GOAL-Medvarsity programme-115 Guyanese medical professionals certified

The first cohort of 115 Guyanese medical students are now certified after completing Medvarsity medical programmes through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL).
The graduation ceremony was held on Monday at the Royal International Hotel and Mall on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.
The programmes from Medvarsity in Hyderabad, India, saw students pursuing studies in clinical oncology, registered nursing, critical care nursing, environmentally sustainable healthcare and clinical cardiology. Medvarsity is a healthcare education technology company that provides medical and healthcare training through a blended learning model, combining online education with practical clinical training.
Speaking on the accomplishment of the trainees, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony pointed to the significance of the achievement, which he said will help strengthen the country’s capacity to address cardiovascular diseases prevalent in Guyana.

“More than 100 of you took the opportunity of getting trained. Some of you focused a lot of your attention on electrocardiograms (ECGs) and interpretation of ECG’s. That’s a good thing, because we notice now that we have a lot of persons in the country who are affected by cardiovascular diseases. So, a basic tool, a basic procedure, is that if you’re doing an ECG, then you need to interpret the ECG. And if we cannot interpret the ECG, then we’ll miss what is going on with the patient, and that course is what some of you did in interpretation of ECGs is a very important one.”
Meanwhile, while reporting that approximately 60,000 Guyanese are being treated for diabetes, Anthony highlighted the importance of how some trainees can help prevent serious complications associated with the disease through the training they would have received.
“You have the qualifications to show that you have the knowledge to dispense that advice. So, this is important. But diabetes is a big problem. We are seeing a lot more amputations because people are not caring for their feet. And I saw for some of you, you have done the programme where you can look at foot care, which is right, because we can prevent amputations if we teach people how to care for their feet.”
“We can prevent blindness, because this is another complication of diabetes. We can prevent kidney problems, because we are seeing persons who are diabetic for many years, they have kidney failure, and then they have to go on dialysis.”

Pivotal time in Guyana
Meanwhile, Director of GOAL, Professor Jacob Opadeyi reminded the graduates that, by the time they complete their training, they will be needed across hospitals.
“You are graduating at a pivotal time in Guyana. As you know from our own work on land management and disaster, Guyana’s geography is both our wealth and our vulnerability. Over the past year or so, we’re opening new hospitals. New hospitals in different parts of the country. Your services will be needed, and the time will come where they have to move you from your comfort zone in Georgetown.”
“You are working for the people of Guyana, and most importantly, you are working for God, the Almighty. And He is the one who will see your sweat, who will remember what you have done to save life. Let me share with you what some of you say about this training.”
Back in June, approximately 3,876 Guyanese graduated from GOAL’s fourth graduation ceremony, comprising 2,858 women and 1,018 men.