Professor Plummer holds the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and the Doctor of Medicine (DM) from The UWI, Mona Campus. He also completed a clinical fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Toronto in 2006, and received additional experiences at the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic. He was appointed to the Faculty at The UWI, Mona in 2003 as an Honorary Lecturer in Surgery. He continued as Lecturer until 2011 when he was promoted to Senior Lecturer.
 
Dr. Plummer is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Caribbean College of Surgeons. He was also elected fellow of The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, which is the premier society for colon and rectal surgeons and other surgeons dedicated to advancing and promoting the science and practice of the treatment of patients with diseases and disorders affecting the colon, rectum and anus.
Joseph Plummer is the author or co-author of 52 peer-reviewed articles, 24 scientific abstracts, and has presented some 37 papers at a range of scientific meetings locally, regionally and internationally. He has received major awards recognizing his scholarship including the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons International Scholar award in 2010 and the American College of Surgeons International Scholar award in 2016. He has made consistent contributions to the scholarly literature in various surgical disorders, focusing on technological applications in surgical disease with a special interest in international situations. He has done extensive research on the adoption of new surgical technology in developing countries, focusing in particular on the case of laparoscopic surgery in Jamaica.