Physically challenged Belizean among graduates of GPHC’s orthopaedic programme

Oct 02, 2015 News

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“The patient is first; everything else is secondary.” This was the categorical assertion of Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr Fawcett Jeffrey, when he delivered the charge to a batch of graduating orthopaedic technicians yesterday.

Dr Jeffrey at a graduation ceremony hosted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC’)s Resource Centre sought to encourage the newly qualified technicians to share their knowledge. He warned that they have completed their training and are now ready to take up the responsibility of delivering care.

An Orthopaedic Technician is tasked with working closely with the orthopaedic surgeons to care for patients with injured joints and bones. They are mainly tasked with applying casts, splints and braces.

Dr Jeffrey, an orthopaedic surgeon for many years, made it clear to the graduates that their role is now to be a part of an orthopaedic team and to adhere to the guidance of their superiors.

“You have done a wonderful job and we expect that you will continue progressing forward,” he urged.

The technicians, among them eight Guyanese– Satrohan Dharamdin, Grennion James, Keyon Justice, Sandy Manns, Jenella Paul, Sunita Persaud, Darren Singh and Oriel Williams – were trained over a one-year period. They were drawn from Georgetown, Berbice, Essequibo, Mahdia, Mahaicony, Kamarang and Leguan. Making up the batch of 10 were two Belizean soldiers, Raul Coc and Emil Mendez.

However, completing the programme was not uncomplicated for Mendez. He like Coc left his homeland of Belize just over a year ago in order to participate in the programme. Mendez was subjected to an unfortunate confrontation with a gunman last December during which he was robbed and shot in the back.

Recovery has been a hard road for him especially when it was discovered that both of his feet were paralysed as a result of his injuries.

He was required to undergo surgery that was intended to prevent secondary injuries.

Given his condition a decision was made for Mendez to return home before completing the programme.

But encouragement from his close-knit classmates was apparently enough for Mendez to soldier on with the aid of a wheel chair and then a walker. He passed with credit.

“He made a brave decision and decided to stay here and complete what he came here for,” said Coordinator of the programme, Dr Kaaleshwar Ramcharran, of Mendez.

Reflecting on the programme period, Dr Ramcharran disclosed that it commenced on October 13, 2014 and concluded on September 30, 2015.

According to him, during the first five months, students, under the supervision of senior technicians and doctors, were exposed to lectures as well as practical sessions which were conducted in clinics and on the wards at the GPHC.

For a period of three months they were introduced to the main operating theatre where they were trained as orthopaedic scrub nurses as well as surgeon assistants. “During this eight months they were continuously being evaluated with numerous assessments in the form of assessments as well as tests and at the end of the eight months they had a final examination,” according to Dr Ramcharran.

The final examination was followed by a period of internship.

Graduating at the top of the class was Jenella Paul who is slated to continue to exercise her skills at the GPHC.

Dr Ramcharran however made it clear that all of the graduating students’ performances were exceptional with Paul and Darren Singh securing distinctions while the others secured credits.

Paul and Singh were presented with prizes for their outstanding performances as was Mendez for continuing his studies despite being faced with a daunting physical challenge.

Speaking at the forum yesterday was recently appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alan Johnson, who observed that those graduating were poised to achieve great things if they so desire.

Representing Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings who was unable to attend the event was Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jeetendra Mohanlall. He lauded the performances of the students and went on to outline the evolution of the health sector over the years.

Dr Mohanlall emphasized that Guyana, like many developing nations, has been assiduously striving to provide the population with optimal, equitable and accessible health services. As a result, he noted that the Ministry of Public Health has evolved into one of the largest and most diversified Ministries in the country.

Moreover, he noted that the learning environment for medical training has been greatly enhanced over the years through collaboration with the various institutions including Guyana’s number one teaching hospital – the GPHC.

The graduating class represented the fifth batch to participate in the GPHC’s orthopaedic programme conducted by doctors. But according to Chairman of yesterday’s proceedings, Brother Owen John, orthopaedic training was being conducted at the GPHC years earlier by nurses (himself included) and orthopaedic technicians.

In fact, Dr Jeffrey disclosed yesterday that he himself was trained by a technician. “A technician made me what I am today,” he confessed to the gathering which included recently reappointed Matron, Sister Collene Hicks, and Sister Noshella Lalckecharan both of whom helped to present the technicians with their certificates.

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