Jamaican woman tops at world-renowned Mayo Clinic
Pride of Jamaica

DESTINY appears to have conspired to link Jamaican Dr Monique Ford with the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester , Minnesota in the United States .

Dr Monique Ford.


During her first clinical year at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Ford worked with Mayo-trained cardiologist Charles Denbow, and recalls being "fascinated with his prowess."
Then, in her biochemistry final exams, her external examiner was Professor Whyte-Owen, also a Mayo associate.
Ford finished at the top of her second-year class, earning the EV Ellington Memorial Award and, more importantly, a scholarship to the Mayo Graduate School .
Sited in rural Minnesota , with the state capital Minneapolis and the Canadian border to the north and "cornfields in every direction once you drive more than 20 miles," says Ford, the Mayo Clinic, a top research facility, was a major adjustment for her in several ways.
"They have more MRI machines than the nation of Canada ," she said in a Sunday Observer interview, "and added to that I'm walking down hallways and meeting people who have discovered new treatments and have things named after them - Nobel laureates and the like."


Still, the young research fellow proved her mettle amongst the giants and trailblazers, earning the school's Excellence in Internship Award (2003) and Intern of the Year (2002-03).
Now, she has distinguished herself yet again, receiving the 'LeeAnn MacCaffrey MD Women in Medicine Award' for 2005, an announcement made by Mayo in April.
In correspondence issued under the signature of Dr Nicholas LaRusso, chair of the department of medicine and two directors of Internal Medicine Residency, Ford was described as a "superb" resident with "excellent clinical skills" and an "inquisitive mind".

Named after yet another renowned Mayo researcher, the award is presented for outstanding achievement to a third-year resident.
As far as she's aware, Ford is the first non-US national and the first woman of colour to receive the award. She feels elated, but adds that she doesn't put too much stock in awards, but moreso her work.
In that regard, she has already absorbed the philosophy of the institutions founding Mayo Brothers: 'The needs of the patient are the only ones to be considered'.
She continues at Mayo Clinic's Division of Cardiovascular Diseases as a research fellow in cardiology on a programme that began July.
Apart from the pressure of the Mayo reputation, Ford says there were social challenges in adjusting to the staunchly conservative midwestern region, when she first arrived in Minnesota .
"There isn't any hangout or social life in Rochester ," she pointed out in the telephone interview. "Mostly I take tennis lessons, and occasionally I'd go with friends over to Minneapolis or to Wisconsin ."
The latter, she adds, contains a Jamaican-style restaurant - run not by a Jamaican but by a Wisconsin native who has visited Jamaica many times.
Ford overcame the homesickness by making a conscious decision to "network with every Jamaican within a hundred-mile radius."
That tactic and what she describes as the family-oriented character of the community, helped ease her initial frustration.
Its indeed a long way to come for Ford, the second of four children born to a pharmacy rep and a teacher. Even from her preparatory school days at Our Lady of the Angels on Molynes Road , Kingston , young Monique exhibited a great interest in science.
Her parents, Mr and Mrs Linval Ford, long convinced of the merits of a quality education, encouraged their daughter in her resolve to become a scientist.
By the time she transited to Immaculate Conception High, Ford realised she wanted to be more involved in applied research. "I really want to contribute tot he overall well-being of mankind," she said.
Under the watchful eye and firm hand of Sister Maureen Clare - "She taught me the value of discipline and what it meant to excel as a woman and a lady," said Ford - and Sister Mary Catherine - "She helped foster my love of Spanish" - Ford began on the road of promise and achievement that has so far led her to the heart of medical research.
Her current areas of specialty are in the cardiology and coronary fields and Ford plans to become an interventional cardiologist.
For the layman, the field largely entails the opening of blocked arteries, but also repairing valves without the need for open-heart surgery.
Long-term, her dream is to return to Jamaica and open a catheterisation centre.
"Coronary disease is the number one killer in both developed and developing countries," she says. "In Jamaica , someone who lacks the resources to fly to Miami or similarly get special treatment, will likely die. I want to change that."
In addition to lots of start up capital and more study, realising that dream will require much traveling, something which Ford claims to relish.
For now: "I'd love to go to Europe , and see the works of the Impressionists close up," she said.
In the meantime, the largely closed-in Rochester social scene also facilitates another of her interests - movies. Ford is partial to dramas, like Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning Mystic River .
Hollywood may never welcome her to its podium, but at her present rate of achievement, Dr Monique Ford arguably has the medical equivalent of an Oscar.
_____________This was submitted by Janett Beswick, one of our members.
P.S. I taught at Immaculate Conception, under Sis. Maureen Clare.

Update on Posting of Items to the Blog by Member Authors

Hello Everyone,
Just to alert you to a few things, which Judith and I discussed at our Blog roundup for CWNI.
1. Maybe you have tried to find our Network in Google and found other groups instead. This is what you should look for - "Caribbean Women's Network International". Important: Include the quotation marks in your search.
Welcome to the blog of the Caribbean Women's Network International. This Network comprises Caribbean Women mainly from the UN community in New York. ...caribbeanwomen.blogspot.com

However, Judith will try to upgrade the 'tags' so that we come up sooner on the Google list.

Among the other groups similar to ours are e.g.
Caribbean Women's (International) Network - based in Barbados
DPI North America/Caribbean Women's Network...etc.

Please take a look at the list in Google.com and see if you know anything about these groups and let us know whether you think links to them, from this site, would be useful.

Secondly, we would like to encourage you to visit our blog at least twice per week because Judith and I will be checking daily to see what you have posted. Each member of the group is a potential author. Yes. Permissions are willingly granted on request.

Lastly, please inform us of any upcoming cultural or other events in the USA, elsewhere, or in the Caribbean region related to our issues and concerns. We will be creating a calendar for the year that each of us may check and link to further details.

Emails will be sent with further information on each of the above items, as necessary.

February meeting of the group

The 9 February 2009 meeting of the Caribbean Women's Network International was held in Room C in the United Nations Conference Building.
The special Guest was the Secretary General of CARICOM, Mr. Edwin Carrington, who addressed the group indicating among other things

1.that he was very impressed by the motives and reasoning of this group for being formed at this time;

2.that there were pressing concerns for the 15 Caribbean nations which made up CARICOM, especially in light of the global economic crisis;

3.that among the concerns, the most pressing was that of Crime and Drug Trafficking, citing the closure of the UN's Office for Drug Control in the region as an action that needed to be reversed to help to stem the increase of drug-related crime in the region;

4.that there was also the need to gain more specific attention to the needs of Caribbean countries, at least as much as that paid to Latin America (when we speak of Latin America and the Caribbean as one entity).

The meeting was attended by at least 20 members of the group and members of the CARICOM Secretariat along with the Secretary General, Mr. Edwin Carrington. We were also addressed by the Asst. Secretary-General, Foreign Policy and Community Relations, Mr. Colin Granderson.

Other members of the group who attended the meeting are invited to post their own summary or comments, especially with regard to how what we heard could impact our yet-developing mission.