Dear Editor

I am a dedicated Nursing Assistant with 14 years of hands-on nursing experience. My service includes one year, six months at Sand Creek Health Centre and one year, two months at St. Ignatius Health Centre and I’m currently still serving in these capacities. With this level of commitment and experience, I was fortunate to be accepted into the Hybrid Professional Nursing Programme offered by the Ministry of Health. This programme is essential for nursing assistants like me who seek to upgrade their skills and qualifications.

However, I was stunned when

Health Science Education

terminated my training, pointing to my Regional Supervisor’s lack of approval as the reason. Shockingly, my direct supervisors – the RHO and the ward sisters – deny such action, stating they are unaware of why my training was stopped.

This has left me, and potentially others, in an unfortunate limbo, hampering our professional growth, and inadvertently impacting the quality of care provided to our patients. It is critical to note that global statistics indicate nurses trained through hybrid programmes have similar, if not better, patient outcomes than traditionally trained nurses (“The National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s Transition-to-Practice Study”).

We are appealing to the Ministry of Health and Health Science Education to review our cases and reinstate our access to the Hybrid Professional Nursing Programme. It’s our right to continue our training, progress in our career paths and provide the highest level of care to our communities. Kindly sign this petition to support our fight for justice and quality healthcare.

Regards

Ryan Reid