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Junior Resident, Dr. Fitzroy Hamilton of Annotto Bay Hospital has been the recipient of not one, but two Governor General Awards

Dr. Fitzroy Hamilton was first featured in the newspaper last year January with a sub-caption, “Buju Banton lookalike making strides in Annotto Bay”. He is thought of as a more handsome version of Buju Banton; nonetheless, this funny misnomer has stuck with him since high school at Kingston College.

Dr. Hamilton joined Annotto Bay Hospital August 2009 as a Medical Officer. His story began in Seaview Gardens, where he was no stranger to violence and the emotional and psychological impact it causes. From there, through sheer determination, diligence and perseverance he applied for and earned a scholarship to study in Cuba. In 2006, Dr. Hamilton graduated, with honours from the Medical Sciences University of Gramna, eastern Cuba, and was twice named Jamaican Student of the Year.

He was offered a post-graduate scholarship in Cuba to study in any specialty, but chose to return home instead. He has been quoted, saying that he has been enjoying his time at Annotto Bay Hospital, working with a warm, friendly and professional staff.

In September 2010, Dr. Hamilton was presented with the Governor General Youth Award for excellence in the category of Young Adult for the parish of Kingston. The following month he was recognized at the “Pinning Ceremony” at Kings House as the National Honouree for the County of Surrey where he was presented with his honourary pin.

Most recently, he was instrumental in the triage of the 22 crash victims from Brandon Hill who were routed to Annotto Bay Hospital. He was personally congratulated, along with the entire hospital team, by the Hon. Dr. Kenneth Baugh, who had visited the hospital on the evening of the crash, on their professionalism and expertise with which they treated the victims.

Seaview Gardens claims him as their own, but Annotto Bay Hospital is his home away from home and they are so very proud of him. On Sunday January 9th, Dr. Fitzroy Hamilton will be featured on Ian Boyne’s Profile for Part 2 of his interview from Sunday January 2nd.

From a young age he wanted to “…cut people, the right way”, and noted that when he used to tell people in Seaview that he wanted to be a doctor, they all laughed. He attended St. Anne’s basic and primary schools, and passed his Common Entrance exam a year earlier than normal (in Grade 5). He then attended Kingston College, and left there in 1998 with 14 subjects overall. Then, it was on to the natural science programme at the University of the West Indies which he did for a year, but was forced to drop out, as his family could not afford the tuition and other fees.

At that time, he heard about the Cuban scholarship programme, applied for it, was successful, and left Jamaica in September 1999. For the next seven years, he studied at the Medical Sciences University of Gramna, eastern Cuba, graduating with honours in 2006, having been twice named Jamaican Student of the Year.

Since returning to Jamaica in 2006, he has worked at the Kingston Public Hospital, Victoria Jubilee Hospital, the Bustamante Hospital for Children, and now the Annotto Bay hospital in St. Mary.

Dr. Hamilton is another of the many Jamaicans here and abroad who are making us proud. Kudos to him, for using the Seaview Gardens experience as motivation for greatness.