Anguilla was losing its general surgeon, and the island’s healthcare leaders needed another doctor to step in without delay. When Dr. Vonetta George got the call in 2012, she was happily practicing medicine in Antigua and Barbuda, which is her home. But she said yes, she would help—she could fill in for two weeks.
Dr. George began her role as consultant general surgeon in January 2013. But as it would happen, the two weeks she promised turned into five years. Over that time, she held positions that included director of medical services for the Health Authority of Anguilla. When she returned to Antigua and Barbuda in 2018, she left behind a vastly improved healthcare system, and a very grateful community.
“Anguilla is a small island, and we definitely needed to make some improvements in our health system,” she says. “It was a lot of hard work, but I had the support of nearly everyone in the country. I enjoyed being there because it’s such a small community and the people were so caring, so loving, and so appreciative of our work.”
Her work was far-reaching, addressing issues like performance quality, physician well-being, and disaster management.
“As a physician, you can help your patients and their families, but then there’s a whole system that needs to be properly influenced,” she says. “In order to be pointed in the right direction, you always need transformational change.”
Dr. George began her inspirational healthcare journey at the Carlos J. Finlay University of Medical Sciences in Camaguey, Cuba, where she earned her medical degree in 2005 and a master’s degree in emergency medicine in 2009. She completed a residency in general surgery at the Manuel Ascunce Domenech University Hospital in Camaguey in 2009 and received American Board of Surgical Assistants certification in 2011.
While working in Anguilla, she decided to add another degree to her academic portfolio, one that would serve as a complement to her medical training. She enrolled in Walden University’s online master’s in healthcare administration (MHA) degree program in 2014 and graduated in 2016. She says the accredited university’s commitment to social change signaled that it was the right choice.
“It fit into my own belief that to be able to influence an entire health system, you must be in the room where the decisions are being made. To do that, you need to equip yourself to get there,” she says.
Today, Dr. George continues to make her mark as both a medical professional and a healthcare administration innovator in Antigua. She returned there to head the emergency department at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre (formerly known as the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre), the country’s largest hospital. Now, she is the hospital’s chief of surgery and vice chair of its COVID-19 task force, to highlight just a few of her multiple roles.
She also chairs the Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council and makes time to pay it forward, mentoring young women as a member of Caribbean Women in Leadership. In 2021, she was a nominee for the Outstanding Alumni Award from Walden. (Read more about Dr. George in the Walden magazine article Home to Serve.)
“I enjoyed the program,” she says of her Walden experience. “Every time I learned something, I tried to put it into practice at work, especially quality and leadership strategies. It made a difference.”
Follow Your Path to an MHA Degree
No matter where you live and work today, online learning gives you the chance to earn a college degree. And if you choose to earn your master’s in healthcare administration from Walden, you’ll enjoy other flexible features, too.
Master’s candidates have their choice of two ways to earn an MHA degree. There’s course-based learning, featuring a standard, guided pace, and Tempo Learning®, a self-paced-option that lets you progress at your own speed. Both learning paths give professionals the opportunity to earn a degree while continuing to work and enjoy personal time.
Walden’s MHA degree program is aligned with the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) model and combines industry knowledge with practical competencies for outstanding healthcare leadership. Your healthcare administration coursework will explore contemporary topics in healthcare delivery; law, ethics, and policy; organizational development and leadership for healthcare administrators; marketing and communication; and much more.
Earn a master’s degree and then put your education to work as you advance your career as an inspirational leader improving healthcare quality and delivery.
If your career goals lie in the dynamic, growing field of healthcare administration, consider earning a degree in Walden’s competency-based learning format. It is a popular choice for MHA degree-seekers at Walden.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering an online Master of Healthcare Administration degree program in the Tempo Learning® format. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible learning platform that fits your busy life.
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.