Patient Care is only one of the important jobs in the medical industry that are attracting a lot of attention.
It is against this background that the Government is aimed at providing job opportunities in this area.

The Pepperpot Magazine recently sat down with the Coordinator of the Patient Care Unit of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, Doneth Mingo, to talk about the industry and the job opportunities.

Mingo told Pepperpot Magazine that a patient care assistant is a mediator between the patients and the residents of the Palms Geriatric Home.
“ A Patient Care Assistant is an important person, in that they cushion the cares, they help the registered nurses, they are mediators between the patients and the residents. Registered personnel would more do managerial things, such as serve medications, do intravenous lines and even extensive dressings, while the Patients Care Assistant would do simple things such bed making, vital science and feeding of patients who cannot feed themselves,” Mingo told Pepperpot Magazine.

Two graduates of the Patient Training Programme spoke with Pepperpot Magazine about their experiences since starting the programme.
Shonette Sears from the ancient county of Berbice told the Pepperpot Magazine jow excited she was to fulfill a life long dream
“This is what I wanted all the time, and finally I get what I wanted, and in the future, I would like to go on to be a registered nurse (R.N).
This is just a start, it is just a stepping stone for me, but all is going well right now,” she said.

Sears told Pepperpot that she has no regrets about joining the programme since it is a lifelong dream being fulfilled.
She noted that she enjoys doing the job of a Patient Care Assistant, thus making the patients feel comfortable.
Another graduate, Faith Hohenkirk who hails from Bartica, said since she assumed the role of Patient Care Assistant, she has received benefits inclusive of an increase in her salary and free transportation to and fro work.

She maintained that the people that she cared for as a Patient Care Assistant are appreciative of her service.
“They got better and they left healthier and happier, the number of persons that got this experience was too numerous to mention,” the graduate told Pepperpot Magazine.
Mingo also revealed that with the training Patient Care Assistants receive, there are opportunities to branch off into various levels of medical careers such as Midwifery, Social Work and Physiotherapy.

The need for Patient Care Assistants is critical in the country and particularly at the Palms since they are the ones who are more need to take care of the residents there.
Recently, 35 Patient Care Assistants graduated from a training programme to work at homes/centres managed by the ministry earlier this year.
These 35 Patient Care Assistants (PCAs), are currently working closely alongside medical teams from the Palms, Night Shelter, Mahaica Home, the Hugo Chavez Rehabilitation and Reintegration Centre.

The Patient Care Coordinator also revealed that Patient Care in Guyana, if continued, will go a long way because we will always need Patient Care generally.
Patient Care has been in Guyana for more than two decades and it is thus seen as a stepping stone for further development, therefore, no doubt it is embraced by Government.