Latest update April 11th, 2025 6:58 AM
GPHC graduates inaugural batch of Critical Care Nurses
Even as it awaits accreditation from the General Nursing Council for its Critical Care Nursing Programme, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday graduated 17 Registered Nurses who made up the inaugural batch.
The 15-month long programme, which is the brainchild of Assistant Director of the Nursing Services, Owen John, commenced on July 25, 2011, and not only sought to boost the ethical skills of the nurses, but also entailed modules that dealt with care for patients with cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological disorders,
The inaugural batch of the Critical Care Nursing programme.
among others.
Courses were delivered on a voluntary basis by experienced and qualified Critical Care Nurses from the United States and catered mainly to nurses tasked with attending to patients in the Intensive Care Unit.
The initiation of the programme, according to John, was premised on expressed concerns that despite the best efforts of nurses assigned to the Unit, quality of care delivered would not improve significantly unless appropriate training was given to the nurses assigned to the Unit.
But John yesterday expressed disappointment that the programme although thorough, in terms of its content, was not accredited by the Nursing Council. He disclosed too that no reason was offered as to why the programme was not accredited.
The Assistant Director of Nursing explained that without accreditation from the Nursing Council, the graduated nurses will not be in a position to lobby for promotions or even higher salaries with their added knowledge.
However, the programme was yesterday lauded by senior hospital officials including Administrator of the Hospital, Michael Khan, and Director of Nursing Services, Sister Audrey Corry, during a graduation ceremony held at the hospital’s Multi-Purpose Room.
In sharing her views about the non-accreditation status of the programme, Sister Corry noted that “I would not say that we have failed to gain accreditation…What I am saying is that we have not yet gained accreditation…We are working on it. I am not seeing failure; we have only just started this programme.”
Her optimism was based on the fact that there were a number of other programmes that the Nursing Council had taken some time in approving.
“Some of you will know that when we did the Anaesthesia programme years ago it took us quite some time, probably about four or five years before we were able to get that programme approved by the Council and at that time we did say that any specialised programme for nurses was going to be easier to accredit, because we were laying the foundation at the time for other programmes.”
Moreover, the programme was dubbed one of the extended programmes catering to nurses with extended roles, a proposal that was taken to the Nursing Council in hopes that it would be embraced and allow for easy accreditation passage for future programmes.
“We are still having some difficulties because there are some things that we need to clear up, but I am confident that those things will be cleared and we will be able to get that programme accredited in a short time,” Sister Corry said.
Nevertheless, yesterday was regarded a “very proud day” by the hospital Administrator, who appealed to the nurses to “put the skills learnt and knowledge gained to good stead.”
Among those who graduated yesterday were Shaunette Abrams, Adunee, Archer Ramlall, Latoya Charles, Shinelle Higgins, Kuburat Onasanya, Nalini Persaud, Melinda Persaud, and Diana Sutton of the GPHC. Also graduating yesterday were Sandra Badley and Abiola King of the Linden Hospital Complex; Melissa Castello and Christabelle Fitzpatrick of the St Joseph Mercy Hospital; Trichelle Fraser and Basmattie Salim of the Suddie Hospital and Georgianna Jones, Devon Mc Lennon and Melinda Patterson of the West Demerara Regional Hospital.
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