The Department of Health has praised the achievements of two of their staff who recently added to their qualifications.

Ms Denise Samuels obtained her Dental Assistant National Board Certification (DANB) while Ms Laura Lynn Jackson earned her MSc in Public Health.

Ms Samuels currently works at the Oral Health Section of the Department of Health where she has had ten years of dental assistant training and experience.

“Throughout her time with the Department she has shown distinction as a natural organiser and problem solver,” said Senior Dental Officer Dr. Celia Nzabalinda. “We congratulate Ms Samuels on her achievement in obtaining her DANB ... it is truly well-deserved.”

Ms Samuels attended and completed the dental assisting course provided at the Bermuda College and thus was able to sit her examinations in Bermuda.

Registered nurse Ms Jackson recently returned from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in England, where she obtained her MSc — a feat which took one year on a full-time basis on-site.

She was the award recipient of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission 2012.

Ms Jackson is the Coordinator of Child Health at the Department of Health and currently supervises 14 positions — 12 community health nurses and two record clerks.

In 2010 she was chosen as Nurse of the Year for her work in the Department of Health and, in particular, her role in piloting the “Flu Express” initiative.