William Aiken, affectionately called Bill, is the first graduate of the Doctor of Medicine (DM) Programme in Urology from The University of the West Indies, having successfully completed urological training in June 1998. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1995 and was awarded a commonwealth scholarship to Scotland in 1996. Upon graduating, Bill was immediately recruited as a consultant urologist in the Department of Surgery and two years later became a full-time lecturer in surgery at The University of the West Indies. He has supervised urology training at The UWI from 2000 to 2014 and during his tenure ten urologists graduated from The UWI and now fill posts in the Bahamas, Barbados, St. Vincent, and Jamaica. In 2013 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer and in 2021 was promoted to the rank of Professor of urology.
Bill has over 55 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 3 book chapters and one book. He is an opinion-leader on men’s health issues and has over one hundred non-peer reviewed articles in magazines and newspapers. He is a busy academic surgeon and also has a private practice in Kingston. In August 2023, Bill was appointed Head of the Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, and Emergency Medicine at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
Bill was President of the Jamaica Urological Society (JUS), the Caribbean Urological Association (CURA), and was Secretary and later President of the Association of Surgeons in Jamaica. He is an international surgical advisor (ISA) to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh on Jamaica and is an executive member of the Caribbean College of Surgeons. He is a board member of the Medical Council of Jamaica, an advisor to the National Health Fund and he has been a volunteer for the Jamaica Cancer Society since 1995 where he screens men for prostate cancer. Bill is also a member of the American Urological Association (AUA) and the European Association of Urology (EAU).
Bill has been a Rotarian since September 2001, having been invited by Professor John Lindo to become a member of the Rotary Club of New Kingston. Bill is a passionate Rotarian who maintained a 100% attendance record for years and he is integrally involved in the life of the club. Bill loves the camaraderie, fellowship and jovial banter that occurs weekly. He was the membership chair for his club in 2015 and served as President in 2017/18 copping the presidential citation and District awards on behalf of the club. As President, Bill was deliberate in strengthening the fellowship and partnership between the Rotary Club of New Kingston and the New Kingston Rotaract Club. He loves attending district conferences and RI conventions.
Bill is a RLI-certified discussion leader and has served as District vocational service chair in 2019, and in 2020 was appointed an Assistant Governor for Jamaica South-Central and served for three years. As Assistant Governor he successfully coordinated a multi-district world diabetes day seminar partnering with the Diabetes Association of Jamaica, the four clubs in Jamaica South-Central, the Rotary Club of Anguilla, and the Rotary Club of Liamuiga in St. Kitts from District 7030.