Twelve nurses at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) are participating in a six-month training programme aimed at strengthening dialysis care, through a partnership with the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
In a statement, GPHC said the initiative follows the award in March of an International Society of Nephrology (ISN) Sister Renal Centers Programme grant to support the development of paediatric nephrology services in Guyana.
The first group includes all eight nurses assigned to the hospital’s Dialysis Centre, along with nurses from the Intensive Care Unit and other departments.
Led by Dr Areefa Alladin-Karan, the programme combines an initial week of in-person assessment and training with online courses and virtual sessions over approximately six months. Participants will also work towards formal certification in dialysis nursing.
The training covers haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis care and is intended to build on the practical experience of nurses already caring for patients at the hospital.
“Our nurses are very happy and excited and enthusiastic about having formal training,” Alladin-Karan said.
She said their enthusiasm reflected a commitment to improving patient care and expressed appreciation for the hospital’s support.
The programme is being supported by Dr Andrew Wade, a paediatric nephrologist at Alberta Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, and Megan Allison, a registered nurse in nephrology at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
GPHC said participants would have opportunities to share their knowledge with colleagues, helping to strengthen dialysis nursing capacity beyond the initial group.
The hospital described the initiative as part of a broader effort to develop a more specialised renal service, including the expertise needed to expand kidney care for children in Guyana.
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