Caribbean Medical Professionals’ Summit 2024 sets new standard for healthcare innovation

The three-day Caribbean Medical Professionals’ Summit (CAMPS) concluded earlier this month with resounding success, marking a milestone in the advancement of healthcare in the region.

The summit, held May 31 to June 2 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston and online, was branded ‘Catapult Your Career in Care’. It brought together medical professionals from across the Caribbean and beyond to exchange knowledge, share insights, and collaborate on ventures to improve physician well-being and healthcare delivery in the region.

A high point of the summit was the lineup of 24 accomplished speakers who captivated the audience with their presentations. Renowned gynecologic oncologist and advocate for healthcare equity, Dr Kemi Doll, sharing personal anecdotes and lessons learned from her career journey. She highlighted the importance of perseverance, authenticity, and courage in creating one’s ideal career.

Doll challenged attendees to “embrace your unique talents, pursue your passions with purpose, and never apologise for your ambitions”.

Professor Shafi Ahmed, leading expert in the fields of digital healthcare and artificial intelligence (AI), provided the final keynote speech, delving into the transformative role of AI in medicine and public health.

Ahmed’s engaging presentation tackled whether AI will replace doctors and demonstrated the potential of AI technologies to make healthcare more affordable and accessible in regions like the Caribbean, from diagnosis and treatment for individual patients to disease surveillance and outbreak prediction at the population level.

The summit provided intimate presentations and workshops on diverse topics, including telemedicine, mental healthcare for physicians, ethics as a healthcare leader, and investing and retirement planning.

One workshop, dubbed ‘Start and Run a Profitable Medical Business’, was especially popular.

Featuring celebrity dentist Dr Ronson Reeves; Dr Paula Dawson, consultant physiatrist (physician who specialises in physical medicine and rehabilitation), founder of the Portmore Hospital Complex, and serial entrepreneur, Dr Devon Osbourne; and CEO of MD Link Che Bowen, the panel provided eager listeners with insider insights on how to parlay their medical education into thriving ventures.

Interactive in nature, the summit also brought to Jamaica physicians from various Caribbean islands who have migrated to North America and the United Kingdom and are eager to contribute to their home region.

“I am especially pleased that CAMPS was able to delve into geographically hybrid careers, facilitated by telemedicine and AI,” said Shawna-Kaye Lester, founder of The Caribbean Medical Professionals’ Summit.

“We have the technologies to facilitate more flexibility for healthcare workers and greater accessibility for patients, and there is no reason for the Caribbean to be left behind,” she said. “By bringing together thought leaders and innovators from different backgrounds to facilitate the personal and professional development of our medical professionals, we’ve laid the groundwork to make CAMPS a vehicle for responding to the unique healthcare challenges in our region.”