Kyjuan Brown always knew he wanted to be a doctor. Currently working on a one-year internship at St. George’s Hospital in Grenada, Dr. Brown attended CedarBridge Academy for just one year after the public school system was changed making CedarBridge and Berkeley Institute the only senior schools on the Island.

He had previously attended Northlands Secondary and Francis Patton Primary School.

He received a Bachelors of Science at Morris Brown College, studied medicine at Norfolk and Northridge University and the Kent and Canterbury NHS Trust in the United Kingdom and is currently working on a Masters of Business Association at the University of Liverpool.

He told The Royal Gazette <$>that while academics were often a struggle for him, he stayed focused on his career goal and just simply worked harder in the face of challenge.

“You know how people used to play house, I used to play hospital,” he said.

I would take my cousin’s teddy bears with a table and a little lamp, cut open the teddy bears, stuff them with different things and sew them back up. I wanted to help people in a special way. It’s surreal now, because I’m a surgical intern — cutting people up, taking out bits and pieces and sewing them back up.”While Dr. Brown only spent one year at CedarBridge, he said the support he received there was invaluable and he feels the school prepared him well for the challenges of studying medicine. More should be done to focus on the achievements of the school’s graduates, he suggested.

“I think it speaks volume for the school and that’s my whole motive behind whatever I do,” he said. “It feels good that I accomplished the goal. It’s something I have dreamed of since I was a child. ...(T)he school for one produces people of quality, and I guess I’m an example of that.

“There are many other students that are coming and achieving their goals and dreams and will be successful students and productive citizens of the society.”

He hopes students today are getting the same level of encouragement and opportunity that he received.

“It was essential in getting me accepted in a Bachelors of Science at any university,” he said of his time at CedarBridge. “The teachers there, they really motivated me and told me that I can make it and be successful. Just that encouragement throughout the year there helped me to go to the next level.”

He also said the guidance counsellor was instrumental in getting him all the information he needed to apply to college.

When asked about his opinion of the Government school system, the former youth choir director says he believes the schools are just as good as the Island’s private schools.

“Generally I think we have a good public school system,” he said. “I know that the Hopkins report was just published in reference to the grading of the system. I think it was necessary but it kind of looked at just one aspect of the educational system. As people, we are so multifaceted. Our social aspect plays a huge part in academics. I think if we had less social problems or parents taking a keen interest in academic advancement of their children, you’d see the public school system would produce a lot better results.

Sometimes it is ambition and dedication rather than pure aptitude that makes the difference, he suggested.

“A lot of my friends, just because of the fact they knew they weren’t going to college, didn’t give a cahoots in reference to studying or doing anything,” he said. “They were ten times smarter than I was but because of their social or economic circumstances, they didn’t give a damn about school. They could have been the leaders of this country but they were disruptive, clowns.”

But the school boasts more success stories than people realise, he added.

“People who graduated from CedarBridge in my class, a lot of them went on to do great things. We need to do better PR (public relations) in reference to its graduates. A lot of my friends are doing wonderful things in the community. They own businesses, have nice jobs, (are in) internal training programmes — and they didn’t necessarily go off to college.”

Dr. Brown is quick to admit he was a regular student throughout primary and high school and often needed extra help. Students should not get discouraged, he suggested, but rather be motivated to do better.

“When I was in primary school, I was not by far the smartest guy in the class. I was always average or just about.

“At Francis Patton, I used to go to the reading and writing labs, all sorts of extra help. I’m not one of those types of students who picks up things easily and retains it. I’m a hard worker. I had a reading impediment and couldn’t quite write properly.”>But, he was inspired rather than swayed by those who implied he would never become a doctor. “I never really had people say you won’t become a doctor,” he said. “They would say ‘how about we choose another career that’s more attainable for you?’ They didn’t damper my spirits; they gave me the drive to make it happen. It’s just my testimony of life. I’m not out to prove them wrong, but I’m going to do whatever I have to do to accomplish my dream. In the process of doing such, I’m proving them wrong.”There were, however, certainly challenges on the road to a medical degree — Dr. Brown confessed he hates maths and failed calculus in college.

The hard work does not end with the degree, he added, making it clear that the world of a training doctor is a far cry from what is seen on television shows like ‘ER’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.

“Medicine is a cool thing to do but that’s all TV,” he said. “For example, I’m on call every three days. I’m the only medical doctor in the department and my calls run from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. the next day. It’s all work, a lot of work. I didn’t finish my day work until 1 a.m. and then I still had admissions to do and trauma coming in. Once the emergency room was sorted out, I had to take over management.

“We have our laughs, it’s fun but really hard work and sleepless nights. There are no days off. We work from Monday until Sunday and get about one day off a month. You have to be dedicated because of the hours you are working and what your getting paid — minimum wage. You’ve got to enjoy what you do, because it’s only for a season. After you finish your internship, you rise up the ladder and maybe get your own private practice. It’s nothing like ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.” Dr. Brown is now working on his internship, rotating through surgery, medicine, paediatrics and other areas of a hospital. He said that by working in a poorer nation like Grenada, he is able to get more hands-on training. By taking a good patient history and making a complete physical examination, you can get a good diagnosis 90-95 percent of the time, he said. The 25-year-old would like to become a cardiologist but, after so many years in school and away from Bermuda, he doesn’t know if he wants to stay away another seven years. He might come back to the Island as a family practitioner and fuse family and alternative medicine, he tolI>The Royal Gazette.

Dr. Brown has lived in Grenada, St. Vincent, the United States, England and Bermuda over the past two and a half years.

“My major thing is coming back to Bermuda as soon as possible. I’ve been away for too long,” he said.

The most important lesson he has learned to date, is how to ask for help, Dr. Brown said.

“It’s to know when to ask for help because, you know in medicine, you have to put your pride aside and know when to ask for help, know when to seek the counsel of others. I think pride stops a lot of people from moving forward. I’m quick to say if someone asks me a question, ‘I don’t know but I will endeavour to find it’ or ‘I need help, I need to talk to you’. Four eyes are better than two and more heads are better than one. Someone might have a better perspective.”

Having a supportive environment fostered by friends and family has also been a key to success, Dr. Brown said. “My whole community has been supportive. My family and friends keep calling me keeping me connected and grounded even though we’re away for eight years. Sometimes you want to be home especially for those certain seasons or an anniversary. They call and give you the whole run down like you were there.”

Dr. Brown hopes his story will inspire other students with dreams of practising medicine.

“The first thing is, it’s doable,” he said. “If I can do it, anybody can do it. The thing is, it’s hard work and you must be dedicated and committed and you must love medicine, science and dealing with people everyday. It’s a tough four years of your life because it’s created to be hell on earth.”

He added: “Dare to dream. I know it kind of sounds like a cliché but you have to have something you can work for. Make a plan and try to attain that dream. It might be unrealistic but work at it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.”

There are many ways to prove oneself, however, he said: “You don’t have to go to college or do an academic career and you can still be somebody if you have goals and are motivated. Not everyone is supposed to be a lawyer or doctor or have the desire to be a lawyer or doctor. Plumbers and electricians make great money.

“You have to be determined. Whichever road you take whether to go to school or stay in Bermuda and become an entrepreneur or a tradesmen, it’s hard work no matter what you do.”

He added: “If my story can inspire another student, especially those interested in medicine, I would speak and do these sorts of things to inspire someone else to reach for those goals. Especially those who are academically disenfranchised or those with learning impediments.”