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Third phase of Neonatal ICU Training Prog. ends tomorrow
Facilitator, Marion DeLand (fourth from left) and the Maternity Unit’s Senior Supervisor, Sis. Marjorie Arjune (extreme right) with NNU nursing staff involved in the training.
As part of the continuing activities associated with the implementation of the Magnet Hospital Initiative, PAHO/WHO is currently facilitating the third phase of training for nurses of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The Magnet Hospital Initiative arose from a visit by Dr. Una Reid, a Consultant contracted by PAHO/WHO, who did a study aimed at strengthening nursing at the GPHC.
Her findings from the survey revealed that the nurses were not duly recognized and appreciated for their efforts and as part of a motivational technique, she recommended that ‘Centers of Excellence’ be created, and this recommendation was forwarded to PAHO/WHO, hence the Initiative at the Neonatal Unit, Maternity Department, which was the pilot Unit for the project.
The Magnet Hospital Concept is one wherein best practices are employed by leading hospitals for the recruitment and retention of nurses. It is a system which “allows nurses to participate in decision-making through shared governance relative to patient care and other areas of professional practice,” according to the PAHO/WHO Draft Project Proposal, May-June 2010.
The main goal of the project is to create a work environment where the nursing workforce is motivated to engage in better services and care to patient, family and the community at large, resulting in improved health outcomes.
The first step in the initiative is to convert the current Neonatal Unit to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which will focus on the management and treatment of common disorders suffered by newborn babies. These include: Neonatal Nutrition, Metabolic Disorders, Haematological Disorders, Neonatal Infections and Neonatal Dermatology.
The first phase of the project began in October 2010 and this saw two Consultants from Chile doing on-the-ground (practical) training with the nurses in the Unit. The second stage followed closely with the theoretical aspect being reinforced. The third phase commenced on July 12, last, and is scheduled to end tomorrow.
This third phase is being facilitated by Ms. Marion DeLand, a Trained Registered Nurse, the holder of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Perinatal Nursing Certificate, Certificate in Health Care Education and a Master of Nursing-Leadership in Health Policy and Education, and over twenty (20) years experience as a Patient Care Manager in the NICU.
This training aims at certifying twenty (20) Neonatal GPHC Nurses, within an 18-month period, who will be fully equipped to deal with all neonatal matters.
To achieve the status of ‘Centre of Excellence’, a number of criteria had to be met, inclusive of the revision of certain policies, the restructuring of the Unit, the provision of certain hygiene-related items, the provision of crucial equipment, inter alia. PAHO/WHO, along with the Ministry of Health, the Guyana Burn Care Charitable Foundation and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, has already commenced procuring the necessary items and equipment for the Unit.
New Neonatal Incubators have been sourced, seven (7) of which have already been placed into the Unit, there are plans afoot to complete the reconstruction of the Unit by the end of September 2011 and items including sanitizers, liquid soap and paper towels are ever-present in the Unit.
All visitors (including doctors, nurses and other staff) must remove all jewelery and utilise the sanitizers provided before they enter the Unit. This is to ensure that no infections are passed to the already vulnerable newborn babies. The Unit has also been furnished with new bassinettes, breast pumps, IV pumps and phototherapy units. It will soon have an ultrasound machine.
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