Nursing Education
The objective was to train a critical mass of nurses willing and able to work in the remote rural indigenous communities in north central Guatemala. We (ENEC, Tula, CIDA, CNS) adopted the following strategy:
- We recruit students who have roots in rural indigenous communities, so they will be comfortable working there; and because they know the language, culture and environment, they will be more effective than outsiders.
- We first concentrated on training auxiliary nurses, because that could be done relatively quickly. In addition, we trimmed the auxiliary curriculum to match the needs of rural communities. A student graduates as a 'rural primary health care nurse', after eighteen months of part time study.
- We decentralize education so that prospective nurses can receive training close to home.
- We use the municipal Centros de Salud as local training centers for nurses. Professors at ENEC deliver lectures via computer-based distance education. A local professional nurse at the health center acts as tutors, and the health center is used for clinical experience.
- We offer support in indigenous languages where needed.
- We work with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health and NGOs to ensure that graduating nurses are employed where they are needed.
After church, a long walk back into a remote village the municipality of Cahabón, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, which cannot be reached by road. It is obviously very difficult to provide health services to such communities.
Graduation Day
Professional nurse and tutor