Several Guyanese nurses will be undergoing training in prenatal and burn care at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation starting later this week. The training will be facilitated by two Guyana-born overseas-based medical professionals, Registered Nurse Vernie Ally, a certified instructor in neonatal resuscitation, and Dr Peter Akai, a specialist in wound care and infectious diseases.
The programme was organised by the Guyana Burns and Health Care Charitable Foundation, which will be celebrating its 12th anniversary on Monday.
Nurse Ally will be conducting classes for 24 nurses in the areas of foetal monitoring and resuscitation programmes, preparing them for the upcoming online examinations via which they will be given Canadian accreditation.
Ally has facilitated a number of training sessions in Guyana through the foundation, but this is Dr Akai’s first visit since his migration. He will be meeting with local doctors and nurses of the GPHC’s Burn Care Unit and also reviewing the needs assessments of the hospital.
Dr Akai will be conducting three sessions on the “10 commandments” of wound care for 18 nurses from the medicine programme and three from the Burns Care Unit.
Guyana Burns and Health Care Charitable Foundation President Harry Harakh said the benefits of this training make it worthwhile for nurses, since it will enhance their job performances, saving lives and increasing the hospital’s capacity.
Ally has been a regular volunteer at the foundation, and Dr Akai has been pushing to do something for Guyana, Harakh noted.
He said he was satisfied with the performance of the local Burns Care Unit while acknowledging its shortcomings.
“…our commitment is not to the institution, but to the patients who are burnt. When we go in there, we have to know what our options are, we either do nothing or get something done,” he stated.
The foundation’s president pointed out that it would have to get things done, since it is aiming , one day, “be the best that can be done”, noting that they were not quite there yet.
“I’m comfortable with what we have done so far and happy that we are continuing with our commitment to have the capacity and service of the Burn Unit to be more effective in the outcomes,” he said.
Enhance skills
GPHC Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan expressed joy at the return of the team, noting that whenever they come, they always engage in work which benefits him and his hospital.
He urged the nurses who will be undergoing the foetal monitoring and resuscitation training to work hard and take advantage of the training.
“The only thing I worry about that is that she (Nurse Ally) is upgrading you and making it easier to get into Canada when the time comes, and that’s my only worry–we can’t afford to lose our nurses to the First World, but, at least, it will enhance your skills which will make you a better nurse,” the GPHC CEO told the nurses.
