Doctor makes giving back a habit

About a decade ago, Yanique Montaque-Williams approached a financial roadblock in her second year of medical school that had her contemplating if she would be able to complete her studies.

But in 2021 she received a lifeline in the form of a scholarship from Jamaica Energy Partners (JEP) which helped her actualise her childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

"Jamaica Energy Partners is a company that I have a lot of love and respect for as I strongly believe they have contribute to nation development in a big way," Montaque-Williams told THE STAR.

"I had a lot of financial difficulties going through medical school. As you know, it is very expensive and I applied for the scholarship, and I received it for more than one year. So it was a big help," she added.

Montaque-Williams was one of several volunteers who provided medical assistance at the JEP health fair last Friday at the Old Harbour Bay Primary School in St Catherine. This is the third year that she is lending a hand to those in need.

Montaque-Williams spent her early years in the tough inner-city east Kingston community of Dunkirk but relocated to St Catherine at age nine. While attending primary school, she knew she dreamt of becoming a paediatrician. She kept her dreams of practising medicine alive and ensured she was trained in the discipline. However, while at medical school she decided to change her area of specialisation because of her experience during internship.

"I didn't enjoy working in the area [paediatry], reason being, I really love children and I hate to see children suffer. So, as much as I wanted to help them, I couldn't really manage working with children in that setting, so I decided to change from being a paediatrician," she related.

Currently a general practitioner, Montaque-Williams intends to specialise in pathology, an area of medicine that deals with causes and effects of diseases. A pathologist is a medical doctor with additional training in laboratory techniques used to study disease.