The Jamaica Urological Society

In the late sixties, the specialty of urology was in the realm of the general surgical services in Jamaica. Dr. David Atkinson at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) was the only general surgeon dedicated to the practice of urology exclusively. At the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) urology was administered by the general surgical service. In 1970, Dr. L. Lawson Douglas returned to Jamaica having completed a fellowship in urology in Canada and established the first dedicated urology service in Jamaica at the KPH.

During the next decade, a few urologists were trained in Canada and a diploma program in urology was established 1980 so that general surgeons interested in practicing urology could develop the required skills.

In 1993 with a cadre of about eight urologists and associates, it was decided that to advance the art and to share clinical experience on a regular basis, the group should be officially named as an association or a society. So the Jamaica Urological Society (JUS) was born. Dr. Douglas was elected as the first president along with a secretary and treasurer. A logo was designed, a constitution drawn up and a bank account opened. It was planned to hold an annual symposium to educate the medical doctors of Jamaica, to meet regularly for sharing cases of interest and look at new developments in urology in the literature. Those early years were difficult and because of the heavy work load, occasionally expectations were not always met. The membership remained small.

In 1994, the DM program in urology was established at the UWI and the numbers of highly trained urologists began to increase, So did the membership of the JUS. The society membership now stands at about 48 members. We are affiliated with The Caribbean Urological Association (CURA) founded in 1999 and most of our members are international members of the American Urological Association (AUA).

It is now just over 30 years since the inception of the JUS. We continue to strive to provide a state of the art urological service for Jamaica. The JUS has supported the Jamaica Cancer Society in screening for prostate cancer, in putting on seminars to educate the public on prostate cancer and has been involved in prostate cancer screening clinics in the rural areas.