THE NURSES and Midwives Act, which seeks to provide the legal framework to protect nurse practitioners and their clients, is to be amended soon.
This Act will also provide the basis for nurse practitioners to offer clinical treatment to patients, as well as to prescribe a limited list of drugs in accordance with standard medical practice.
According to Grace Allen-Young, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, over the years, nurse practitioners have lacked the legal recognition for the clinical part of their practice.
"I was hoping I would have a date...but the Act is being worked on and will soon be here," she told persons attending a graduation ceremony for six family nurse practitioners at the main Medical Lecture Theatre at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.
She said approval had also been given for a special committee to be established under the Act, which would oversee the clinical practice of nurse practitioners.
The six nurses from the Department of Advanced Nursing Education at the UWI are to be placed in the Regional Health Authorities.
Mrs. Allen-Young said when the programme was established in 1977, the aim was to prepare senior nurses to carry out a set of functions normally undertaken by doctors in clinics within the public health sector, especially in the under-served rural areas.
"I must commend those who have gone before you for blazing the trail and providing health care in deep rural areas where others may not have wanted to go," she told the nurses.
She said the family nurse was one of three categories of nurse practitioners; the others being the nurse anaesthetist and the mental health nurse practitioner.
The Family Nurse Practitioner provides a range of primary care services to individuals and families throughout their lifespan, including health maintenance and respiratory care.
She told the nurses that their achievement would greatly benefit the delivery of health care, as their newly-acquired knowledge and skills would enhance the work of local health care teams.
The Permanent Secretary said despite the challenges, including limited resources, the Ministry of Health would not be reducing services, but would be seeking to ensure that efficiencies are achieved in order that quality care could be delivered at the most economic cost.
Due to factors such as economic pressures, stakeholder advocacy, new technologies and shifting social values and attitudes, she said the practice of nurse practitioners, similar to other health care practitioners, was expected to evolve and grow.
In this regard, Mrs. Allen-Young said the Ministry of Health has been transferring a number of its training programmes to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture.
She noted that the Nurse Practitioner Programme had long been associated with the Department of Advanced Nursing Education and that by September 2002 the programme would be fully transferred to the Ministry. "Additionally, in keeping with international norms, the programme will be upgraded to the Masters Level," she pointed out.
Thelma Campbell, Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health, congratulated the nurses for achieving a milestone in their professional development.
Miss Campbell said the Department of Advanced Nursing Education has played a pivotal role in educating 232 senior professional nurses to the level of advanced practice.
She commended the staff of the Department for maintaining excellence and for guiding the students, which has helped to attract candidates from Belize, Antigua, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, Bahamas and Dominica.
Miss Campbell said research findings have indicated that nurse practitioners were fairly well accepted by other members of the health team and that these findings were consistent with those in the United States and Canada.
She urged the graduates to make use of the many opportunities to transfer their skills. "You can make a difference in the implementation of the strategies to reduce the impact of chronic diseases on the health status of our population and the length of stay of persons in hospitals," she added.
Miss Campbell reported that there was an improvement in the nursing cadre, with the employment of 126 graduates in January, who have all been assigned to the four Regional Health Authorities. A total of 145 nurses have completed courses in midwifery, nursing administration, critical care nursing, psychiatric nursing, operating theatre and accident and emergency.
