exhibit patience tolerance and most of all a lot of compassion further dr sullivan added in the health care system we try to avoid all kinds of mistakes mistakes are not really allowed you can have challenges you have to put your best effort in whatever you do to make your profession successful dean of the college of medical sciences dr cecil boston encouraged the dental surgeons to use compassion as this is the cornerstone of their profession president of the university of guyana dental school association ms petra langevine also echoed similar sentiments i urge you to live your best life as graduation is not the end but only the beginning the valedictorian of the dentistry class of 2021 dr tressyia ketwaroo thanked her peers lecturers and friends for making her journey one that was filled with lots of successes and laughter to the class of 2021 we are triumphant today we worked hard and smart and today is only possible because we worked as a team dr ketwaroo told her fellow graduates the graduating class comprised of the following persons dr david adams dr chiquita forrester dr christine king smith dr ackeem marques dr oral mc allister dr danesh persaud dr keisha brazh dr tressyia ketwaroo dr jewel la fleur dr neranjan manoo dr ghansham samaroo dr sadeke sandy and dr daryl watson the dr cheddi jagan award for the best graduating student was presented to dr tressyia ketwaroo the dr giri award for the second best graduating student was awarded to dr ghansham samaroo dr keisha brazh dr tressyia ketwaroo dr ghansham samaroo and dr sadeke sandy were presented with an award for the best research project dr christine king smith was named the best overall clinical student while dr ghansham samaroo was named the second best overall clinical student outstanding performance in the rotation of adults prosthodontics and pediatrics were awarded to dr tressyia ketwaroo dr christine king smith and dr ghansham samaroo respectively the university of guyana dental students association medal of service was awarded to dr david adams dr ackeem marques dr ghansham samaroo dr chiquita forrester dr tressyia ketwaroo dr sadeke sandy and dr daryl watson    ug in brief the university of guyana is the 58 th year state university of guyana it offers 136 programmes in over 60 disciplines online and facetoface in 8 campuses across guyana with a student population of now 10000 ug has provided education learning and research for over 50000 alumni the mission of the university is to discover generate disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community the nation and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry ug s forwardthinking blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the university s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of guyana contact ms krest cummings public relations officer department of events conferences and communications decc 5926235104 university of guyana delivers 13 new dental surgeons for guyana ceremonial white coat ceremony held  