Jamaican at US high school chosen to attend Washington DC medical congress

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican Vanessa Forrest, a sophomore at Coral Reef Senior High of Miami has been nominated to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Washington, DC, USA from February 14 to 16, 2014.

The Congress is said to be an honours-only programme for high school students who want to become physicians or who want to go into medical research fields.

Vanessa Forrest

 1/1 

 

“The purpose of this event is to honour, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country who aspire to be physicians or medical scientists, to stay true to their dream and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their goal,” a release from the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists (NAFPMS) said Thursday.

Vanessa was nominated to represent her school based on her “academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine” by Dr Connie Mariano, the medical director of NAFPMS.

During the three-day Congress, according to the release, Vanessa will join students from across the USA and “hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners talk about leading medical research; be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what to expect in medical school; witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies; and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology”.

“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” said Richard Rossi, NAFPMS executive director. “Focused, bright and determined students like Jamaican Vanessa Forrest are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her.”

The Academy offers free services and programmes to students who want to be physicians or go into medical science.