Health Ministry to Offer Scholarships in Memory of Dr. Barry Wint

The Ministry of Health and Wellness will host an expo later this year, aimed at exposing high-school students to careers for which scholarships will be made available, under the Dr. Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship and Development Fund.

The Fund will be financed by the Government in the sum of $2.5 billion over a five-year period – $500 million per annum.

Dr. Barry Wint served as Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health. He died in 2006.

Scholarships will be open to Jamaicans who are pursuing studies in Nursing, Medicine, Public Health, Medical Technology, Epidemiology, Health Records Management, Hospital/Healthcare Management, Information Systems for Health, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Health Economics.

Addressing Wednesday’s (May 15) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said he wants to give interested Jamaicans an appreciation of all the disciplines that make up the provision of a service in public health.

“We don’t want people to just rush and study to be a nurse or a doctor. Indeed, if they are a nurse, there are several categories of nursing that are important. In fact, there are eight specialised nursing categories that we are highly short of, including nephrology, operating theatre nurse, critical care, and ICU [intensive care unit]. Those are not just RNs [registered nurses]; they have to do a specialisation in order to work in those areas and in those areas the demand is high, both globally and otherwise,” Dr. Tufton noted.

Graduate and postgraduate students are also eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Dr. Tufton advised that scholarship recipients will be bonded to work within the public health system for a period.

Additional information will be made available in the media and on the Ministry’s website (www.moh.gov.jm) by July 2024.