Darroux highlights efforts of nurses to pursue higher education

Nurses in Dominica
Nurses in Dominica

As Dominica joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Nurses Day on Thursday, May 12 , Minister for Health and the Environment, Dr. Kenneth Darroux, has highlighted the efforts of nurses to pursue higher education.

In his national address to observe the day, he divulged that 100 percent of educators at the Dominica State College (DSC), and 78 percent of nursing supervisors are trained at graduate and undergraduate levels.

This, Darroux stated, in addition to new programs offered at DSC, facilitates a higher level of basic training in nursing.

“This has facilitated a higher level of basic training in nursing to meet the demands of the health care environment,” he explained. “I refer to the introduction of the generic and accelerated Bachelor of Science degree in nursing program and the Bachelor of Science degree in midwifery now taught at the Dominica State College.”

He went on to reveal that several Dominican nurses are currently pursuing specialized training, to adequately address issues of chronic non-communicable diseases, and to improve maternal child health, among other areas.

The areas of training include, Advance Practice Nursing, Intensive Care, Public Health, Mental Health, Maternal and Child Health, Counselling, and Nursing Administration. The training is being undertaken at tertiary level institutions in the region and internationally.

There are also provisions for short-term training in Oncology and Dialysis, in the United States, on an ongoing basis, as well as disaster management and mass casualty management, locally.

The Minister reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to the development of the nursing service.

Meantime, Darroux implored the continued support of nurses in improving the resilience of the health system.

Cooperation, he said, will be especially vital with the introduction of state of the art facilities, technology, and equipment, and improved working conditions will be significantly improved, upon the completion of the new hospital.

“I therefore, take this opportunity to implore the continued co-operation and support of our nurses as a force for change in their various roles at all levels, as they contribute to improving the resilience of the health system during the anticipated challenges throughout the construction of the new hospital,” he said.

He expressed his appreciation for nursing service at all levels and pledged that the government will endeavor to continue the initiatives to provide a safe work environment and overall improvement in health care.

Darroux noted that nurses are the largest single group of health professionals in the Ministry of Health.

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6 Comments

  1. May 14, 2016

    Instead of asking for more nurses ,take a look into the hygiene system first.I witnessed at the emergency there is a toilet which smells very bad,either it is blocked ,not flushed after each use , the stench pipe is missing or blocked.Stop using plastic used breeze pales to wash medical tools,the sink is made of concrete instead of steel ,there is only a cold water pipe, when there should be hot and cold,each patient should lay on either a cloth sheet or paper sheet instead they are placed on the plastic surface,asthmatic blow in paper bags which cannot contain the air they breath ,asthmatics need peek flow meter to monitor their asthma.There was a serious bed bug problem in the hospital ,now other medical centers have pests ,each medical center should have a washing machine and a dryer.how can a medical center wash medical fabrics ,then put them to dry on a public veranda next to the road side in this day and age? To much health and safety issues in the medical system in Dominica.

  2. I rather be a Doctor
    May 13, 2016

    I have never met a pleasant nurse at the Accident and Emergency department at PMH in Dominica in my life. Please educated them on be polite to patients. Understand that a patient will be irritable when he/she is sick, in pain or needs urgent medical attention. Nurses this is what you signed up for. Most of them are very unpleasant and will not regard you unless you start acting up. Approach one upon arrival and come back and tell us about it. Some of them act like you bothering them. I was told by one “would you like me to put you on a dirty bed? How is that my business, how was I suppose to know that., tell me someone has to come clean up so be patient i was in pain but rather she left the window and went inside for a few minutes to get away from me. I have seen that type of behavior a lot of times at PMH

    I dropped nursing first semester at college, I have seen too much ill-treatment of patients at PMH. I would not like to work with these people in that kind of…

  3. love I
    May 12, 2016

    We have wonderful Nurses in Dominica…please take care of our Nurses Mr. Minister

    • OLI
      May 14, 2016

      It’s very true we have SOME wonderful nurses in Dominica….. sadly it can’t be said for all. A few have really bad attitudes, attitudes which are not for the nursing field.

  4. In the beginning of nursing the profession was born out of a need for doctors to have helpers to assist them in subordinate roles leaving the physicians more time to do the things they alone were trained to do. Nurses training was good but basic and there was little encouragement for them to grow professionally

    This has changed with specialities developing within nursing, and more health care services being delegated to nurses.

    Here is Canada there is sometimes a shortage of M.D.s in a locality and people report they cannot find a family doctor. Doctors in general or family practice are saying that are not accepting new patients. We have a painful (no pun intended) medical shortage in towns and villages across Canada especially in the northern parts.

    • Nurses are being encouraged to further their education.

      Community colleges are coming aboard not only training regular nurses but proving specialized and advanced courses often leading to recognized degrees. In the far north there are nurses doing work doctors should be doing. The new focus on nursing education has made this possible.

      We thank God for our nurses :!:

      Thank God for Dr. Kenneth Darroux and others like him.

      May they keep push ahead to make the country a better place.

      Sincerely, Rev. Donald Hill. Evangelist.

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