Higher heightsPublished on: 12/14/07.
by GERCINE CARTER
PROFESSOR VELMA SCANTLEBURY-WHITE, GCM, has risen from the classroom of the Alleyne School in St Andrew to become America's first African-American female transplant surgeon, performing more than 1 000 kidney operations in her career.
Reflecting on that Barbados school experience, she says with pride: "I am truly grateful for the education at the Alleyne School which set me on the road."
The transplant surgeon, professor of surgery, assistant dean for community education, director of the Division of Transplantation and director of the University of Alabama Regional Transplant Centre was warmly applauded as she stood on the stage at Government House on Independence Day to receive the award of Gold Crown of Merit from Acting Governor-General Sir Fred Gollop.
Accepting the honour with humility, she said later: "This is a very esteemed honour from this place where I was born. It is also an honour for young people in Barbados."
She admonished children in Barbados to recognise and take full advantage of the opportunities for education here. "It is the main component to success," she stressed.
Scantlebury-White was born in Goodland Road, St Michael, the youngest of the seven children of Kathleen and Delacey Scantlebury.
She said it was always her childhood dream to have a career in the medical field.
Asked to write an essay on "My Career" while a young student at the Alleyne School, she researched becoming a doctor as a possible topic.
"The more I searched, the more I was drawn to the choice of medicine as my future career," she said. "I became inspired by the fact that being a doctor allowed me many choices in not only helping people understand a little more about their body, but I could pretty much design my own area of specialty."
The earlier death of an older sister in England also influenced that decision as she said there were lingering questions in her mind about how her sister died.
Her parents' vision to make their youngest child's dream a reality, saw her heading to the United States at age 13 to take advantage of the opportunities offered there and to pursue the path to becoming a doctor.
She first entered a Brooklyn high school, "a terrifying experience" according to her. But the educational foundation acquired at the Alleyne School gave her "an edge" and was the overriding factor that saw her through when she experienced a "lack of encouragement" in high school.
When teachers questioned her ability to go on to college, her parents again stepped in and convinced her that she should.
She applied for admission to college and was awarded a four-year scholarship to Long Island University (LIU) as a pre-med major, graduating with an honours degree in biology.
At that point she thought she wanted to be a paediatrician.
In her senior year at LIU, she participated in research and co-authored a scientific paper on endoscopic polypectomy with another Barbadian, Kenneth Forde.
Her exposure to the anatomy triggered an interest in surgery.
But to her dismay, other members of the surgical faculty discouraged her from pursuing surgery, her perceptor going as far as withholding his recommendation. He offered to recommend her to paediatric training instead.
With a determination not to be railroaded by anyone, this Barbadian, whose self-assurance and focus made no accommodation for discouragement, ignored the perceptor's recommendation and applied to Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for medical school.
She was accepted and went on to earn her degree.
Her internship and residency in general surgery were done at the Harlem Hospital Centre in New York City. She began work as
a clinical fellow in transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh under the direction of liver transplant pioneer Dr Thomas E. Starzl.
Credentials
Scantlebury-White proved she had the mettle to succeed in the chosen area. She holds the National Kidney Foundation's Gift of Life Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Minority Health and Transplant Professionals, as well as honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Seton Hill College and her alma mater Long Island University, as credentials.
Regrettably, the clouds of administrative and professional prejudice which overshadowed Scantlebury-White's career
in the early years still linger today despite the course that she has blazened.
"After 25 years, I still have to prove that I am as good as the other person," she said blatantly.
Racial prejudice has also been a bug of her career, though she confronted those challenges head on, early. But she admitted it took a while to realise that "patients who were uncomfortable with the colour of my skin, that was their loss".
This doctor from tiny Barbados grew used to being told by grateful patients on whom she had successfully performed kidney surgery: "I have never really met my surgeon," and still does not forget the look on their faces when she would quietly reply: "I was your surgeon."
The prayers which she offered before every surgery also sustained her as she confidently faced the prejudice.
"I had the self-confidence not to let their inadequacies be a reflection."
Now, among several other activities in which she engages in her field, this unassuming woman focuses on kidney transplants and preventative care through education for Blacks in the city of Mobile, Alabama, where she is now based. She said that "nearly 75 per cent of people waiting for kidney transplants in the south are black".
Kidney transplant
Therefore, she added: "I focused on kidney transplant because of the blatant disparities in health care for Blacks who are more prone to kidney disease."
Turning her attention to Barbados, the accomplished doctor who is listed in Who's Who of American Women, and was voted among the Best Doctors in America, wants to see Barbadians with kidney disease get help with kidney transplants. And
she is willing to lend her expertise.
At the same time, she said there needed to be "a better focus" on preventing the ongoing rise in diabetes and high blood pressure here.
"Let people know about the risk factors in their diet. Let them know what causes kidney disease."
Her husband, Dr Harvey White, a professor of public and international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and their daughters Akela and Aisha, accompanied her to Barbados for the presentation of the Gold Crown of Merit.
http://www.nationnews.com/story/323337807489147.phpPHOTO: Velma Scantlebury-White being congratulated by Acting Governor-General Sir Fred Gollop after being presented with the insignia of the Gold Crown of Merit at Government House last Independence Day. (Picture by Cherie Pitt.)
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