THE final batch of post graduate nurses being trained to become Medex were charged by the Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, yesterday at Ramphal House to continue on the path of higher education, as he lauded the benefits of the New Pathway Medex Training Programme, which replaces the post graduate nurses’ Medex training programme.

The former Medex training, which started 30 years ago, was an 18 month programme that built on the skills and knowledge of nurses as they were trained to become Medex or ‘Barefoot’ doctors as they were commonly referred to.

In many areas, especially in the early years in the introduction of the Medex programme, it facilitated the only access thousands of Guyanese had to health care services, which is an area that has drastically changed over the years with numerous programmes coordinated by the Ministry of Health to boost the health sector.

Minister Ramsaran stated that in order to ensure that the nursing resources are not depleted, there needed to be revision of the curriculum, hence the initiative of the New Pathway Medex Training Programme which will seek to induct individuals with a minimum of five subjects with grades one to three, inclusive of English and the Sciences.

Director for Health Sciences and Education, Mr. Noel Holder, added that currently the pilot batch for the New Pathway Medex Training Programme, involving 26 individuals from across Guyana, is scheduled to be completed in March or early April, after 42 months of training.

In an invited comment, Minister Ramsaran pointed out that the 42 months of training were necessary to bring the trainees up to par with the skills of post graduate nurses, eventually resulting in the newly trained Medex being certified with an Associate Degree by the University of Guyana.

Of the 18 participants in the old programme, 66-year-old Doreen Wade, the oldest trainee, as well as Bernadette Kennedy, whose daughter is a doctor who returned recently from Cuba, were acknowledged for their dedication to the health care in Guyana.

Wade stated that since the programme began on November 13, 2006, her experience as a nurse helped her Medex training in many ways.

“I have served in many areas across Guyana as a nurse and midwife, and my experiences have enabled me to cope with the Medex training programme, and to help my fellow nurses as we worked together,” Wade said.

Minister Ramsarran, highlighting another type of partnership, pointed out that four of the nurses were from other sectors, including Barama Company, the Prisons, the Guyana Defense Force and the Municipality, and noted that this was a means of strengthening partnerships among the sectors.

The coordinator of the post graduate programme, Mr. Wilton Benn, in his address to the participants, called for networking among the care givers so as to better serve in the health care profession.

He also called for them to be honest, open to new ideas, to give of their best, and to treat persons with the dignity they deserve in all areas of service.

The multiple avenues of service were highlighted by Chief Medex Morris Jeffery who recognised the work of the Medex as not only a means of forging partnerships but as a means of serving in different capacities to promote health and saves lives.

“These new Medex, though they are not doctors, will be acting as nurses, pharmacists, environmentalists and councillors as they cater to the needs of people,” Jeffery posited.

Ms. Maria Jeffers, the class representative, emphasized this in her address on behalf of her colleagues, and gave the assurance that the information and knowledge imparted to them during their training would be put into practice to provide efficiently for the health care needs of Guyanese.
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