The UWI Mona-Western Jamaica Campus (WJC) is celebrating the LASCO/Nursing Association of Jamaica Nursing Student of the Year 2018-2019, and the UWISON being named Nursing School of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.
 
Mr. Desmond Campbell, who has become the first male to lift the prestigious award since its inception in 1974.  Campbell, who is from Norwood in St James, is a student at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing (UWISON) at the Western Jamaica Campus. He is also the third holder of the award from the Montego Bay-based institution following Nadja Brown in 2016 and Joy Odusanya in 2017.
 
In a commendation note to the UWISON,   Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Dr Tomlin Paul notes that, “UWI has been a consistent winner and WJC has featured highly in this rating of the nursing campus of the year”.
 
“This year for the first time”, Paul continues, “a male student received the award which is great for opening the doors for diversity in our health professions training programme. I commend the teams at UWISON and WJC for flying our UWI flag high”.
 
In extending congratulations to Campbell and the UWISON team, Campus Director at UWI Mona-Western Jamaica campus, Patrick Prendergast is highlighting the culture of student success at the campus.
 
“Desmond’s historic win speaks volume of the quality and experience in the nursing programme’, he says. “But, I am particularly happy for him as a male and as a symbol of the culture of student success we are building and promoting at the UWI Mona-Western Jamaica campus”, declares Prendergast.
 
Desmond will undertake several community based health projects across the Western region as part of the responsibilities that come with Nursing Student of the Year title. The Lasco/NAJ National Nursing Awards ceremony were held on Saturday, July 21 at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston and are aimed at recognizing outstanding institutions and individuals in the nursing profession.
 
 
Photo: (L-R) Ann-Marie Nedrick, Kameesha Gardner, Verona Henry-Ferguson (Programme Coordinator UWISO-WJC), Desmond Campbell (NSOY2018-2019), Joy Odusanya (NSOY2017-2018), Tennille Spence, and Shanice Edwards.
 
About The UWI
 
Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with over 50,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Sport, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Visit www.uwi.edu.