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Just over 20 young Belizeans were awarded scholarships today to further their education in the field of nursing. The Ministry of Health and Wellness partnered with the Ministry of Education to offer scholarships for a bachelor’s degree in nursing and practical nursing courses. This morning, twenty-one young men and women gathered at the Western Regional Hospital for the most recent scholarship award ceremony. Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard said that the Ministry has offered up to 20 scholarships for practical nursing but fell short of the target. Bernard said that the scholarships are part of the effort to address the country’s nurse shortage and encouraged more interested persons to apply.
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health and Wellness: “It’s always an opportunity when we are able to provide these opportunities for our young people especially in the healthcare profession. As you know, it’s a global issue where there is shortage of nurses so we encourage our citizens who have the passion to serve in this field to apply whenever we offer these scholarships. So today we celebrated with the 15th bachelor scholarships in the Bachelor of Nursing recipients. There were 15 of them and we had six students who got the scholarship in the practical nursing area. While I can tell you that we had an opening for 20 spaces for practical nursing we only had these few six persons who applied. And so we’re encouraging persons whenever we put out the advertisement once again to encourage if you have a passion to serve, to do nursing in the practical level to take on the opportunity. It’s a full scholarship that is being offered, and I want to thank the Ministry of Education, Minister Fonseca and his Minister of State, for their invaluable support. Whenever the ministry calls on them they have always been there to support us especially in making sure that we are able to provide these opportunities for young people in the nursing field. And I must commend as well the University of Belize for partnering with the ministry in ensuring that we are able to have these cohorts of nurses every single year. As you know the bachelor program will take four years, the nursing program 18 months. And so when these young people now come out because they are now bonded to the ministry, they work either at KHMH or at any public facility we are trying to build on the cadre of staff and as I said to them in my message this morning, my advice to them is to ensure that they remain focused, remain committed.”
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Louis Zabaneh, explained that the nurses will be required to work in Belize after completing their studies. He also added that the project is a part of the government’s Plan Belize manifesto.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of State, MOECST: “Certainly it’s heartwarming to see that we’re at this stage now where the nurses have come in and they’ve signed bonds to offer their services upon completing their programs. And this is very important. We share the message that they are embarking in a very important field where our people deserve the best that they can offer. And so both in terms of the education they will be receiving and then upon completion with respect to the service that they will be offering to our people. So, yes, it’s a great day for us and we continue to invest in these areas as we know that the developed countries are doing everything they can to attract our people from countries like Belize, of course, nurses and teachers, etc. But with the signing of the bond, we’re saying to go beyond that, to feel that nationalistic fervor to serve our people here in Belize.”
Reporter: You said that you guys are collaborating with the Bachelors ones, about the cost of that.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of State, MOECST:“Yes, so it’s a joint effort and we are working together to be able to provide the resources necessary to cover the cost of the programs for them and that’s the way we operate as a government. We come together and we find the solutions to the gaps that we have.”
The recipients hailed from across the country. /
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