'Doc, I gettin ah pain here'...
Aabida Allaham aallaham@trinidadexpress.com
Tuesday, October 13th 2009
The programme, which is being run by the Centre for Language Learning
for two weeks, is geared at equipping the Spanish-speaking healthcare
professionals with the functional knowledge of English and Creole
language while better preparing them to deliver healthcare services
where they will be deployed, according to a statement on the UWI's website.
The group of professionals taking part in the course is the second batch
of health professionals to arrive in this country as part of the
Ministry of Health's plan to recruit, on contract, 450 foreign nurses
and 119 foreign doctors. The group comprises 17 doctors and 28 nurses
from Cuba, as well as 13 nurses from St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Speaking to the Express about the programme and what they thought of
Trinidad, Cuban-trained intensive care nurse Kirenia Barroso said that
they "were told that we need to learn Creole to help us understand".
Others claimed they did not understand why they had to learn Creole
since English was English while some just shook their head and smiled
when questioned.
At their Orientation Programme at the Cacadia Hotel and Conference
Centre in St Ann's yesterday, Health Minister Jerry Narace said while
the issue of language proficiency of foreign professionals has been one
of public concern, the ministry intended to address it.
"Language proficiency is one of the selection criteria in recruiting
foreign healthcare professionals. The intensive language course
undertaken when the doctors and nurses arrive in Trinidad is aimed at
building on the existing level of standard English of the participants
in an effort to boost their confidence in the workplace, and to orient
participants to the mechanics of Trinidadian Creole using standard
English for use on the job," he said.
"As far as nursing is concerned...1,510 nurses are enrolled in training
programmes, and with the present rate of attrition, we anticipate that
the needs of our institutions would be met by 2015. And in response to
UWI's increased student intake in 2004, Cabinet has also agreed to
increase the intake of Medical Interns from 76 to 176, an increase of
150 per cent," he said.
Trinidad News, Trinidad Newspaper, Trinidad Sports, Trinidad politics,
Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago News, Trinidad classifieds, Trinidad TV,
Sports, Business (13 October 2009)
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161543261
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