Dr Ramon Arscott is facing an interesting juncture in his life. A new father to Hunter James and doting husband to Christie, Arscott has been ascending rapidly as he completes his current stint as a board-certified senior surgical resident at Harvard University’s Plastic Surgery Programme in Boston.

Despite the gruelling schedule of a surgical resident, Arscott also serves as a member of the Leadership Development Committee and the International Subcommittee of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), and just recently helped his wife move back to her native Bermuda with young Hunter to start preparing for his own eventual move to Bermuda to set up a private practice in 2018.Arscott’s academic background and family story read like the model student’s guidebook. He was an ‘A’ student and athlete at Mona Preparatory, excelled later as an all-rounder at Campion College where he represented the school at Champs, and went on to become president of the Medical Students’ Association at the University of the West Indies (UWI) – a title he held from his second year until his graduation in 2005. He also founded the University’s first chapter of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, and maintained a post on the UWI Students’ Guild with future nation-building advocates Damion Crawford and Floyd Green.On leaving the UWI, Arscott was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, and during his time at Oxford led Lincoln College’s Middle Common Room (student body) as president, later becoming the College’s Junior Dean. The next stop was Harvard, where Arscott’s indefatigable work ethic and boundless energy combined to secure his positions with the ASPS, which have lately added a new dimension to his training as a medical academic.“I wanted to get a window into the inner sanctum as to how leadership in this field runs in American society; [to develop] more of a skill set in the field that I can take back home, [and] expand the network that I can draw on when I leave the United States and push the Caribbean agenda where I can. We put on this course called the essentials of leadership…the [ASPS] invited the elected chairs of the different committees to this two-part course. So far it’s phenomenal…in June we go to DC to meet with Congress to discuss the Affordable Health Care Act and where we fit in with advocacy, so now I’m really learning different skill sets in leadership, justice and in society.”Arscott’s achievements have spanned continents throughout his stellar academic medical career, yet his focus remains resolutely on his family and his home. His wife Christie is also a Rhodes Scholar, and as islanders they both share the desire to return home. Taking a view of home as the entire region, they decided to return first to her native Bermuda, with the intention of later taking their growing family to Jamaica.“My wife and I made the decision that we are going home. It took a lot of consideration: Am I going to be the chairman of a department in a university in the US, or am I going to go home and be head of care at home? Family and country first, or chase academia in the United States? I made the decision, thinking if I got to be 80 yrs old and looked back at life, which one would I regret not doing? With that in mind we made a seismic shift towards throwing our efforts behind going home. That move, mentally, emotionally and physically, started about 2 1/2 years ago.”They say leaders are made, not born, and this theory could have been based on the Arscott household. Both leading physicians, Arscott’s parents clearly encouraged his academic pursuits, but when he is asked about mentors in his life or his work/life balance, the true impact of the family that raised him becomes clear.“Until I was 14 I had never seen my father [reputed plastic surgery pioneer Guyan Arscott] asleep. As a Senior Consultant Plastic Surgeon, he often was still at the hospital operating when I arrived home in the evening and was already up reviewing patients’ notes when I awoke in the morning. Although he was extremely busy, he served as my athletics coach every other morning at 4:00 am throughout my years in high school and university, and he never missed my soccer games. He is my role model, who by example taught me very early on to treat everyone with dignity, and that being a caring ‘people-person’ is a key tenet of life. My father has something that I don’t have naturally – something I have to cultivate, learn and double down on. He has this gut… selflessness,.. where he just goes after the underdog every single time. Nothing is more important to him than his family and Jamaica. He came from a household where there were no medics, was self-motivated, driven, and he made it happen. Plastic surgery was a fledgling sub-specialty when Dad came back. Now, there is an entire ward for plastic surgery at [The Bustamante Hospital for Children], and there is an attending physician at the University Hospital and [Kingston Public Hospital].”Arscott’s life seems to have fallen perfectly into place, but his work ethic and brains merely served to back up meticulous planning and a clear vision:“If all else is failing around me, my academics never failed me, but one of my basic tenets is I always have a 5-10 year vision [that gives] me a sense of urgency now. I find setting that goal really gets the fire under your ass moving forward.”Interestingly, Arscott shares that important habits he has cultivated to guide him are less clearly planned themselves and include an appreciation for failure.“As far back as Mona Prep when I was nine, I was thrust into a leadership position. Empowering youngsters at that age to take up leadership roles gives them the confidence to become better through the various initiatives that come with these roles. I went on to be head boy at Campion. Success begets success… it’s a habit. The most important thing you learn… to become an effective leader… you learn about yourself; you learn how to connect with others and you learn to listen…about personality type, and how to empower others to get the best product at the end of the day. This comes with experience, seeing what you like in other leaders and learning how to fail.”Arscott recalls that his first real appreciation for failure was a lesson he learned outside the classroom in the national stadium: “I ran at Champs every year, made the finals in the 800m and 1500m races…I learned that whereas in education I would always do well, with track…I could do six or seven miles every other morning, then go to training… and run the same time that won the year before, and still not even medal! … so you bawl, and you learn discipline and how to fail… I learned there will always be somebody better than you in the room.”This personal sense of development, Arscott affirms, is central to how he maintains his own drive: “Do some introspection and [figure out] what you really want, constantly re-evaluate, critique yourself and re-calculate your goals, because it is EASY to go astray… tomorrow is a promise to no-one.”Eyeing his future in the Caribbean, Arscott outlines how he is planning to enter the Caribbean market and the need he seeks to address. He acknowledges with a laugh that the thought of moving to the most expensive city in the world – [Hamilton, Bermuda was ranked in 2016 as the most expensive city worldwide] leaving a cushy salaried residency at one of the most prestigious universities in the world seems nothing short of bonkers to many of his peers.“When I tell people I’m coming home, I have people saying to me on both sides of the pond that I must be crazy…I say, why not come home? The need is there, my family is there… if you live well it’s hard to beat in terms of the lifestyle, and if you bring the network and resources, then the sky’s the limit! In Bermuda, because of their proximity to the northeast USA they go offshore to get their care…but if you offer on island, then the insurance companies give preference. Their need is for somebody to cater to reconstructive and cosmetic needs. In terms of volume it’s just 70,000 people, so one or two surgeons can really fill a need. In Jamaica I don’t think we can begin to make a dent in the need yet. We are almost three million people. In the USA when McKinsey looked at the need for plastic surgeons per demographic findings range between 1 to 50,000 to 1 in 100,000 persons. In Jamaica we have 2 for 3 million people and they are working to the bone… The clinical acumen of doctors in Jamaica is extremely high because they work with little to nothing.”Arscott’s sense of purpose is clear, and with optimistic plans he and his family are making their transition to life back at home, following through on this next exciting phase in their future.“If you want to move the needle in life, especially working in medicine, you realise that life is really short [and] I feel like I have four lives to live… different things I could have pursued and still can… there’s medicine, but I also love public service…I love getting involved, like when I taught for a year downtown and worked with youth…part of me also thinks about getting involved with representational politics.. As a surgeon I see life and death every day… I’m now treating cancer patients that are younger than me… literally you realise that in the blink of an eye you could fall ill…life is extremely short. I first got into medical school 17 years ago, and it feels like yesterday… so when I think of where I can make the most difference, I say I am going home.”