The Ministry of Health is hailing the graduation of 434 persons from the Georgetown School of Nursing as a major accomplishment.
It is also the largest graduating class since the school was established in 1945.
This achievement reflects the Ministry of Health’s efforts to strengthen Guyana’s healthcare workforce.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony at the National Cultural Centre on Tuesday evening, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, told the graduating class that everyone was guaranteed a job in healthcare sector.
The job placements will allow graduates to utilise their training as registered nurses, nursing assistants, and midwives.
The graduates expressed gratitude for the opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream of providing quality healthcare to communities across Guyana.
Nicola Dawson, the top graduate of the professional nursing programme, said she planned “to serve the people of the community and look after their needs…it has always been my dream and it has become a reality.”
An aspiring midwife, Jason Daniels, said the programme will enable him to enhance healthcare in his small village in Region Two.
The programme’s accessibility allowed scores of individuals from remote communities to enrol and successfully complete the training.
Minister Anthony emphasised that this initiative is one of many government efforts aimed at improving healthcare services across the nation.
“One of the things that we have been doing apart from building infrastructure is that we’ve invested a lot of resources in training people” the minister said.
He also said that “we recognize that we have to get a trained workforce if we are going to deliver quality healthcare.”
With regards to healthcare infrastructure, the ministry is currently constructing a world-class paediatric and maternal hospital in Ogle, while $6.5B has been invested to construct six new regional hospitals at Bath, De Kinderen, Diamond, Enmore, Lima and No. 75 Village.
These hospitals are expected to open by the second quarter of 2025.