82 persons graduated from 2024 clinical, technical training programme

A total of 82 students graduated from the Clinical and Technical Training programme administered through the Ministry of Health’s Health Sciences Education (HSE) department.

The courses offered under the programme included Pharmacy Assistant, Dentex, X-ray Technician, and Environmental Health Assistant.

Among the graduates, 25 are now X-ray technicians, 28 are environmental health assistants, 16 are dentex, and 13 are pharmacy assistants.

Graduates hailed from all 10 administrative regions of Guyana, with two students representing the Belize Defence Force.

The X-ray Technician course achieved a 96 per cent overall pass rate, while the Environmental Health Assistant and Pharmacy Assistant courses boasted 100 per cent pass rates. The Dentex course recorded a 94.2 per cent success rate.

While delivering the feature address at the graduation ceremony, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, assured Guyanese health workers that they would be employed by the ministry and assigned to healthcare facilities across the country.

Dr Anthony highlighted the decentralisation of several programmes to regional hubs, improving access for citizens nationwide. He also noted the rapid expansion of the health sector, which offers an increasing range of opportunities.

“This is a very exciting time to be in health and I say that because there are so many more opportunities that you are having…While you are graduating here today, I want to think about how you can improve and elevate yourselves to the next step,” the health minister urged.

Minister Anthony encouraged the graduates to show kindness to their patients and leave a meaningful impact on their lives.

Deputy Director of Health Sciences Education (HSE), Chandroutie Persaud-Bahadur, highlighted the growth of the pharmacy assistant programme, which has evolved from graduating 35 persons annually to 64 in 2024. Another cohort of 71 trainees is set to begin this month and is expected to graduate by mid-2025.

Similarly, the number of trained laboratory technicians has increased from 35 annually to 86 this year. In addition, 216 environmental health workers graduated in 2024, significantly surpassing the previous annual average of 50.

The training programme encompassed two phases: theoretical instruction and practical application.

“As you can see, we have made a significant stride in increasing the number of clinical technical healthcare providers that we would like to have in our healthcare system,” the deputy director stated.

Congratulating the graduates on their achievements, she urged them to remain humble and work diligently as ambassadors of the healthcare system.