Dr. Derrick Earl Aarons

For 25 years, the people of Ocho Rios have been closely guarding the secret of Dr Derrick Aarons, Jamaica and the Caribbean's first trained bio-ethicist.
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Dr Derrick Aarons: The secret that Ocho Rios closely guarded for 25 years
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For 25 years, the people of Ocho Rios have been closely guarding the secret of Dr Derrick Aarons, Jamaica and the Caribbean's first trained bio-ethicist.And now it's no longer possible to do so.

AARONS.
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The story of Derrick Earl Aarons is one for posterity.It began with his birth, to unwed parents on June 21, 1953, in the confirmed inner-city community of Brown's Town off Windward Road in east Kingston.
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At age four, Derrick was sent to a prep school near his home and at seven he went to Franklin Town Primary School.
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I was very grateful," Aarons says.In his first year, Aarons was selected to be a member of the KC choir and came under the influence of the man we now know as Dr Winston Davidson, who sings a wicked baritone.
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When Aarons entered KC, the deputy head boy was Dennis Minott, now Dr Minott who is rapidly becoming known for his analysis of school CXC performance.
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Aarons formed lasting friendships with Dr Warren Blake, the orthopaedic surgeon, and Rainford Wilks, now Professor Wilks, head of the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
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Aarons liked the Cadet Corps and joined it in second form, eventually rising to company quarter master sergeant.He did well academically and otherwise.

He was captain of the KC rifle team, and at age 16 had the distinction of leading the KC Cadet rifle team to a competition in Canada, where he got nine out of 10 bull's-eye and was designated a marksman.He played on the basketball team as vice-captain, recalling how Michael Holding, later the famous West Indies fast bowler, "used to tease us that basketball is a girl's game".

Aarons was also the first Jamaican to complete the criteria and win the Duke of Edinburgh Award, recalling that he never received the award because the English teacher who introduced the award went back home before the presentation.

At GCE O' Levels, Aarons got eight subjects, three with distinctions and four credits and placed number two in the school.While doing sixth form, he pursued 11 extra-curricular activities, including basketball, cadet, rifle club, athletics (he ran the 100-metre as house captain), sang on the choir, the Interact Club (he was a founding member) jointly with KC and St Hugh's High School, and he was sports editor of his school magazine.
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From 1970-72, Aarons was deputy headboy, first to Kingsley Cooper, the future fashion guru, Selwyn Goode, now a cardiologist in South Florida, and Rainford Wilks.
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Aarons knew from as early as second form that he wanted to be a doctor.When a school librarian ushered him and some other boys who were idling into the library, he started reading a book on the human body and could not put it down.
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Here now Derrick Aarons would begin his life-long love affair with medicine.
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Aarons was dumbstruck.But the nurse clearly meant well and had seemed genuinely committed to her health centre.Without going on to Port Antonio, he decided to remain at Ocho Rios and became District Medical Officer (DMO).Twenty-five years later, he is still serving Ocho Rios.

Aarons served for four years as DMO and later Deputy Medical Officer of Health for the parish of St Ann.
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During the stint as deputy medical officer, Aarons was asked to develop the first disaster preparedness plan for St Ann.After five years in the government service, and with a young family, he began to feel the financial pinch and went into private practice as a family physician, although continuing his public service.

By this, he had begun to emerge as an activist, and in 1983/84 organised a northern branch of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), the umbrella grouping of doctors.
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When the Association of General Practitioners was formed, Aarons became the representative for the northern region comprising St Ann, St Mary and Portland in 1988.

The following year, he became secretary of the newly formed Caribbean College of Family Physicians.

An innocent invitation?

In 1991, Aarons was invited by then MAJ president, Dr Margaret Green, to sit on the association's first Ethics Committee.
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The invitation fell to Dr Aarons and he accepted it.
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On the first day of the conference, Aarons found himself spellbound by her presentation on bio-ethics.By day two, he was hooked.Hanging desperately onto Somerville's every word, Aarons came to realise that from now on this was what he wanted to do with his life.

After the presentation, he introduced himself to the professor and confessed that he was hooked on bio-ethics.Was training available in that area? he asked.She said 'yes'.McGill had just introduced a master's specialisation in bio-ethics.She promised to send him the particulars and did.

He filled out the application, got accepted and began to search for a sponsor.Apparently, bio-ethics was not a Jamaican issue.Nobody was interested.Aarons turned to Dr Dilip Raje, dean of the medical faculty at Mona.
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Raje understood the need for study in such an area and encouraged Aarons not to give up.
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Everybody agreed that Jamaica would benefit from this study, but everybody said they could not finance it and wished me well," says Aarons.

The unkindest cut of all, he discloses, came from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
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The deadline for the McGill course was fast approaching and Aarons did not have a sponsor.That was the end of his dream, he thought.