NOTWITHSTANDING dealing with the pain of losing her mother while pursuing her medical degree, Indian national, Priya Jaganathan, was able to overcome her challenges and celebrate being valedictorian when Texila American University (TAU) held its sixth Graduation Ceremony at the Mariott Hotel on Sunday.

Jaganathan was the Best Graduating student of the university’s December 2019 graduating batch, while Reashmi Devi Nauth was the Best Graduate of the institution’s July 2019 graduating batch. Jaganathan and Nauth were among 34 students who graduated with a Doctor of Medicine Degree (MD). Two other students were also conferred with their Bachelors of Science Degree in Nursing, while another 35 students were awarded their degrees in absentia; 34 with their Doctor of Medicine Degrees and one with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Jaganathan was also declared the Best Clinical Graduate, and also received the Best Basic Science Award. Clayton Naicker was second Best Clinical Graduate. For the December 2019 MD batch, Gariel Yan was second best graduate, while Naicker was the third best graduate. For the July graduating batch, Nauth was also declared the Best Clinical Graduate, and Best Basic Science graduate.

During her touching speech, Jaganathan shared how it was her mother’s encouragement to always be independent, and put her education first that lead her to pursue her MD.
“My mom used to tell me that women are always being dependent on men. When she is young she is dependent on her father and brother, when she is married, dependent on her husband. And she didn’t want me to be like that, and the only way that I could do that was through education. That made me passionate towards studies,” Jaganathan conveyed.

Delivering the feature address at the ceremony was the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Karen Boyle, who reminded the graduates that even as they celebrate their achievement they should not lose sight of the fact that the hard work is only now about to begin.

“Being a doctor isn’t a bed of roses or a walk in the park, it requires hard work and tenacity. Remember that you will be in a different setting and the collaborative, communicative approach with your colleagues can create the environment in which great things can happen. The health sector is fraught with challenges, but you can make a difference with your devotion, care and versatility,” Boyle advised

Boyle charged the students to remain humble and to be doctors with a difference, paying keen attention to their patients. “Unless we understand the social determinants of health and how they affect risk for diseases, we cannot adequately treat the entire person and not just the disease. We have to learn how to address these determinants and to mitigate their potential adverse effect on health. Great things can happen in the health sector with your fresh ideas if you can remain humble,” she said.

The doctors were administered their Hippocratic Oath by the University’s Dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Dheeraj Bansal, while the nurses took the Nightingale Oath. Headquartered in the USA, TAU first opened a branch of its medical school in Guyana in 2011. Classes were initially held at Critchlow Labour College (CLC), in Woolford Avenue, Georgetown before the school opened its Providence campus in 2017.