Calls were made for nurses to show care and compassion to their patients when the Guyana School of Nursing held its 27th Biennial graduation last week at the National Cultural Centre.
“Be compassionate and humble, put service at the core of what you do,” Hydar Ally, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health told the 197 nurses who will soon add their services to the public health sector.
“There is no other profession that allows you to serve humanity in this way. You are important since you are part of one of the oldest and noblest professions. You have to live up to the high standards of the profession,” Ally added.
He further urged them to bear in mind the Florence Nightingale Pledge which should serve as their guide. Referring to the current situation in the profession, he said that instead of nurses helping persons in some cases, they were adding to the struggles of patients.
The Permanent Secretary said he was pleased with the performance of the students given the constraints they faced in the course of their studies. This group formed part of 1,000 student nurses who were being trained, making them the largest batch ever in the history of the country.
At last week’s exercise, 95 registered nurses, 79 nursing assistants, 21 post-basic midwives and two single-trained midwives took the nurse’s pledge. Of this number 21 received awards for outstanding performance.
While noting the increase in numbers, he said the ratio of nurses to patients was still low. However, the ministry was working assiduously to remedy this situation given their resources.
Further, he added, discussions are ongoing with the University of Guyana to modify the curriculum so that nurses would acquire multi-dimensional skills.
Meanwhile, Principal Nursing Tutor Norma Semple in giving the school’s report for the period October 2008 – November 2010 said that the academic performance has been very good but she pointed out the limitations in the number of tutors and the size of the classroom.
While there have been increases in the number of students enrolled at the school, the classroom space has not increased, resulting in cramped conditions that have caused health concerns among students and tutors.
In terms of academic performance, the groups recorded a 95% overall pass rate at the state qualification exams. The nursing assistants and professional nursing students recorded 91% pass rates while the post midwifery and single programme had 100% passes.
In the new academic year, the curriculum is expected to be revised and the course will be divided into semesters, to prepare the students for university life. Additionally, infrastructural works being carried out at the school are expected to be competed by yearend which will see the opening of two large classrooms, three small ones, a library, and two labs. These improvements are expected to impact the environment and quality of education received.
Apart from space and staff, the other problems at the school include the lack of commitment from some tutors and the unpreparedness of students.
Semple declared that much more had to be done to prepare students for the world of work, including the exposure to more clinical teaching.
To combat the problem of staffing, she recommended that more tutors should be recruited to balance the student-tutor ratio. Additionally, she highlighted the need for a full-time social worker to assist students who encounter difficulties.
Commenting on requests for duty free concessions, she said that like teachers, nurses were eligible as well. “Since there is a shortage of nurses, you must find ways of retaining staff,” Semple said.
She noted also that the area of salaries and allowances needed urgent attention, and appealed for an increase in salaries. She pointed out that the housing allowance is currently $150 and suggested that it should be increased to $40,000.
In terms of remuneration, Ally said that nurses were not being treated any differently from other public servants, making reference to the salaries of teachers. He added that with training there must be some measure of sacrifice but the ministry was not opposed to reviewing the issue. While a recommendation was forwarded for nursing tutors to be given duty-free concessions, Ally said that was not the responsibility of his ministry but he assured them that representation will be made on their behalf to the relevant agency.
The programme included several cultural items and the presentation of certificates to the graduates.
