daphne tina: Nurses' certification could hinge on CMEs : Kaieteur News

Nurses may soon be subjected to mandatory Continuous Medical Education (CME) sessions as part of their registration process. Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, made reference to such a development on Friday when he addressed a Midwives? Conference at the Regency Suites/Hotel, Hadfield Street, Georgetown.
According to him ?I would like to see it become mandatory, like among the doctors, that you have legislation for continuing medical education?not two lectures now here and two lectures in another Region.? The Minister spoke of the need for a raft of actions similar to what obtains in the Medical profession adding that ?continuous medical education will have to be a must.?
?In other words you cannot say ?I am a midwife and sit on my laurels and I will automatically get promotion or I will continue to be employed??so that certification process should include mandatory Continuing Medical Education,? insisted the Minister.
It is his expectation that the Midwives Association, which was formed out of the need for midwives to take responsibility for the development of the profession and the provision of quality midwifery services, would adopt a robust approach in this regard.
Besides this, the Minister said that he is anxious to see efforts being engaged to actively review cases of maternal mortality this year and using them as the basis for teacher materials.
?At the same time I would like to see you reaching beyond your immediate profession or circle in this regard. Talk to the doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation; bring them in, you have to have that group approach,? said the Minister.
Friday?s conference saw efforts being made to underscore the importance of training midwives not merely to ensure that they were qualified but to ensure that they were a part of a team. It was with this in mind, the Minister said, that ?I want to see a CME type review. We need to analyse mistakes that were made. The analysis is not that this year we had less deaths and last year we had more, but we have to look at the various cases vigorously? .
Of importance, he asserted, is the need to examine closely, cases that professionals were delinquent in submitting since June of this year. The Minister was at the time referring to maternal mortality cases that are gaining the attention of Cabinet.
?We are somewhat alarmed at the level of Cabinet about the maternal mortality deaths. We have been agitated by this since around November 2010 and then there were two consecutive media reports of maternal deaths?.?
According to the Minister he still awaits reports on maternal deaths that were reported in the media ??Cabinet and I am displeased that since June of this year I have not received a single report concerning even those high profile maternal deaths.?
The onus is on midwives, he stressed, to take pride in their conduct even as he reflected on the practice of a few old individuals within the profession.
?In the old days I know midwives used to keep journals of how many deliveries they did and I have been told by the Chief Medical Officer that there is an old midwife in the Mabaruma area who still, up to recently, continues that practice.?
Such actions, he intimated, will allow for midwives to follow their work and easily detect an interesting case when it occurs and even seek to uncover ways to embrace self-development.
Elaborating on the notion of self-development, the Minister said that it is imperative that, particularly the young midwives learn about the use of various drugs that might have been recommended or issued by doctors.
?These are things I want you to do to probably improve your Association and practice on the ward. Here you would actually be showing leadership, because when there is a contentious case, for example a maternal death and in some instances a near miss, you will be able to consult?.?
Embracing the motto ?Midwives: making a difference in the lives of women, children, families and communities? the Midwives Association was officially launched on May 6, 2009. Since then, midwives have organised and conducted continuing education sessions and held yearly conferences which also provide an environment for fostering unity and networking. With a membership of 85, it was just recently accepted as a member of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) which supports, advises and strengthens associations of midwives across the world.