In the quest to maintain a flagship status at the University of Guyana, the Faculty of Health Sciences is gearing to introduce its latest programme. This disclosure was recently made by Dean of the Faculty, Dr Emanuel Cummings.
According to him, in 2014, the Faculty will be launching a Masters in Public Health programme. “We will be looking to admit all the health care professionals: nurses, doctors, pharmacists, medical technologists, dentists and everyone else.”
The programme, he disclosed, is being done with the support of the Vanderbilt University in the United States, and will offer those enrolled an opportunity to significantly expand their horizons.
With funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the programme will be added to the collection of outstanding programmes already being offered by the Faculty, according to the Dean.
Commenting on the Bachelors of Nursing Programme already being offered by the Faculty too, Dr Cummings said that he would also want to ensure that the nursing programme which was introduced in 2002 becomes as fully accredited as the medical programme. Since 2005, more than nine programmes have been established in medicine. “I want the development of nursing to go hand in hand with the development of medicine…I would want the nursing programme to ensure it becomes fully accredited with the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine (CAAM) like the other programmes.”
Earlier this month, Jamaica-based CAAM officials were scheduled to visit the University of Guyana with a view to re-accrediting the medical programme.
The programme had received four years of full accreditation which expired October of last year, according to Dr Cummings. The CAAM officials, he disclosed, were not able to undertake the process before because a hurricane in Jamaica hindered their travel.
“The folks couldn’t leave there to come here and so the new date was set for them to visit from March 11 to review the medical programme and it is more than likely, I am more than 90 per cent sure, that the programme will again be fully accredited once again,” said an optimistic Dr Cummings.
“We want nursing also to follow in that footstep so that it can be fully accredited,” he added.
Accreditation, according to Dr Cummings, simply allows for a programme to attract students from other parts of the Caribbean thereby paving the way for what he described as “cross fertilisation.”
“This is so we don’t have what Professor Harry Drayton would usually refer to as professional incest where you have the same people teaching the same people. Instead we can have persons from other parts in the Region so that they can come and there can be new ideas and make our programmes stronger and stronger,”
His comments were forthcoming even as he publicly announced his plans to eventually demit the office of Dean.
Dr Cummings has been Health Sciences Dean for the past 10 years and according to him “I no longer want to be Dean…and I think someone else has to take on that role.”
However, he assured that his intent is certainly not to quit the educational institution. “Of course I want to be there, I don’t want to leave the University of Guyana. This is my second home; I have been here for over 20 years now and I don’t think I want to leave the University…” he added.
