MINISTER OF HEALTH Donville Inniss has disclosed that as of next school year, a number of changes will be made to the nursing programme at the Barbados Community College (BCC) to reverse the trend of student nurses failing the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration.As he delivered remarks at the 15th annual Gibson Memorial Lecture at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) recently, the minister said that following discussions with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the BCC, it was agreed that a committee would be established to advise on structures to be put in place to address this problem.“Some of the recommendations of the committee are as follows: admission requirements and student intake – no more than 80 students should be admitted annually over the next three years. This would be reviewed at the end of the period. Admission should be considered at three levels – academic requirements, entrance level/proficiency test, and aptitude assessment.“All tutors should participate in clinical activities, and a comprehensive examination should be reinstated. Report“In addition, the Nursing Council of Barbados has evaluated the General Nursing Programme and has submitted its report to stakeholders,” said Inniss as he listed the changes.The minister pointed out that nurses in Barbados and the majority of CARICOM countries could only advance by pursuing courses in nursing education or administration. This is why, he said, his ministry had undertaken in its training programme and budget for the year 2009-2010 to train nurses in the specialty of gerontology at the master’s level, which is being offered at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica.“In order to build and strengthen our management resources, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the UWI, has embarked on a Diploma in Health Sciences Development and Management Programme to equip nurses and other senior managers with skills which will enhance the delivery of services within the health sector.”
