(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The 40th joint meeting of the Executive and Education Committees and 9th Practice Committee of the Regional Nursing Body was convened at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana, on 14-16 March, 2012.
The objectives of the meeting were to discuss the assistance from the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) in the preparation and administration of the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration (RENR) and to review standards of nursing practice and nursing education.
The CXC was represented by Dr. Carol Granston and Mr. Glenroy Cumberbatch. They presented the draft blueprint and competencies of the RENR which were previously revised by a core group of nurse leaders across the Community.
The proposed committees of the RENR will include; an expert group to be chaired by the Regional Nursing Body (RNB), an examination group, a panel of nurse educators and a standards committee. The first examination under the new arrangement will be held in October 2012. A series of events will take place leading to the examination. These will include the continuation of discussions among the expert group and other stakeholders, pre-testing of test items and item writing workshop.
The standards of nursing education and the standard of nursing practice were reviewed for relevance. It is recognised that the former nurse leaders were visionaries since much of the existing documents are still relevant. However, in keeping with current trends in nursing and health care, it became necessary to conduct the review.
The Meeting expressed gratitude to the two nurse leaders Dr. Leila Dehanney, Chief Nursing Officer of Jamaica and Mr Mitchell Clarke, Chief Nursing Officer of Barbados who are proceeding into retirement for their sterling contribution to the Regional Nursing Body’s work.
