On Friday 12th May, 2023, the Anguilla Community College (ACC) achieved yet another milestone in its course offerings by launching its Nurses Assistant Certificate Programme in the field of quality health care. The ceremony for the introduction of this new course, which was endorsed by the
Department of Education, took place on the grounds of the Central Polyclinic in The Valley.
The ceremony was opened by steel-pan musician Michael “Dumper” Martin and his associate Perry Hughes rendering the Anguilla National Song. This was followed by a prayer offered by Nurse Vanessa Gilbert.
The Moderator was the ACC’s Dean of Studies, Dr. Michelle Queeley. “This afternoon I bring you a faith-based ACC resilient driven welcome,” she announced. “Welcome to this occasion that marks the historic launch of our Nursing Assistant Certificate Programme.”
She noted that this was the first formal programme of its kind (in the field of health) in Anguilla. The launch of the programme also coincided with International Nurses Day.
Dr. Queeley cordially greeted the members of the Anguilla Nurses Association as well as all members of the Anguilla Nursing Fraternity, and wished them a Happy International Nurses Day.
“It really pleases
our hearts, as a Community College, to know that we can take this bold step to introduce nursing as part of our slate of programmes at a time when the odds are against us,” She observed. “It is no secret that the ACC has been functioning over the years with limited physical, financial and human resources.”
“The struggle for the ACC to survive in this era is real,” she affirmed, “especially when we consider that our competition is fierce. And what I mean by ‘competition’ is not just here in Anguilla, but the world over.”
She said that because the ACC recognizes its critical role in career and workforce development, and because it takes its broad mission seriously in providing academic programmes and skills training to prepare students for jobs, or to transfer them to four-year colleges and universities, and because it understands that education attracts heavy investments, and that community colleges are not ‘cash cows’, and since the ACC understands that not everyone is financially able to travel abroad for a pursuit in higher education, then it will continue to assert its relevance in the community despite the odds.
Dr. Queeley said the launch of the nurses training programme on Friday garnered more public recognition than the introduction of other existing programmes at the College.
“There are three main reasons,” she cited. “First, Anguilla has been lagging behind in the OECS and the wider Caribbean, in that we do not have a formal nursing programme of our own and our nurses have had to travel to neighbouring islands to access basic and advanced training.”
“Secondly, Anguillians and the world at large must know that this programme is on par with any other in the region. And, I would dare say that based on our research, it matches what is being done in some jurisdictions outside of the Caribbean,” she said.
“We have a tendency to think,” she noted, “that what comes from the outside is always better. While we may not have better facilities than the United States and the United Kingdom, I want to submit to you that facilities are not all that it takes to make a quality nurse.”
“The third reason why we are placing significance on today’s launch,” she said, “is because the Nursing Assistant Certificate Programme has the potential to attract not only locals, but prospective nurses from overseas. We can envision this programme expanding into a fully-fledged, off-shore nursing programme with international linkages.”
Dr. Queeley said that the ACC has spent the last year in reaching out to other regional nursing institutions in carrying out research and seeking the collaboration of their overseas counterparts in order to build the Nursing Assistant Certificate Programme. The nursing centers included the Clarence Fitzroy College in St. Kitts and the Barbados Community College.
President of the ACC, Dr. Kenneth Williams, said Dr. Queeley has been quite instrumental in changing the face of the ACC. “When I look at what Dr. Queeley and her team has taken on, it is really imagining the Community College,” he said.
“People would not have believed that change with so few resources. This is the beginning of many good things for Anguilla,” he said. “The ACC is building on the shoulders of many persons who have gone on before, and we continue to build. We are thinking of the nursing programme as just one of the programmes that we would be eventually offering.”
“The ACC has just completed a strategic plan for the next five years, 2023 to 2028. One of our key goals in this plan is establish relevant, high quality, academic professional and vocational programmes that serve the evolving needs of our people,” Dr. Williams said.
After greeting the nurses on International Nurses Day, the Acting Premier and Acting Minister of Health, Mr. Kenneth Hodge, delivered a salutation on behalf of the Honourable Premier and Minister of Health, Dr. Ellis L. Webster, who was on official duty in the UK.
“I take pride today in honoring our nurses on this International Nurses Day, Minister Hodge said. “We recognize your daily contributions to the health and wellbeing of the residents of Anguilla.”
“The Anguilla Community College and the Ministry of Health deserve praise for their vision and leadership in launching this programme today advocating for the inclusion of a nursing programme in this higher education institution,” he continued.
The Minister highlighted the role of nurses on the frontline of society in preventing diseases, and identified them as often being the first to detect health emergencies. He pointed to the urgency of recruiting additional nursing staff during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to make health care services in Anguilla more efficient.
“The shortage of nurses within Anguilla’s health sector – and globally – threatens to destabilize the quality of care that patients receive,” he said, “and nurses are prone to burnout with higher turnover rates, leaving the profession earlier that anticipated…”
“The WHO global strategic directions for nursing and midwifery 2021 to 2025 emphasizes the importance of health in the response to this and future pandemics and demands that countries invest in training at various entry points to optimize the nursing profession. So it is very timely that the ACC is launching this Nursing Assistant Certificate Programme today,” the Minister concluded.
Dr. Queeley said that prior to the launch of the Nursing Programme, it was decided that the first cohort would be approximately fifteen student nurses, but the College received a list of thirty prospective students.
“This shows us that our people are interested in being educated,” she said, “and that is a great thing.”
Others speaking at the ceremony included the Honourable Minister of Education and Social Development, Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers; Acting CEO of the Health Authority of Anguilla, Mr. Malcolm Webster; Director of Nursing, Nurse Alicia Haywood; and Director of the Ministry of Health and Registered Nurse, Nurse Twyla Bradshaw-Richardson.
In addition, Retired Nurse, Ms. Irma Nanton, also delivered a brief address. The vote of Thanks was delivered by Ms. Suzanna Proctor.
