A Change in Nursing Perception

Jan 05, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

It is with mixed emotions that I read Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony’s plea during the recent launching of the Nursing Assistant Programme in Region Two. In the wake of Guyana’s beleaguered public healthcare system, and the criticism regarding healthcare received, he implored the trainees to recall why they chose the profession, and further encouraged them to render care in a trained and compassionate manner. Wonderful words, well-articulated but ones that should be kept foremost in the minds of the members of the Nursing Assistant Selection Committee, rather than serve as the mainstay and ballast in a commencement speech.

The list of qualities that nurses must exhibit is endless, and can be both personal and professional, so narrowing the list to just a few traits can prove to be ultimately problematic. Empathy cannot be taught in a nursing assistant programme. It is the individual’s ability to put him/herself in the place of another and understand how that person is feeling. Empathy allows a nursing assistant to provide better care because he/she is helping patients from the patient’s point of view and not that of him/her.

Let it not be forgotten or in any way be overlooked that hopefully the nursing staff (regardless of status), at the Georgetown Public Hospital all underwent a selection process prior to commencement of training. It should be during the interviewing and ultimate selection process that the desired qualities etc. are stated, demonstrated, authenticated, elaborated through questioning by the interviewer and given responses by the interviewee(s). It logically follows that members of the Nursing Assistant Selection Committee should be more astute judges of expected personal and professional characteristics and traits that differentiates one applicant from another and augurs well for the profession as a whole. Nurses are not the only ones in whose direction the digits should be pointed, for a nurse does not become a curse to the profession overnight, it is simply a demonstration of failed detection and inspection before certification.

Concomitantly, the role of the nursing assistant must not be downplayed, for they are basically the second pair of eyes to the nurse, most importantly because of the actual bedside contact time spent with the patient. Such an act is therapeutic in more ways than one, with the patient responding well to treatment demands under the guidance/supervision of someone who epitomizes confidence, care and respect. Sadly, however, in Guyana, the culture of respect has eroded, and this attitude has seeped into the healthcare arena with resultant display in the manner in which care is given, at a critical time to the most vulnerable.

From time immemorial, displaying respect for patients has been part of the foundation of excellent nursing care. Again, respect is not taught, nor is it something that one has to beseech from another human being. Respect in the healthcare sector helps to create and maintain a healthy environment in which patients irrespective of ethnicity feel cared for as individuals, and members of healthcare teams are engaged, collaborative and committed to service.

Nurses are regarded as the backbone of every healthcare system in the world, and to all good accounts due to the importance of the backbone and its involvement in almost all body functions, the time has come for an overhaul of the Guyanese nurse training system, especially as it relates to the Nursing Assistants.

The Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, Chief Nursing Officer, Nursing Tutors and all other stakeholders are called upon to ensure that not only are the requirements in place but also effectively mobilized to ensure that the backbone is kept erect and gaining strength as displayed by all those who comprise the backbone, and voiced by the recipients of the service– the patients.

Regards,

Yvonne Sam

Latest News

A Change in Nursing Perception

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 4th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

GCA, East Coast surge to huge wins

GFF/Concacaf kick off two-day Match Commissioners...

Chase’s Academic outclass Bartica to move...

Three Miles Secondary make clean sweep of Jagan...

National Chess champions off to Trinidad and...

‘One Guyana’ 3×3 Quest tips off today

Features/Columnists

This must not be our hour of humiliation

The U.S. “Joining” the Commonwealth: an unreasonable expectation

Security – Guyana needs it, pays for it

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

A Change in Nursing Perception

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 4th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]