14 more nurses undergoing critical care training at GPHC
The 14 nurses who yesterday embarked on a 12-month period of training in Critical Care Nursing being offered at the GPHC.
The 14 nurses who yesterday embarked on a 12-month period of training in Critical Care Nursing being offered at the GPHC.

AS the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) continues to facilitate education and training to upgrade skills in key areas of nursing, 14 nurses from that institution and other regional hospitals on Monday commenced training in Critical Care Nursing at the institution. 

The programme which will run for 12 months was launched at the GPHC’s Resource Centre, New Market Street, and this is the second batch of nurses to be trained locally in this field. The first batch, comprising 18 nurses, was trained in 2011 and the programme lasted 15 months.

At the head table from left are   Nicholas Corbin, Manager, Training and Development; Owen John, Programme Director and Facilitator Dr. Rowland Ramdass.
At the head table from left are Nicholas Corbin, Manager, Training and Development; Owen John, Programme Director and Facilitator Dr. Rowland Ramdass.

The project is in keeping with the GPHC’s mission statement which speaks to the need “to provide a comprehensive range of quality healthcare services in an efficient, effective and caring manner, together with teaching and research activities designed to ensure excellence in-patient care education and research.”
Chairperson was Mr. Nicholas Corbin, Manager, Training and Development, and giving an overview was Programme Director, Mr. Owen John.
John, in a brief overview, explained to the nurses what critical care nursing is all about; what is expected of them, and how they can apply the skills acquired during training to help save lives in this very delicate area.
According to John, “A critical care nurse is a licensed professional nurse who is responsible for ensuring that acutely and critically ill patients and their families receive optimal care.”

 Mr. Owen John, Training Director, addresses the forum at the GPHC’s Resource Centre.
Mr. Owen John, Training Director, addresses the forum at the GPHC’s Resource Centre.

He noted also that, ‘critically ill patients’ are defined as those patients who are at high risk for actual or potential life-threatening health problems. The more critically ill the patient is, the more likely he or she is to be highly vulnerable, unstable and complex, thereby requiring intense and vigilant nursing care.
Preparing them psychologically for the task at hand, the Programme Director said that, essentially, critical care nurses must focus on making clinical decisions related to complex patient care. Their activities include risk appraisal, interpretation of diagnostic tests and providing treatment, which may include prescribing medication.
Additionally, critical care nurses practice in settings where patients require complex assessment, high-intensity therapies and interventions and continuous nursing vigilance.
* They rely on a specialized body of knowledge, skills and experience to provide care to patients and families and create environments that are healing, humane and caring.
* The critical care nurse is foremost a patient advocate, meaning that they respect and support the basic values, rights and beliefs of the critically ill patient.
The nurses’ training will be intense, and will be based on selected teaching methodology and instructional strategies. It will include, among other things, lectures, demonstrations; laboratory techniques; one-on-one instructions; group discussions, individualized study; independent research and seminar presentations
There will be ongoing theoretical and practical student evaluation and a minimum of ten writing tests will be given. The final exams will consist of three parts and will be graded accordingly: Practical; Theoretical and Oral. Candidates will be expected to obtain passes in each of these areas in order to successfully complete the course. However, there will be supplemental exams for those who fail.
Meanwhile, overseas-based facilitator, Guyanese-born Dr. Rowland Ramdass also delivered brief remarks to the nurses. In introducing Dr. Rowland,Training Manager, Nicholas Corbin commended Dr. Rowland’s enthusiasm, commitment and dedication to the programme and expressed gratitude to him for availing himself to further the training and professional development of the nurses.
Ramdass, a nursing expert, who has spent the greater part of his life working in hospitals in the United States, and who visits Guyana occasionally for the purpose of upgrading the patient-centred skills of nurses here is impressed with what he’s seen of the local nurses – their dedication to the profession and openness to becoming better qualified for the task in hand.
Ramdass, a doctorally prepared nurse, working at the New York Presbyterian Hospital of Cardiology, and who also works at the Birmingdale State College, last year concluded his third round of voluntary training for nurses at the GPHC.  These voluntary contributions are all aimed at improving nursing at GPHC so that patients would ultimately benefit from better nursing care.

(By Shirley Thomas)

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