High school students to participate in Hospital Ready Programme
Mon, Jun 22, 2015, Turks & Caicos Weekly News
NINE students from high schools in Providenciales will participate in a one week Hospital Ready Programme to familiarise themselves with all the departments of the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.
During a press conference at the Providenciales hospital on Wednesday (June 17) hospital affiliates for the project elaborated on the first phase which took place last year, and on the upcoming second phase.
The programme, which is being sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the hospital, will give students the opportunity to be exposed to all aspects of clinical and non-clinical careers in healthcare.
Most of the students who were selected to participate in the programme were drawn from the Clement Howell High School and British West Indies Collegiate.
This is the second phase of the project and will run from June 22 to 27 at the hospital in Providenciales.
The first phase of the programme took place on October 8, 2014, and introduced students to the complications of a healthcare delivery system and the jobs that are available within these surroundings.
In the second phase the students will participate in intensive mentorship, coaching and practical exercises involving senior level staff at the hospital through forums, tours, exhibitions, CPR/BLS (cardiopulmonary resuscitation/basic life support) introductory training and job experience.
Offering remarks during the conference was chief executive officer of the hospital, Eric Parsons, who congratulated his colleagues on a project he considered to be of great significance in insuring sustainability and succession planning for the hospital in the longer term.
“I was actually a scholarship recipient of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government and I was always cognisant that one day when I finish my specialty I needed to return and give back to the community.
“As healthcare professionals it is important for us to share our knowledge and skills with the youth of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“Hopefully it will spark in them a greater love for the field of medicine, nursing and all the other areas we have here at TCI Hospital.”
Education and training manager Jacqueline Moe-Cox emphasised that she was excited about the launch of phase two of the programme.
She said: “We are not only seeking to sensitise the students to career options in healthcare, but to also broaden the scope that they just not narrowly look at nursing or becoming a doctor.”
Education Director Edgar Howell, also in attendance at the launch, said he wanted to see all students across the country take advantage of this opportunity in the future as it will expose them to a range of career opportunities in the medical field.
He said: “Hopefully, the one week spent at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre will create in them an excitement to go back to their schools and really engage in the sciences and move on to further studies in healthcare.”
