It is a pleasure and an honour to be invited here today and to be asked to give the Keynote address. It was only 20 years ago that I started my medical training at the Mona Campus at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. And seeing you all here today, I can well imagine what is going through your mind, as believe it or not, I was once a medical student just like you. Although I was naive, insecure, and unsure of my skills and the challenges that lay ahead, I had many mentors along the way who reassured me that although the journey would be a difficult one, I would eventually succeed and that my dream of becoming a doctor, would one day become a reality. They were fond of telling me that, “medicine is easy”, (which I did not believe at the time, but now I do), and that “the only difference between them and I was time.”

What I hope to do in the next ten minutes or so is to share with you some of the insights gained, and words of wisdom given, that have shaped me, and that have allowed me to stand before you today.

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