More opportunities for nurses to upgrade their skills
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqGrxblHfTQ” width=”100%” height=”315″]
-Five receive doctorate scholarships, 8 receive masters scholarships to study in Brazil
-Scholarship awardees to return, develop local masters’ programme for nursing professionals
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Thirteen Guyanese health sector professionals have been afforded the opportunity to pursue studies for masters and doctorates in nursing education.
Nursing Education Co-Ordinator and Public Health Ministerial Adviser Mandy La Fleur is one of five recipients of a doctoral scholarship to study Nursing and Public Health at the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil.
The other candidates are Karen Roberts, Nicola Nero, Afesha Leacock-Marshall and Winifred Mardenborough-Razack. Along with them, eight other healthcare professionals have been identified by the Ministry of Public Health to complete a Masters in Nursing and Public Health.
According to La Fleur, the awardees pledged to return home after studies and be instrumental in establishing a Master’s degree programme at the University of Guyana.
“I want to say that the dividends for the country will be much greater than what is being expended because we pledge to come back and from this batch of professional, nurses and doctoral students we can open our own masters and doctors programme at the University of Guyana. This is our focus, this is our goal”, La Fleur detailed.
She added that the facilitation of the 13 scholarships highlight the Ministry of Public Health’s vested interest in the local nursing profession.
Those pursuing the Doctoral degree are expected to be the first of their kind in the nursing profession in the Caribbean region. Of these, three will be among the first batch to complete Bachelor’s of Science degrees in Nursing.
These scholarships were made possible through an offer from the Brazilian Government, giving the healthcare professionals the opportunity to be exposed to an upgraded level of nursing education. The scholarships were facilitated by the PAHO/WHO Guyana office with support from the Ministry of Public Health.
The Brazilian Government is standing the cost of tuition, while the Ministry of Public Health and PAHO/WHO will be covering miscellaneous expenses including airfare, ground transportation, meals and accommodation in addition to fees for books and materials needed to complete the course of study.
Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence indicated that this is the first gesture by the Brazilian government to support Guyana in furthering nursing education since the two countries celebrated 50+ years of diplomatic relations.
According to the minister, this forms part of the government’s commitment to enhancing the human resource capacity of those within the Public Health Sector.
The Minister stated, “Ensuring that our human resources in the area of nursing in Guyana is not only given the limelight but given the support for the upgrade of their skills and to ensure that they can be able to return to Guyana and share those experiences and their knowledge with their counterparts.”
The candidates were selected from the wide cross-section of the public health sector.
Dr. William Adu-Krow PAHO/WHO country representative stressed that the awardees should return as honour-students and dedicate themselves to developing the local nursing profession. He said, “I want like to take this opportunity to wish you well. I would like to also say that make sure you get as much as you can from this training so that when you come back, you play your role as part of the many pieces that we want to pull together. Pieces that can make the change that we all desire so that we can have the good life that we all want.”
By: Delicia Haynes.
Images: Jules Gibson.