The 41st joint meeting of the executive and education committees and tenth Practice Committee of the Regional Nursing Body (RNB) have agreed to the Caribbean Examination Council’s (CXC) proposal for an October 2013 start date for the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration (RENR), a release from the Caricom Secretariat said.
The meeting, at the Secretariat, on February26-28, reviewed and amended both the regional standard for nursing education, as well as the practice standard. The revision of these standards will be completed with aid from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Regional Office for Caribbean programme coordination.
According to the release, the objectives of the meeting were to discuss preparations for the CXC managed RENR; conclude the standards of nursing education; align nursing and midwifery legislation; formulate a regional policy for midwifery practice and streamline the role of nurses in school health programmes across the Region.
Also reviewed were the draft model legislation for nurses and midwives to enable the standardisation of regulation, registration and licensing across the Region. This legislation when approved by member states will provide the necessary legislative framework to push the free movement of those categories of workers within the Region.
The release said that a regional policy and strategy for midwifery practice were also drafted. A rapid assessment study of the status of midwifery among Caricom member states, undertaken by the RNB through the Caricom Secretariat, provided the basis for these discussions.
The study pinpointed key areas for standardisation to harmonise the midwifery practice across the Region.
