ASJ Anniversary

THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2019 3 T HE MEDICAL Association of Jamaica (MAJ) congratulates the Association of Surgeons of Jamaica (ASJ) for achieving its diamond jubilee milestone. A jubilee for any association gives an opportunity to look back on the distance travelled, and to look forward to the journey that is ahead. 1958 was the year that Pele became a foot- ball star, scoring in the finals for the world champions Brazil. It was the same year that NASA was created and the first transatlantic passenger jetliner flight made. But it was the year that the late Professor Sir John Golding was instrumental in the formation of the ASJ. Since its inception, the ASJ has grown in stature in advancing surgery in Jamaica, and has certainly made an impact on the society with its many achievements. Surgery has been taken to newer heights, with many patients benefiting from cutting edge technology and the expertise of the surgeons. At the ASJ scientific meetings, papers of the highest standards are presented and there is exchange of informa- tion and experience between the surgeons from different centres so as to improve effi- ciency, promote high quality healthcare and to depreciate litigation claims frompatients. We are therefore proud to salute the ASJ on this monumental occasion, and we wish for them all that is best for the future as they take on the challenges of the next 60 years. DR CIVE LAI President MAJ I T IS a great privilege to note the 60th anniversary of the Association of Surgeons in Jamaica, especially as I have the honour to be the founding president of the Association of Consultant Physicians in Jamaica. Langston Hughes, the American poet, maintained that if we don’t celebrate ourselves, who else will? The Jamaican father of modern surgery in our country, George Baxter, of blessed memory, would be a happy and proud man today to note that his vision and aspirations for his beloved specialty was not lost with the passage of time since he graduated from King’s College London in the 1930s. History will also record the sterling contributions of Sam Street and Henry Uriah Shaw, who enthusiastically opened the doors to a flood of talent during the decades of the ’60s and ’70s at the Kingston Public Hospital. The result was a spate of fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons, including several female doctors. The association has a duty to our country to continue this journey during the 21st century with unswerving integrity and unquestioned skill. DR JOHN A. S. HALL Chairman of the Medical Council of Jamaica. MESSAGES Dr John Hall We salute the ASJ Clive Lai Honoured to be the founding president ASSOCIATION OF SURGEONS IN JAMAICA 60TH ANNIV SARY FEATURE: THE SUNDAY GLEANER MAGAZINE | MARCH 3, 2019