Sixty-four students were yesterday welcomed into the health care system at an orientation ceremony at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), GINA said. This is the 10th batch of Patient Care Assistants (PCA) to be trained at the hospital.
The six-month training will cover sessions on the Fundamentals of Psychology, Food and Nutrition, Occupational Health and Safety and care of hospital equipment. Addressing the students, who formed part of the largest class in the programme, Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton said that PCAs are as important as doctors and nurses, since they are responsible for making patients comfortable.
“This programme should be used as a stepping stone, since you can go on to achieve greater things. I want to encourage you to take full advantage of the training you will be provided with over the next six months, and to also grasp at other training opportunities in the future,” Dr. Norton urged the students.
Director of Nursing, Collene Hicks, encouraged the students to put their best foot forward and always aim to move up the ladder of success.
The hospital’s PCA programme has been in existence for 15 years, and to date, 337 persons have benefitted from training.
