Partnership necessary to sustain GPHC Residency programme

Jan 30, 2013 News

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– overseas doctor

The need for partnerships was emphasised recently by renowned medical expert, Dr Sterling Williams, as he considered the local Residency Master’s Degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology programme which has a quality on par with that obtained in the United States and other countries around the world.

Despite admitting that the programme, which is offered by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, is very impressive, Dr Williams noted that its survival is dependent on very crucial partnerships.
According to him, Guyana, like many countries around the world, has a need for improvement not only in the area of obstetrics and gynaecology, but in every medical discipline. In fact, he disclosed that top local health officials have all agreed that there are things that are necessary to be looked at and “we can do some things right now…so there were some very healthy discussions about priorities and timetables and sort of doing the things that can be accomplished now and then later work on the ones that are more challenging.”
This past week Dr Williams met with Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran, and other top officials associated with the Residency Programme at the Public Hospital. These officials, he said, had alluded to a number of obstacles to improvement. However, he noted that together they can put economic and political pressure upon whoever needs to have pressure brought on them.
“They all seem to agree that these things are necessary and they are not negotiable and by working together they will get what they need. Individually it would be a very difficult challenge, and that is one of the things that I have learned. They are not only willing to work together, but they have found it necessary in order to accomplish their main goals,” Dr Williams noted.
According to him, from the small fragment of the local health sector that he was able to observe during his stay, Guyana is clearly moving in the right direction in terms of improved health care.
“From the limited preview that I have seen, that segment (obstetrics and gynaecology) is heading in the right direction. I can’t speak for all of health care because I haven’t seen it, but this programme definitely is heading in the right direction.”
In this regard, Dr Williams said that his vision for the local health sector is to see more partnerships formed. He underscored, too, that partnership does not only have to be forged “with only big time organisations like mine that have obvious things to offer in terms of education, but I am talking about partnerships with communities, with private citizens who need to buy into the effects of better education and the fact that it will bring about better health care.”
“We need partnerships of all kind…just talking with the media there is a chance that people out in the community who don’t know about this programme will learn about it, so I think partnerships of all kinds are part of my visions and they need to be established sooner rather than later.”
Dr Williams also emphasised that getting about the task of partnering, while it is very serious, could also prove to be very daunting. Moreover, he noted that the few people who were involved in the launch of the Residency programme would not be able to sustain it without a lot of help from a lot more people.
As such, he stated that there is a need for all segments of the Guyanese community to support this venture.
“The government, businesses, the educational resources; everybody has to buy into it and move along together. We need to engage the average private citizen who will be the recipient of this health care. We need to engage them in conversations and make sure we know what they want and make sure we hear their opinions and respect their opinions to ensure that we are doing this together.”
Dr Williams, who is the Vice President for Education at the American College of Obstetrics and Gyneacology in the United States, just last week administered the prestigious Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gyneacology (CREOG) to the inaugural batch of doctors undertaking the GPHC’s Residency Masters Degree Programme.
During his stay, he delivered several lectures and administered two examinations as part of his assistance to the residents undertaking the programme.  The CREOG examinations are the annual exams taken by all US Ob/Gyn residents as a benchmark of their progress and competency, and is now being offered to the local doctors participating in Master’s programme.
In fact, Dr Williams said that he is inspired enough by the programme to do a bit more to aid in sustaining it.
“I have been so impressed by what I have seen I would love to continue making a contribution of some sort, whether it is coming back personally or making sure something happens from the United States that I can affect.”
“I think that this is such an outstanding programme that I would like to make sure that I do my part, whatever it is, to make sure that it keeps going.”

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