More training opportunities coming for health professionals – Tufton

Washington DC:

In a move to modernise Jamaica’s healthcare training infrastructure, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has announced an upcoming technical mission from the renowned Hartford HealthCare Corporation.

The team from Hartford HealthCare is expected to visit Jamaica before the end of the year, paving the way for a comprehensive assessment of the country’s training needs.

The assessment will then inform the development of a tailored proposal, ensuring that the transformation of Jamaica’s healthcare training ecosystem is both strategic and responsive to the unique challenges faced by the nation.

The partnership, sealed in 2020, aims to revolutionise the way Jamaica’s doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are trained, leveraging cutting-edge technology and simulation-based learning.

The stage was set during a high-level meeting on November 1, when Dr Tufton, accompanied by Jamaica’s ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, met with Dr Jeffery Flaks, president of Hartford HealthCare.

The discussion centered on human resource challenges faced by Jamaica’s health sector and the urgent need to adopt a technology-driven approach to training. “Because of the HR challenges that we face, we need to modernise our training through implementation of technology-driven infrastructure available through the Hartford HealthCare Corporation,” Dr Tufton asserted, emphasising the government’s commitment to expansion and innovation in medical education.

The proposed plan involves the establishment of a state-of-the-art simulation centre, equipped with human-like mannequin machines that will allow trainees to hone their skills in a risk-free environment, as opposed to practising on live patients. This innovative technology, pioneered by Hartford HealthCare, is poised to transform the landscape of medical training in Jamaica.

“Hartford has a reputation of being one of the more advanced in the United States in this field, and so this initiative is to transfer some of their knowledge to Jamaica as part of our expansion of training, in collaboration of course with The University of the West Indies and their medical programme,” Dr Tufton revealed.