26-Year-old Jevon moves From Dental Assistant to Trained Dentist

By Admin. Updated 3:58 p.m., Sunday, July 21, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

After leaving college in 2016, Jevon J. Ollivierre was a Dental Assistant at the Seventh Day Adventist Clinic in Old Montrose, eight years later he is now a trained dentist.

The 26-year-old from Calder recently graduated from the Universidad de Ciencias Medicas Villa Clara in Cuba with a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.). He was the only Vincentian to graduate in dentistry this year.

He started his degree in September 2018 and finished in July 2024.

He told One News SVG his decision to start a career in dentistry was made in 2016 after learning the need for dentists in St. Vincent and the Grenadines while working with Dr. Jardine-Samuel.

“After leaving college in 2016, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Sheshana Jardine-Samuel as a Dental Assistant at the Seventh Day Adventist Clinic in Old Montrose. I had applied for the Cuban Scholarship in that year but wasn’t granted the opportunity so I continued working with Dr. Jardine-Samuel,” he said.

“In 2017, I applied for the Set Programme where I was offered a teaching position at the primary level but after expressing my interest in Dentistry, I was offered another position as a Dental Assistant at the Dental Department of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) under the supervision of Dr. Errol Parsons who was the Chief Dental Surgeon at the time,” he added.

He said he worked at the MCMH for a few months until the department was closed for construction.

“Then I was moved to the Dental Department in Mesopotamia under the supervision of Dr. George F. Walker. Having gained two years of experience in Dentistry, I was determined to pursue a career in the field so when the scholarship was announced again, I reapplied and was successfully granted the opportunity to study in Cuba in 2018,” he said.

Dr. Ollivierre also spoke about his experience while studying in Cuba.

“The journey started at the Latin American School of Medicine (known as ELAM) in Havana where I did one year of Premed which was based on learning Spanish and the foundational subjects of the Basic Medical Sciences in Spanish. Premed not only fostered an introduction to the language and the Cuban culture but also an integration of different cultures of over 100 countries across the world,” he said.

He said: “After Premed, I spent the other five years in Santa Clara for Dental School. The first two years of Dental school were theory-based whereas the last three years incorporated the practical aspects. The experience in itself was rewarding because from as early as third year I started doing dental procedures on the members of the Cuban community and continued improving my skills until the end of the course.”

“The teachers in Cuba are very patient and very thorough which made the experience all the more worthwhile. My journey would not have been the same without my peers in dental school who have become like family to me. We endured everything together especially during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

When asked how he adapted to living and studying in a foreign country, he said:

“As soon as I arrived in Cuba and the period of quarantine was over, I immersed myself into the culture. I tried talking to the locals in the nearby community, I learnt the bus and taxi routes, I tried the local foods, I got lost and asked for directions to find my way, I learnt the lyrics to the Cuban Reggaeton music, etc. ELAM only had foreign students but at the dental school in Santa Clara, I had classes with Cubans so my Spanish improved over time and I learnt more about the Cuban lifestyle. Our residence throughout the years was a dormitory on the school campus so it was really convenient in ensuring I got to classes on time. The environment really pushed me to study harder especially when I saw my peers studying and we would discuss any doubts together. We were introduced to studying in Spanish from the very beginning of the programme so it became almost innate.”

He also noted some cultural differences between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Cuba during his studies.

He said: “The first obvious difference is the language. There are differences in our food culture as well. The most common meat is pork known as ‘cerdo’ and the most common staple is rice and beans which the Cubans call ‘arroz congris’. They do not use as much condiments especially hot pepper as we do in St. Vincent and the Grenadines so I would always make sure to have my bottle of “Erica’s” close by. The modes of transport is very different in Cuba. In my province of Villa Clara, the most common public transportation included ‘motoneta’ which is basically a cart attached to a bike and ‘coche’ which is a horse carriage. All are very different from our van culture in St. Vincent.”

Dr. Ollivierre also told us about some challenges he encountered while studying and how he was able to overcome them.

“If you studied in Cuba and did not encounter any challenges then you truly didn’t study there. The first challenge was standing in a long line for everything: to buy bread, to buy water, to enter the bank, to go on the bus, etc and learning that being in the line doesn’t guarantee that you will get what you want. To overcome this, I just had to quickly learn that this was the Cuban way and conditioned my mind to adapt. I would get up as early as 3am to ensure I was amongst the first set of persons in the ‘cola’ (Cuban word for line) for buying bread. Another challenge was getting dengue and having to be quarantined from my peers,” he said.

“In Cuba, health care is a priority and although it was a challenge being sick without my family being present, I was taken care of and quickly recovered. The biggest challenge was definitely the COVID-19 pandemic. When the first case was confirmed in Cuba in 2020, my school closed and we were not able to have classes for 6 months. When Cuba developed their vaccine and the situation was under control, the foreign students were placed in a separate class and we worked twice as hard to cover the syllabus in an effort to complete our programme on time. I am grateful that our school made that decision as we still ended up graduating in July of 2024 as opposed to December of 2024 which is the case for the other students who were also set back by the pandemic,” he added.

He said his immediate plan is to return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and start his service in the country.

On the issue of contributing to dental awareness, he said:

“I envision having health fairs and campaigns that spread positive messages about the importance of a healthy smiles in dental practices, hospitals, schools and workplaces in my community and all over St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I see myself working with the stalwarts of the dental field in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, providing excellent dental care and giving advice and information about achieving wellbeing through good oral health”.

He also left a message to young people from St. Vincent who aspire to pursue higher education abroad.

“If it is really what you desire then go for it and keep your mind open because the culture may be different from St. Vincent’s. If it’s a country which speaks another language, you will have the opportunity of adding bilingualist to your accolades. Studying abroad can be a life-changing experience which in turn will allow you to make improvements in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Dr. Ollivierre said.