ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – June 26, 2026 – Metropolitan University College of Medicine (MUCM) Antigua hosted a special academic session titled “Fall in Love with Surgery: Where Science Meets Skill, Precision Meets Compassion, and Every Incision Tells a Story,” presented by leading Antiguan surgeon Dr. Vonetta George.
The seminar, held at the MUCM campus at Sir Ryan’s Building, Newgate Street, St. John’s, was based on a reflective article authored by MUCM student Sussan Chukwu and delivered to pre-clinical and clinical MD students.
Dr. George is Chief of Surgery and a distinguished Consultant General Surgeon at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre. She serves as Chair of the Antigua & Barbuda Medical Council and as Antigua & Barbuda’s National Focal Point for the WHO Emergency Medical Team Initiative. She was honored as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives following her success in the rigorous ACHE Board of Governors Examination, and brings over 19 years of dedicated service with dual Masters Degrees in Emergency Medicine and Healthcare Administration.
In her presentation, Dr. George emphasized that surgery is far more than operative technique. She highlighted sound clinical judgment, comprehensive patient assessment, and ethical decision-making, including recognizing when surgery is not indicated. She reinforced principles of precision, preparation and patient safety, including respect for tissue, gentle handling, meticulous hemostasis, and strict maintenance of the sterile field as a professional ritual that protects patients.
The session also focused on modern patient safety through evidence-based protocols such as surgical safety checklists, infection prevention strategies, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.
Dr. George stressed that surgery is fundamentally a team endeavor, dependent on seamless collaboration among surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, surgical technologists, radiologists, pathologists, pharmacists, physical therapists and intensive care specialists.
She concluded with the importance of compassion, ethics, and lifelong learning. As noted in the seminar material, every incision carries responsibility, every decision carries consequence, and every successful outcome reflects the collective dedication of an entire healthcare team. From early life-saving procedures to today’s minimally invasive, robotic-assisted and image-guided techniques, surgery continues to redefine what is possible while improving safety and outcomes.
For MUCM students, the session reinforced competencies essential across all specialties: anatomical mastery, clinical reasoning, procedural confidence, communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Metropolitan University College of Medicine is accredited by CAAM-HP operating under WFME standards and provides CAAM-HP/WFME accredited education with ECFMG recognition and USMLE eligibility. Through sessions like this, MUCM continues to connect students with national healthcare leaders in Antigua and Barbuda.
MUCM Antigua extends sincere gratitude to Dr. Vonetta George for her time, mentorship and commitment to medical education in Antigua.
