Category: Caribbean

Friday February 6th the Rehabilitation Nursing training for the Rehabilitation department of the White Yellow Cross in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten ended with a graduation ceremony in the presence of the WYC management. The course was spread over two years and consisted of ten modules:

• Cardiology and BLS-AED
• Psychosocial Healthcare Patterns
• Amputations
• Cardiac and Lung Diseases
• Brain Trauma and CVA
• Neurological Diseases
• Orthopaedic and Trauma Caused Problems
• Paraplegia
• Chronic and Acute Pain
• Patient Safety and Quality of Care.

The last module was about Patient Safety and Quality of Care and was carried out by the quality expert of MeduProf-S.

He handed over the certificates to the candidates who rated this module with extremely good/excellent.

From 17 – 21 November 2014 Froukje Johanna Bijlsma trained a group of nurses working at the White and Yellow Cross Foundation on Sint Maarten (Caribbean) in Rehabilitation Nursing.    

Focus was on patients who are suffering from a spinal cord injury (SCI). Apart from basic knowledge on anatomy and physiology of the spinal cord and nervous system, the different aspects of pathophysiology of the SCI and the resulting consequence on Rehabilitation Nursing were discussed.

Course topics:

–        Communication skills – Knowledge on different types of coping

–        Recognize Depression

–        The importance of prevention on Pressure Ulcers in patients with SCI

–        Ergonomic skills – bedside teaching – positioning in bed

–        Assessment of Specific Nursing Care in patients with SCI

–        Rehabilitation Care Plan – how to conduct a care plan and present it

–        Bowel and Bladder Function and Management in patients with SCI

–        Practicing with materials available on bowel and bladder management

–        Educational skills – Simulation setting

The group has been very enthusiastic on receiving new knowledge and skills and we were informed that they already started to use the new skills in the week that followed after the training.   

From 10 November until 14 November 2014 MeduProf-S nursing experts Ruben Verlangen and Erik van Roon visited Saba, the unspoiled Queen. They conducted the refresher week of the Emergency Medical Care course in the A.M. Edwards Medical Center. The participants were well prepared and that resulted in very effective training, teaching and discussions. The main topics, on request of the participants were Basic Life Support for adults, Paediatric Basic Life Support, changes in the approach of trauma patients related to cervical spine immobilization, nursing calculations and how to triage in a major accident. The ABCDE-approach for trauma and non-trauma patients was also refreshed and put into practice. A lot of practical skills were practiced together with some case scenarios.

Both the participants and trainers were exited with the learning results of this week!

From 8 September until 12 September MeduProf-S nursing trainer Erik van Roon visited St Eustatius with the aim to prepare a Triage course. This preparation took place in cooperation with the Queen Beatrix Medical Center for the Out Patient Department. Triage is the process of deciding which patients should be treated first based on how sick or seriously injured they are. This triage training is going to be conducted by the end of October this year.

Also this week Emergency Care Procedures were refreshed and trained in two groups. The refresher course was very well evaluated by the participants.

From 14 July until 18 July 2014 MeduProf-S nursing experts Ruben Verlangen and Erik van Roon visited St Eustatius. They conducted the refresher week of the Emergency Medical Care course in the Queen Beatrix Medical Center. There were a lot of scenario’s related to trauma and non-trauma situations and all of them were recorded on video for feedback and reflection. The participants and trainers were very exited with the learning results at the end of the week and the refresher week will definitly contribute to a better health care provision on St. Eustatius.

In the third week of June MeduProf-S expert Pascal Driessen provided the Healthcare Foundation and the Honourable Henry Carlyle Every Home for the Elderly on Saba with a hygiene and food safety program. The program focussed at the implementation of a structured approach of hygiene. The training handled hygiene and food safety in the facilities of the clinic as well as concerning the storage, preparation and distribution of food in the clinic and the home. Most important training aspect was the improvement of the hygiene awareness of all staff concerned.

Staff as well as management was impressed with the expertise of the trainer and his flexible and empathic approach. The schedules, checklists and other materials as offered, were implemented right away.

The training on Saba was followed by an HACCP (food safety control) implementation in the White Yellow Cross on Sint Maarten. Here MeduProf-S was asked to support the kitchen staff to comply with the strict rules on food safety as enforced by the inspection on public health and health care. Pascal Driessen provided the kitchen staff with up to date matrices and forms to plan and check the status of food and of the hygiene in the kitchen and storage rooms.  Specific attention was laid on the handling of food during the distribution process. Discussions about hygiene and the background of food safety rules were perhaps even more important than the rules and procedures themselves.  In this way the participants including the chef learned why and how to implement these rules. The last day was spent to reorganize kitchen and storage rooms according to the new insights. The kitchen staff felt in the end well equipped and has confidence in the implemented approach.

 From 14 April until 17 April 2014 MeduProf-S nursing experts Gwen Aerts and Erik van Roon visited Saba, the unspoiled Queen. They conducted the refresher week of the Emergency Medical Care course in the A.M. Edwards Medical Center. The participants were well prepared and that resulted in very effective training, teaching and discussions. The main topics, on request of the participants were Basic Life Support for adults, Immediate Life Support, burns and how to triage in a major accident. The ABCDE-approach for trauma and non-trauma patients was also refreshed. A lot of scenarios were presented and ‘played’ in the classroom, in the Emergency Room and outside as well.

Both the participants and trainers were exited with the learning results of this week!

In the week from 31 march – 4 april 2014, MeduProf-S expert Froukje Johanna Bijlsma provided the module CVA/Stroke Care in the Rehabilitation Nursing program for the White Yellow Cross, Sint Martins Home  Rehabilitation Centre on St. Maarten.

The training focused on the design of a Care Plan for Rehabilitation Nursing and the difference between such a plan and a plan for General Nursing Care. The training combined theory (anatomy & pathophysiology) on stroke and the consequences for everyday nursing care. The course started with a discussion assessment based on items meeting rehabilitation needs. On the last day the students presented three Care Plans of one patient (the patient was a real life case). In this they showed all the training subjects of the whole week.

Participants as well as the coordinator of the Rehabilitation Centre and the trainer herself enjoyed the training and appreciated the outcome.

MeduProf-S presented on the 5th of April the conclusions drawn from an assessment of the nursing and care staff of Dr. Horacio E. Oduber Hospital on Aruba to the management and other key persons . The assessment consisted of a theory and a skills test and “in depth” interviews based on scenario’s. The participants all received an individual report and the hospital a more general version including an advise for the set up and content (priorities!) of a plan for training and education.  The experts Marc Landa, Erik van Roon and Petra van Asten prepared and executed the assessment. Marc Landa and project manager Harmen Grebel presented the report and advice. On the picture chair of the board Theo Kool received the report handed over by Harmen Grebel from MeduProf-S.