Health trends

Practical nurses licensed

Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who graduated recently from the Pre-University School on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies will be expected to carry out a wide range of duties when they take up job offers in Canada by year end.

"They are full-fledged nurses, not bedside nurses," explained Canada-based human resource expert Professor Michael Patterson. "They will be administering narcotics, intravenous and inter-muscular injections. The scope of practice for a licensed practical nurse in Canada is higher than that of an enrolled nurse in Jamaica," Patterson pointed out. His firm, Marmicmon Integrated Marketing Communications, teamed up with the Pre-University School to find jobs in Canada for the LPN graduates.

He said the level of expertise required of LPNs in Canada has increased due to the varying demands of the ageing and a population that is living longer. He indicated that dementia has increased in this population and care was needed for them. He noted that in Canada LPNs are one step below registered nurses, requiring two additional years of education to attain the degree to become a registered nurse.

According to Patterson, the Jamaican LPNs will be mainly deployed to long-term care institutions that cater to elderly patients. "Culturally, Jamaicans are in tune with the need of our elders," asserted Patterson, who is Jamaican-born. "We care with a passion; we treat our elders with respect and that carries through to our professional work," he added.

LASCO and dentists' health fair

LASCO and the Jamaica Dental Association (JDA) recently co-hosted a health fair in observance of Oral Health Month. More than 700 students from 14 schools in Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine participated in the event held at the Girl Guides headquarters in St Andrew.

"We had a very good response from the schools as seen by the large turnout and the enthusiasm of the students, " said Dr Tanya Perry, JDA's president. "It was a huge success and we look forward to working with LASCO on similar projects in the future to continue spreading the message of how to achieve and maintain good oral health."

Dr Phillip Mighty, chairman of the JDA's Oral Health Month committee, was also extremely satisfied with the attitude of the schools and the dental fraternity towards the health fair: "The response of the school administration and students involved has been overwhelming. We are also thankful for the good response of our JDA members - some were accompanied by staff members, others even sent technicians and other staff in their absence."

- Source: PROComm