Disastrous nursing results continue in Guyana

…almost entire class fails exams
A nurse fell ill and was hospitalsed after she got a failing grade in the latest nurses’ examination. Reports reaching Kaieteur News stated that the nurse was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit of the New Amsterdam Hospital.
Another was speechless and a few others were contemplating suicide after they received the dreadful news that they were not successful at their latest nursing examinations. All this came about even as the Ministry of Health continues to boast about the improvement in the Health Sector in Guyana.
There was the public spat with the Guyana Nursing Council about the large classes and the minimal qualification requirement.
While not much information was garnered up to news time, it is understood that the situation is dire at the New Amsterdam School of Nursing with a large percentage of failure. Most affected was the Professional Nursing Programme where a mere fraction was successful.
A source had stated, “When you have large classes there is a problem meeting the students at their levels; there is no way that you can pay close attention to each of them.”
It is understood that the nurses in training should be exposed to at least four sessions of practical on a particular subject before they are required to practice themselves, but this has not been done. Another concern was the massive intake of nursing students and no tutors and limited class room spaces. Another concern was the arrangement in place with classes being held at different locations.
Many of the students’ concerns were raised with the relevant officials including the Minister of Health himself, but on many occasions the student nurses were threatened with disciplinary action.
Kaieteur News understood that persons applying for the nursing programme should have a science background. But there have been a number of cases where persons were accepted with little or no qualifications at all.
Most of the nurses are now contemplating their next move since a number of them have only one more chance to pass the examination and become eligible for the nursing programme.
A senior nursing official said that the situation does not augur well for the nursing programme in general and for the Ministry of Health as a whole. After so many years of prior sessions funded by taxpayers’ dollars and the nurses cannot pass then something must be terribly wrong, she added.
They are calling on the Minister of Health to stop the massive intake of nurses and help those already in the system.
When contacted in February about the daunting failing rate, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud had claimed ignorance about the situation. He had promised to give a detailed response when he was properly briefed. That response never came.