CICU nurses to optimise healthcare delivery
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, November 30, 2017
Sixteen (16) nurses, exposed to specialised training over a one-year period, are now adequately trained to perform duties in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
On Wednesday, November 29, this first batch of CICU nurses graduated from a training programme facilitated by the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the Guyana Programme to Advance Cardiac Care (GPACC).
Some of the graduate nurses posing with their certificates. Georgetown Public Hospital officials and University of Calgary officials are seated in the picture.
Co-Director of the GPACC programme, Dr. Wayne Warnica said initially when the venture commenced, physicians were taught to read and interpret echocardiograms and assist with diagnostic procedures. However, supporting agencies facilitating the training discovered that cardiac disease in adults (has) developed for almost a generation in Guyana, as opposed to what pertains in North America. This propelled the creation of a programme to train nurses who will play an integral role in patient care and assistance with the CICU.
According to Programme Coordinator and Clinical Instructor of the University of Calgary, Dr. Karen Then, despite encountering a number of challenges during the exercise, there is now a fully trained and equipped core of nurses who will dedicate their skills and knowledge to the task at hand.
“We started with the basics and the development that I have seen is tremendous and is no different than I have seen in any other country.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GPHC, Brigadier (Retd.), George Lewis reflected that “nursing training has been left back, while training for the doctors has progressed at a rapid pace.” To this end, the GPHC has sought ways to train nurses in specialised areas, guaranteeing optimized healthcare delivery.
“I am really happy to see over the last week or so that we have graduated nurses in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit and now tonight cardiac intensive care unit, this is a step in the right direction,” the CEO noted.
Registrar of the Cardiology Unit, Dr. Terrence Haynes added that the graduates should be encouraged to further their studies in relative fields. The training programme for CICU nurses is ongoing and 25 other nurses are presently undergoing training.
By: Delicia Haynes
For more photos, click on the link to the DPI’s Flickr Page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/142936155@N03/