The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus is celebrating a milestone achievement by its 2025 Faculty of Medical Sciences graduating class, which delivered the faculty’s best academic results in five years.
Of the 38 students who completed the final unified clinical examination for the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree, 36 passed, with one receiving a medical exemption. The cohort’s performance included 14 honours and four distinctions, figures hailed by faculty leadership as some of the most impressive in recent memory.
Speaking at the Hippocratic Oath Taking Ceremony held at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Auditorium on Thursday, Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Damian Cohall, commended the graduates for their outstanding work.
“We had a very high number of honours and four distinctions,” Dr. Cohall said. “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you into the medical profession.”
The ceremony marked the culmination of a five-year academic and clinical journey, comprising three years of pre-clinical studies followed by two years of hospital-based training and community health rotations. The final clinical exam was held on May 30.
While the event celebrated academic excellence, the message to the graduates was clear: success in medicine goes far beyond test scores.
Dr. Cohall reminded the new physicians that they are entering a rapidly evolving profession, shaped by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and robotics. But he emphasized that despite these advancements, no machine could replicate the core values of good medical practice.
“ChatGPT is not just going to be an app, it will become your medical colleague” he said. “But what will separate you from that technology is your humanity. Your judgement. Your compassion. That can’t be programmed.”
He also stressed the importance of ethics and empathy in medical care, encouraging graduates to balance scientific knowledge with moral responsibility.
“As doctors, you’ll be expected to know the law and to do what is morally right,” he said. “That can be subjective, but the standards of society still apply.”
Director of Medical Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Anthony Harris, also addressed the class, noting that while today’s graduates may be compared to previous generations of doctors, they are stepping into a distinctly different era.
“You live in the most exciting time in human history,” Harris said. “You have more access to information than ever before. But even with all of that, it still comes down to how you use it and how you care for people.”
The Hippocratic Oath, a longstanding rite of passage for physicians, was recited by the class. The oath serves as a pledge to uphold ethical standards, prioritize patient welfare and acknowledge the weight of responsibility that comes with the title “doctor.”
Although the ceremony was modest, absent the traditional white coats or grand pageantry, the tone was deeply reflective. The graduates, soon to be fully licensed physicians, were urged to remember that their greatest tool is not found in a textbook or lab, but in their ability to treat patients with kindness, respect, and empathy.
Dr. Cohall echoed a sentiment that resonated throughout the ceremony.
“This profession is about people,” he said. “In an age of rapid change, what matters most is how you treat them not just how well you perform.”
