-Dr. Alexander-Rose one step closer to her dream of being a medical doctor

AS a child, Simone Alexander-Rose, who was recently conferred with the title of doctor, would always try to treat persons who were injured or ill, a passion which she took into her adulthood.

Today, Dr. Alexander-Rose is a graduate of the Georgetown American University (GAU), which graduated six female doctors on November 23, 2019.

Dr. Alexander-Rose, who graduated as the valedictorian of the institution, told the Guyana Chronicle about her dream of being able to help people and how she managed to make that dream a reality.

“From since a child, I do not know but my mom told me that if anyone would get a cut or bruise, I would run to take care of it…and from a tender age when anyone asked me what I wanted to become I would tell them a nurse,” said the doctor, adding that the passion for taking care of people was there throughout her childhood and continued into her adult life.
With her eyes set on helping those in need, Dr. Alexander-Rose, who is now a mother and a widow, joined the nursing assistant batch in 2001 and later did the midwifery programme in 2006, before going on to do general nursing in 2010.

She completed the general nursing programme in 2014 and was named valedictorian. During her years as a nurse, she developed a stronger passion and love for humans so she wanted to know more about how she could take better care of people.

“That was one of the driving forces to keep learning…so when I finished the professional programme in 2014, I wanted to push to become a doctor, I wanted to know more and get more knowledge,” said Dr. Alexander-Rose.

She said her late grandmother basically fuelled that passion to learn more and even encouraged her to go on and become a doctor. The doctor believes that her late grandmother basically ‘spoke it into being’.

The opportunity to start the new journey and learn more came up in 2015, when Dr. Alexander-Rose was stationed at the Linden Hospital Complex as a nurse. She overheard persons talking about the GAU, which was providing partial scholarships at that time.
“After hearing about it, my colleagues and I decided to go and start the MD programme in 2015,” said Dr. Alexander-Rose.

According to the GAU’s website, their programmes mirror the curriculum taught in USA Universities. This allows students easy transition into clinical programmes and healthcare workforce.

University, no matter the curriculum, would always be challenging to some extent and this was confirmed by Dr. Alexander-Rose, who recalled that her biggest challenge at the start of the programme was having to study in Georgetown at the university and then having to work at the Linden Hospital Complex as a nurse, during the night.
“It was hard, we would have to study during the day and go back to work at night… from work I would just head back to university, for days I did not get proper sleep,” said the doctor.

She said that period of studying and working lasted for eight months before she was granted a release from work to complete the programme. Despite being released from the hospital, Dr. Alexander-Rose said she would still work at night due to various circumstances.

“I think working helped me to be a better doctor, especially since I was working in the field of taking care of people…I was able to relate and study more,” said Dr. Alexander-Rose.

HARDEST CHALLENGE
Other than studying and working, she had to split her time with her late husband and daughter, but her hardest challenge came in her final year of medical school when her husband, who was supportive of her, fell ill. Her husband was diagnosed with stage four Prostate Cancer.

“Everything changed, I decided to stop working at night and take care of him because he would normally experience a lot of pain…He died two months ago because of the ailment,” said a teary Dr. Alexander-Rose.
The loss had a tremendous impact on her but she believes that it was God’s will and she even advised persons that life has many challenges, but they must look to God for strength, especially during the hard times.

Dr. Alexander-Rose said there is no going back from here. Despite the setbacks, she intends on going full speed ahead into her new career. Her next step will be to do an internship at the Linden Hospital Complex.

“I want to go back to serving my community… I want to first be a medical doctor and then branch off as an OBGYN specialist,” said the doctor.
Her aim will be to ensure that her patients trust her so that they could open up about their ailments and allow her to make a proper diagnosis. Dr. Alexander-Rose encouraged other doctors to practise the same method.