SAO PAULO, Brazil, 5 DECEMBER 2024- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Ministry of Health of Guyana, and the University of Sao Paulo School of Nursing (Ribeirao Preto) convened a meeting in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, to evaluate progress of the reform of the national nursing professional education program in Guyana, a process in which the three institutions are partnering.
Guyana is ambitiously expanding its health system, having started with the complete renewal of its hospital sector and the strengthening of its field surveillance and emergency response capabilities. The country is also a leading actor in the disease elimination process in the Caribbean. The Ministry of Health and PAHO have identified the need to vigorously expand the nursing workforce and strengthen nurses’ skills in the country as critical to ensure the sustainability of Guyana’s health system strengthening efforts.
The meeting gathered a team from the Ministry of Health of Guyana led by its Director of Health Sciences and Education, the Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Sao Paulo (Ribeirao Preto) and 15 members of the nursing school as well as representatives from PAHO Guyana and PAHO Brazil.
Since October 2022, the University of São Paulo School of Nursing, PAHO, and the Ministry of Health of Guyana have been partnering to introduce innovative approaches in the training of nurses in the country to ensure equitable access to high-quality health care. The process has been divided into five phases:
Phase 1: Strategic analysis of the nursing program and conceptualization of the reform.
Phases 2 and 3: Revising Year 1 and Year 2 educational materials and design and implementation of a hybrid training program with online sessions, weekly synchronic tutoring sessions, clinical skills and clinical simulation training at 10 simulation centers across the country, and hospital training.
Phase 4: Finalization of Year 3 materials and adoption of a monitoring and evaluation model for the program implementation.
The meeting in Brazil started with an assessment of progress achieved having finalized the first 3 phases of the process. A plan to complete Phase 4 by June 30, 2025 was agreed. This plan includes completion of all standardized training materials for Year 3 of the program, completion of all 3 years training of web-based contents, training of tutors on online training skills, preparation of nursing simulation cases for Year 3 training, and standardization of clinical training at health facilities. A monitoring model to assess the implementation of the new training model will be developed.
Partners also agreed on further collaborative work to ensure the sustainability of the reform. This work will consist in the adoption of nursing specialization training to support the expansion of the health sector Guyana is implementing. By mid-2025 partners will start preparing specialization programs in maternal and child health, pediatrics, public health, mental health, and chronic disease prevention and care (conductive to Bachelor of Nursing).
Additional activities planned for 2026 include the accreditation of the national nursing training institutions in Guyana and the resumption of the training of Guyanese nursing tutors at the University of Sao Paulo at master’s and doctorates levels to ensure the adoption of nursing specialization programs.
After the finalization of Phase 3 of the process, the Ministry of Health launched the new hybrid model of nursing training in October 2023. Currently there are 850 nursing students enrolled in Year 1 of this new training model. A second batch of 800 students was admitted in November 2024.
At the end of the meeting all partners renewed their dedication to this process. The Director of Health Sciences and Education at the Ministry of Health of Guyana thanked the long-term technical support being provided by PAHO and the University of Sao Paulo, reaffirming shared values of equity, solidarity and cooperation. PAHO reiterated its unwavering commitment to support the transformation of the health system in Guyana. This project is made possible with the support of the WHO Health Workforce Strengthening.
