Medical students receive $90k scholarships boost

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23: Five Bermudian medical students have been given a huge financial boost to help them pursue their dreams.

Scholarships totalling $90,000 have been handed out to Nikki Clarke, Kiara Baxter, Crystal Smith, Jimaye Johnson and Lekeisha Wolffe by the Bermuda Hospitals Board this year.

The money will help the five talented students pay for their tuition fees, their books as well as their accommodation.

They are all currently taking degrees in nursing, radiology and social work at universities in the U.S, England, Canada and the Caribbean.

Many of the scholarship winners are familiar faces at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where they have done voluntary work.

A sixth Bermudian student, Tiffany Smith, received a $30,000 scholarship from GlaxoSmithKline towards her Master’s degree in Pharmacy, which she is taking at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.

David Hill, the BHB’s CEO, said the students were the hospital’s future.

He added: “These students are the hospitals’ future healthcare professionals and we wish them well as they take the next step towards exciting and rewarding professions

“I would also like to pay tribute to GlaxoSmithKline for supporting our students and offering $30,000 to one of our scholarship winners.”

Support

Lynae Joseph, career development coordinator, said: “The hospitals are committed to supporting Bermudian students who choose careers in healthcare.

“We are very proud to provide scholarships to this year’s winners and congratulate them for their important contribution to our community.

“We are competing in a global market with a shortage of medical professionals and we recognize the value these young people are bringing to Bermuda by becoming healthcare workers.”

Waking up to the pouring rain and freezing temperatures of Leicestershire is not easy, especially when you are used to the sub tropical heat of Bermuda.

But for Nikki Clarke the English weather and being away from her family has not detracted from her desire to become a nurse.

The 24-year-old former Warwick Academy student has got used to the early morning classes and the late night hospital shifts that are involved in her three-year course at De Montfort University.

She says: “It has been a great experience and I have learned a great deal.

“It is hard getting used to the weather over here and it is not nice being away from your family but I have got used to it. I have gained a lot of really valuable experience in the classroom as well as in the local hospital which will stand me in good stead.”

Ms Clarke always had a flare of science, especially biology, as she grew up in Bermuda.

She completed four years at the University of Toronto before returning to Bermuda when she worked as a nurse’s aide at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

This sparked her interest in the career and in 2009 she travelled to England to earn her nursing qualifications.

She told the Bermuda Sun: “The placements we have had in the Leicester Royal Infirmary have been hard work but they have given me experience of so many different areas of healthcare.

“I have also enjoyed going out into the community and helping people with long standing conditions or patients who have just come out of hospital.

“It’s all about helping people and that is why I love nursing.”

Ms Clarke has just started her third year at De Montfort and hopes to stay in the UK for another year after she graduates to gain further nursing experience.

She then hopes to return to Bermuda and work on the island.

Ms Clarke was given a $10,000 scholarship by the Bermuda Hospitals Board to help her through the last year.

She said: “The scholarship makes such a difference to me and I am really grateful to be awarded it.

“It was a struggle in the first two years and my parents had to fully support me.

“But now I don’t have to worry about the financial side of things and just focus on my studies.”

It has been over a year of hard graft for Jimaye Johnson, but the 23-year-old radiology student would not have it any other way.

She is coming up to the end of her 16-month course at Keiser University in Florida and has her sights firmly set on a career in the X-ray room.

Ms Johnson was born and brought up in Devonshire and attended Prospect Primary and the CedarBridge Academy.

She admits that when she left school at 17 and started at Bermuda College she did not really know what career path to take.

It was only a chance trip to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital that gave her the direction she was looking for.

Ms Johnson told the Bermuda Sun: “I just went down there to ask a few questions about what careers were open to me.

“I ended up doing some volunteering at the hospital and they helped me apply to schools in the U.S. to do a radiology course.

“I guess that is where it all started.”

Ms Johnson started at Keiser University in August 2009 and has divided her time between the classroom and two local imaging centres.

She said: “It has been hard work doing 40-hour weeks all the time and I have only been able to come home for short holidays.

“Work in the classroom starts at 8am and runs until 1pm between Monday and Friday and we have tests at the end of every week.

“I have also done a number of eight-week placements at different hospitals where I get more hands on experience.”

Ms Johnson’s course is due to finish in December but she is already making plans to get further qualifications.

She has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship by the BHB to help her in her final months.

She added: “When I have got all the right qualifications I’m hoping to come back to Bermuda and work at the hospital.

“The scholarship money goes a long way to helping me fulfill my career plans.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested a career in health care to ask questions.

“If I had not asked questions at the hospital I would not be where I am now.”