There has been massive resistance to the expansion of the nurses training programme, said Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, when he commented on the need for more persons to be inducted into the health sector.The Minister recently disclosed that the public health sector is poised to train more than 500 nursing students shortly, but noted that persons responsible for the training have sought to raise many concerns in their attempts to defer the increase in class sizes.Dr Ramsammy vocalised his belief that young people should be given the opportunity to receive training even as he lamented the fact that “all kinds of barriers are being put up to prevent us from giving more opportunities for training.”One of the concerns that has been raised is the condition of the buildings that house the country’s nursing schools, namely the Georgetown School of Nursing, the New Amsterdam School of Nursing and the Charles Rosa Nursing School in Linden.Admitting that the buildings are in need of upgrade, the Minister related that challenges have mounted due to the fact that the health sector has never before trained the numbers it has been taking in of recent.“These facilities have become a little bit challenging in terms of adequate space. The way we teach nursing now means that the buildings need to be upgraded to provide a more contemporary training facility.”And this, according to the Minister, is listed as one of the Ministry’s priorities in the coming years. The Ministry had, earlier this year, announced its plan to establish a training complex next door to the Ministry’s Brickdam headquarters.This will see all of the training programmes in Georgetown coming together at a single location.He said that at Linden, once the new hospital is fully operational, arrangements will be made for the upgrade of the school there.“We acknowledge that there are some issues with the conditions and for some people we should not expand the classes until those issues are taken care of. We need to upgrade the buildings but we shouldn’t defer the increase in the class size. Some people with the nursing training programmes have been more vocal in the conditions because there is a resistance to increase the class sizes.”Though conceding that the current condition of the school buildings is bad, and the need for them to be improved, the Minister stressed the point that they are much better that they used to be in the past.Another complaint that has arisen is focused on the fact that there are not enough tutors within the nursing schools. “This was presented to me in 1998 and I was unconvinced then and I am even more unconvinced today because we have more than 1500 nurses in the country. We have some very experienced nurses that can teach…We have doctors. Let’s say we have to teach anatomy; who says that it must only be a nurse to teach that? We have all of these doctors and everybody is looking to do something additional, we could change our class style to utilise the personnel we have,” the Minister asserted.He divulged that many in nursing classes, medicine and science in the developed countries are taught by part-timers,Nike Schuhe Schweiz Outlet, adding that some people have chosen to be resistant to this development locally.Further concerns surrounding the nursing programme include disclosures that applicants are allowed to enter the programme despite the fact that they do not have the requisite qualifications.But according to the Minister, such should not be the case as “more often than not persons with eight subjects at CXC do not want to do nursing. They want to go on a scholarship to Cuba.”“When we insist on young people having English and Mathematics to enter, we are putting up barriers. In 1998 I asked that the curriculum be changed so that it included English and Maths so that when young people enter the nursing school they can learn those subjects as well.”According to the Minister, there are thousands of young people who apply for the nursing programmes but do not have Maths or English and in some cases, neither, thus are told that they do not qualify.“I changed that law. They said it was in the law and I proved that many of them who were saying that can’t happen, they themselves got the chance to go to nursing school without the full qualification and became great nurses and now they want us to stop it?” stressed the Minister. However, it was in wake of the increased number of students applying and entering the Georgetown School of Nursing without the requisite qualification that it was observed that the re-sit level of examination had increased.Permanent Secretary in the Health Ministry, Hydar Ally, had told this newspaper that the Ministry was observing with much concern the unacceptable re-sit rate of students. It was disclosed to this newspaper that out of a class of 54 students training to become staff nurses, a mere 14 had passed the requisite three-segment examination. Failure to pass each component subjects a student to re-sit the examination.It was revealed to this newspaper that the problem is rooted in the fact that although the requirements for students entering the nursing school are at least four CXC subjects (grades one to three), with a mandatory grade one in English Language, this is not always the case. Reports are that neither the nursing tutors nor the Principal Tutor for that matter is allowed to screen the students’ qualification. As a result, students with grades three and four in English Language are in some instances allowed to sit the courses offered.But according to Ally, he is aware that only students with the requisite requirements are allowed to pursue the professional nursing and nursing assistants programme, adding that he personally has a hand in screening potential students.The Permanent Secretary stressed the fact that while the Ministry may not be able to put all of the necessary measures in place forthwith to address the concerns of the school, the Ministry will ensure that things will be notably improved at the school in the near future.Meanwhile, Minister Ramsammy has disclosed that the recent fire at the Ministry was the primary reason that a number of training programmes which was initially slated to have commenced this month were delayed.Among the programmes are the various nursing programmes including: the post basic, rural single training and regular programmes; dental auxiliary programme, the dentex programme, the rehabilitation assistant programme, the x-ray technician programme, the audiology practitioner programme, the pharmacy assistant programme, the medical laboratory technician programme, and the environmental health assistant programme. According to the Minister, currently interviews are being done and selection of candidates has begun which should see the programmes commencing next month. |