Imagine what it must’ve felt like back in 1948, a nineteen year-old girl, barely out of high school, making a bid for a place in the newly established University College of the West Indies (UCWI) to study Medicine. Muriel Lowe did not lack for spunk but even she was intimidated by the interviewing panel, chaired by the beetle-browed Principal, Sir Thomas Taylor. Over a hundred candidates, from all over the West Indies, were interviewed but only 33 students were selected as the very first cohort of UCWI students.

After nearly sixty years, Muriel remembers details of the interview. She even recalls her feisty response to the question, “Why do you want to study Medicine?” Instead of saying something like, “To help ease the suffering of humanity…” as some of the aspirants did, she told the panel that becoming a doctor would give her the independence she craved and she thought she might enjoy the challenge. On comparing notes later with a school friend who had also been interviewed and who gave a more philosophic response to the question, she felt certain that she would be rejected and wept. As it turned out, Muriel was selected, while her friend was not.

The first UCWI students—10 women and 23 men—were all housed in the old Gibraltar Camp huts, not far from the large wooden building where classes were held. There were sixteen Jamaicans, six Bajans, four from Trinidad & Tobago, two from Antigua/Barbuda, two from Grenada and one each from Guyana, St Kitts/Nevis and Turks & Caicos Islands. Everyone had to live on campus. Life in the dorms was fun and soon a tight bond was knit among the students. Their ages varied; some, like Ken Standard, were more mature, and in their twenties while others, like Muriel, were just out of high school. Her closest friends were the sisters Denise and Eileen Mitchell from Grenada. Muriel recalls “going wild” with her new-found freedom. At home, she was very cosseted and never allowed to go out. Now, she could indulge trips to the country to watch football matches and even going out to nightclubs (the Glass Bucket was the usual haunt). Needless to say, her dad was not amused when he found out.

The faculty were all colourful characters. Muriel has fond memories of her Anatomy teacher, Professor Walter Harper and the Chemistry lecturer, Dr A.C. (“the Duke”) Ellington; also of Professor McKay and Dr Paul Feng who taught Physiology and Physics respectively and the hospitable Estate Manager, Major Karl Craig. At the end of each term, there were one-on-one assessment sessions of each student by the Principal, Sir Thomas Taylor. This was a formidable prospect for the students, which they called ‘collections’.

Information courtesy the UWI Medical Alumni Association

Muriel graduated in 1956, two years behind her batch mates and was placed at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) for internship. She was later assigned to the King George V Jubilee Memorial Sanatorium (TB-San for short). She was reluctant to take up this assignment, mainly because she dreaded working with the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) there, Dr Edward Valentine, for whom she had developed a strong antipathy at briefing sessions during her internship. What she was not recognising, however, was a deep mutual attraction which soon bubbled to the surface and was boldly acknowledged by Dr Valentine, who in inimitable style, announced to her family (without first checking with her) his intention to make her his wife. After a short courtship, they were married in 1957.

The newly-wed Dr Muriel Lowe-Valentine alternated between the KPH, where she worked as an anaesthetist and the TB-San during the sixties. In 1971, she went to Wales for postgraduate studies, specialising in pulmonology (diseases of the chest). On her return to Jamaica she was appointed Acting Senior Medical Officer at TB-San, now renamed The National Chest Hospital, as her husband had taken up the post of Principal Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health. Muriel was eventually confirmed in the SMO post at National Chest and remained in that position for twenty-five years, although she retired officially in 1989 at the age of 60—the same year her beloved husband, Eddie, passed on. She continued as SMO on a post-retirement contract until 1997. Her successor, Dr Juliet Wynter, however, left after two years, and so, Muriel resumed duties as SMO until her second retirement in 2003 at the age of 74.

Still feeling young and not ready to give up the practice of Medicine, Muriel worked as a consultant at the Oxford Medical Centre for three years. In December 2006 she embarked on her fourth career as Registrar of the Medical Council of Jamaica. It seemed a natural appointment, as she had served the MCJ for many years as a member of the Board, including several stints as Chairperson. Her job now as Registrar involves registration and monitoring of medical practitioners in Jamaica. She arranges for the testing and certification of doctors qualified outside the jurisdiction (including countries such as India, Burma, Nigeria and Cuba) and holding hearings on malpractice or ethics complaints.
Despite her busy career, Muriel still made time to give back to The University of the West Indies. For many years she was an Associate Lecturer at UWI and supervised final year Medical Sciences students doing electives at the Chest Hospital.

Muriel Lowe-Valentine has had a full life of service to her alma mater, her country and humanity. For her outstanding service to Medicine and protection of the nation’s health, she was awarded the Order of Distinction, Officer Class, by the Government of Jamaica in 1986.
In so many ways, she exemplifies the spirit of The University of the West Indies and we salute her for carrying the torch so ably.