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FM
Former Member

Aspiring neurologist rejected 6 times by APNU/AFC for scholarship

 

…despite excellent GPA

By Jarryl Bryan

Dr. Jason Ramcharran spent a grueling six-year stint at the Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM) in Cuba and through merit and hard work graduated as one of the top students in his class.

Aspiring neurologist Dr. Jason Ramcharran

But since returning to Guyana, his efforts to specialize in neurology have been blocked by the very people who should have been helping him. Under the former Government, all six of Dr. Ramcharran’s applications for scholarships or sponsorship were denied.

Ramcharran, who turns 30 next month, studied in Cuba from 2008 to 2015 and earned a 5.26 Grade Point Average (GPA) when he graduated second in his class. He recorded almost perfect scores in all the subjects he covered in both theory and practice.

His first posting was at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), but Ramcharran, who hails from La Penitence, Georgetown, always aspired to be a neurologist. He first applied for a Post Graduate Scholarship to study neurology in China in the 2016/2017 academic year.
It did not take long for Ramcharran to run headlong into his first roadblock. In a letter dated February 24, 2016, then Permanent Secretary in the Department of Public Service, Reginald Brotherson wrote the young doctor informing him that his application was being refused because of limited scholarships and “due to the competitive nature of the selection process.”

But that same year, Ramcharran was accepted by the University of Medical Sciences Havana to do the Neurology program. He approached the Government again, this time writing to the then Minister of State Joseph Harmon seeking sponsorship to do his post-graduate studies in Cuba.

Harmon referred his request to the relevant agency and on June 13, 2016, he got a second rejection letter from Brotherson. This time the letter cited a lack of finances for rejecting him. According to Brotherson in the letter, “due to budgetary constraints, your request cannot be facilitated at this time.”
Undeterred, Ramcharran reapplied in 2017 for a scholarship to study in China. He was again informed by Brotherson in a letter dated March 27, 2017, that he would not be getting the scholarship, this time because of an unnamed requirement he failed to meet.

Hinterland

By May 2017, however, Ramcharran had completed his rotation at GPHC and departed the city to serve the Government at the Imbaimadai health Centre in Imbaimadai, Upper-Mazaruni, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni). While his time in the hinterland was rewarding, it was not without its challenges.
“Some challenges included the breakdown in communication because the patients would speak Akawaio. But we overcame that by learning a little of the language, as well as building good relationships with the leaders and the community health workers. Other challenges were drug shortages and the Ministry taking long to send in the drugs when we did order it,” Ramcharran said.

Ramcharran also recalled that while in Imbaimadai, he served residents from Chinoweng and Wax Creek. He explained that when he arrived in Chinoweng, the patients were starved of medical attention. During his time there he also saw many emergencies. In a report he wrote up covering the period of June and November 2017, he revealed that a total of 941 patients were seen, inclusive of 12 births and five emergency medivacs.
“There were challenges with limited resources. We needed to make certain calls and important decisions, like patients with snake bites. Calling for medevacs early, because you don’t want, when there’s no plane available or its dark, then the patient experiences complications. So, you had to trust your instinct and your gut and make early judgments,” he said.

One of his rewards from his time in the hinterland was the fact that the experience helped to build his confidence as a doctor and his ability to diagnose conditions. He finished in 2018 and, having been informed by senior officials that serving in the hinterlands was a prerequisite for a scholarship, he reapplied for a post-graduate scholarship to study in Cuba.
“I was shortlisted and invited to an interview, received a positive response but, however, again I received a rejection letter a few weeks afterward, again no detailed reason was given,” Ramcharran recounted to this publication.

“Out of frustration, I wrote letters to the (then) President of Guyana, HE David Granger, then Prime Minister of Guyana, Moses Nagamootoo (and) Harmon, all of whom replied to my letter and also to senior officials in the Ministry of Public Health, Including the (then) Minister Volda Lawrence and (then) Junior Minister (Dr. Karen Cummings) at the said time, neither of whom replied.”
In his June 14, 2018, in response to Ramcharran, then President Granger informed him that his letter was forwarded to the Ministers of Public Service and Health for their attention. Nagamootoo’s personal assistant also wrote to inform him that his letter had been forwarded to the Public Service Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine.
But he received another letter from Brotherson, informing him that his interview was unsuccessful “due to the competitive nature of the selection process and a limited number of scholarships available.”

In fact, he got two letters in July 2018 from Brotherson. The second one reinforced the rejection of his application, informing him that the Ministry of the Presidency could not help “due to budgetary constraints.”

Ramcharran reapplied for the scholarship in 2019. Although he is yet to receive a rejection letter or even any feedback from the Department of Public Service, the fact that his fellow interviewees have long been informed about their results does not bode well for him.

Times have changed

But times have changed. For one, there has been a change of Government, with President Dr. Irfaan Ali being sworn in as President of Guyana on August 2. Another change has been the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected 925 persons and claimed 31 lives in Guyana as of Saturday.
In a recent post on social media, Ramcharran brought attention to his predicament and expressed his frustration at the lack of clinical neurologists in Guyana, a field he still yearns to specialize in. He noted that despite the neurological complications caused by COVID-19, the country lacks the expertise to adequately address the issue.

“Imagine, if just one percent of those positive patients were to develop neurological complications, it will constitute a burden to our already overloaded public health system… It would have surely been beneficial to have invested in your human resources who have the passion, desire, and ability to specialize in clinical neurology.”

Instead, Ramcharran recalled how the previous Administration shut the door to upward mobility in his face and denied him the chance to pursue his dreams of being a clinical neurologist, under the rubric of “budgetary constraints.”

https://guyanatimesgy.com/aspi...LPvuP3H2ATqfO5c2bxF0

Replies sorted oldest to newest

He was too qualified to work at PHG or he just has bad luck.

He should have gone and applied at Berbice Mental Hospital to gain experience.  It looks like he was depending on scholarships to enhance his mental capacity.

R
@Totaram posted:

Is anyone entitled to a scholarship ?  

No, but I would think young professionals should be given consideration to further their studies, especially in the medical field. 

FM
@Former Member posted:

No, but I would think young professionals should be given consideration to further their studies, especially in the medical field. 

Scholarships are given to those who cannot afford them. I do not know the scenario surrounding the rejection, but I am listening.

R

Sadly the PNC led administration was not interested in investing in anything that can add value to Guyana's society. They spent the past 5 years paying off their supporters for their support.

FM
@Tola posted:

Teaching some will always fail. This is typical of many in the PPP, when they fail to find proper words to communicate, they reach into the gutter. 

Remember the old saying "sticks and stones ..." though. As terrible as words are they are nowhere near threats to persons or properties as in the  case of the guy calling for the murder of a sitting president.

FM
@Former Member posted:

Remember the old saying "sticks and stones ..." though. As terrible as words are they are nowhere near threats to persons or properties as in the  case of the guy calling for the murder of a sitting president.

What has this got to do with calling family names on this forum ?  That is a legal matter, this is a forum rule. 

Tola
@Tola posted:

What has this got to do with calling family names on this forum ?  That is a legal matter, this is a forum rule. 

I already asked Rama not to get sucked into the devil's lair so he was adequately advised. Calling family's names here is nothing new and truthfully the other poster in that interaction does it more than any other poster here. It seems like he is primarily focused on other posters and their families rather than any matter posted here.

FM
@Former Member posted:

Ramakant, please beware of your choice of word. This is a no, no. Thank you. 

And u stop throwing your weight around.  Give people lil authority and they suddenly feel they're god.😁😊😄😃

Sheik101
@Former Member posted:

No, but I would think young professionals should be given consideration to further their studies, especially in the medical field. 

If there is a program to grant scholarships then people could apply and be selected on merit.  However, it would be problematic if someone simple wants to study and asks the government for a scholarship.  BTW, a lot of these doctors who were sent to Cuba etc. by the government and the PPP to study are making a killing (no pun intended) off the poor sick people of Guyana.  

T

a young NYC doc was deported to guyana on child molestation charges.he still continued practicing in guyana, and gave my aunt incorrect medication which led to her death.his license was later revoked by Guyana Minister of Health.i think he's busy trying to get it reinstated because his family are the ruling elite now

FM

Great to see the PPP govt has asked him to reapply.

Scholarship should be granted based on merit. The process transparent. What’s suspicious, he was rejected twice but for different reasons. The PNC seems not to even keep their discrimination story straight. 

Justice will be done and another potential not wasted. 

Good thing PNC lost. 

FM

Looks like the PPP government sees some value in an aspiring Neurologist. Another missed opportunity for the PNC led Coalition.

Image may contain: 2 people, text that says 'Jason James Ramcharan is feeling hopeful. 5m I would like to inform all my supporters and well wishers that am overwhelmed with joy. just received a call from Mr. Ed Layne that the Hon. Minister of Public Service,Ms Sonia Parag has expressed willingness to assist me to fulfill my dream of becoming a neurologist. This is a beacon of hope for me. Principles and Victor' Adams TOTEN'

By the way, how is BOOM OUT kids doing with all that money that the Coalition government transferred to them. What merit test was asked of them?

Image may contain: one or more people, text that says 'GUYANA STANDARD JOSEPHHARMON Millions transferred to Broomes' children were for scholarship arrangements Harmon By Editor June 14, 2019 G+ Late last month, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo revealed that, over two years, just over $20M was transferred from the Ministry of the Presidency's Department of Public Service to the accounts of two of Minister Simona Broomes children: while one child was transferred GY$2.5M sometime in 2018, the other received US$50,000 [GY$10.47M) in 2018 and a further US$36,450 (GY$7.63M) in 2019. Since his'

FM
@Former Member posted:

Great to see the PPP govt has asked him to reapply.

Scholarship should be granted based on merit. The process transparent. What’s suspicious, he was rejected twice but for different reasons. The PNC seems not to even keep their discrimination story straight. 

Justice will be done and another potential not wasted. 

Good thing PNC lost

As I have always believed, a loss for the PNC is a huge win for Guyana and Guyanese.

FM
@Former Member posted:

Great to see the PPP govt has asked him to reapply.

Scholarship should be granted based on merit. The process transparent. What’s suspicious, he was rejected twice but for different reasons. The PNC seems not to even keep their discrimination story straight. 

Justice will be done and another potential not wasted. 

Good thing PNC lost. 

Advertise the program and judge applicants on merit.  Is one to understand that you simply write to the government saying you would like a scholarship and then when you are told "no" complain. There is no evidence of discrimination against Dr. Ramcharran.   

T
@Totaram posted:

Advertise the program and judge applicants on merit.  Is one to understand that you simply write to the government saying you would like a scholarship and then when you are told "no" complain. There is no evidence of discrimination against Dr. Ramcharran.   

There is clear evidence.  Why are the reasons for rejection of the same application different?  Tells of subjective considerations.

Good thing PNC lost. 

FM
@Former Member posted:

There is clear evidence.  Why are the reasons for rejection of the same application different?  Tells of subjective considerations.

Good thing PNC lost. 

Dr Ramcharran  lacks some key criteria, Not being Black and did not hold a PNC card.

 As Volda said, they only look after Blacks.

 Good ting PNC lost!

K
@Former Member posted:

There is clear evidence.  Why are the reasons for rejection of the same application different?  Tells of subjective considerations.

Good thing PNC lost. 

The whole damn thing is silly.  If a scholarship doesn't exist and I apply for it what do you think the response should be?  Can someone write to the Canadian or American government  saying I am bright so I would like a scholarship to study neurology?  The answer you'll get is "What scholarship are you talking about?  Actually, you probably won't get a response.  There cannot be discrimination if someone is rejected for something that simply does not exist.  

T
@Totaram posted:

The whole damn thing is silly.  If a scholarship doesn't exist and I apply for it what do you think the response should be?  Can someone write to the Canadian or American government  saying I am bright so I would like a scholarship to study neurology?  The answer you'll get is "What scholarship are you talking about?  Actually, you probably won't get a response.  There cannot be discrimination if someone is rejected for something that simply does not exist.  

What nonsense. Anyway....

Good thing PNC lost. 

FM

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