By Trudy Simpson, Staff ReporterTHE NURSES Association of Jamaica (NAJ) has asked for a 30-day extension of the deadline for members of the profession who missed the December 31 deadline for registration, set by the Nursing Council of Jamaica.
Speaking with The Gleaner on Thursday, NAJ president, Valda Lawrence Campbell, said the NAJ on Tuesday made the request to officials at the Nursing Council of Jamaica, which registers and grants nurses, midwives and other nursing related careers licences to practice.
"We will be in discussion with the Council in relation to the whole crisis with the registration process," Mrs. Lawrence-Campbell said, adding that she intends to attend a meeting of the full Nursing Council on January 14 where some of these issues will be discussed.
The NAJ has requested that the Council reduce the 60 to 80 hours of continuing education which various categories and levels of nurses must show before having their licence renewed.
In addition, the NAJ wants the Council to put in a system whereby persons renew their licences based on the date they expire, instead of having one general deadline for registration.
The new system came into effect on January 1, 2002, replacing one under which professionals registered once for their entire career.
It requires nurses, 1,500 of whom work for the Government, and other health personnel to not only renew their licence every two years, but made it mandatory for them to show they have completed 60 hours of continuing education before their licences can be renewed.
But some nurses have expressed concern that they will not have the required 60 hours because of difficulties presented by work pressures.
At the Nurses Association of Jamaica's (NAJ) 34th Island Conference in October, Mrs Lawrence Campbell said the overwhelming view among members of the profession was that the requirement of 60 hours of continuing education was too excessive in light of the heavy job demands of nurses.
NAJ HAS BEEN LOBBYING
The NAJ has been lobbying the Nursing Council but Council chairman, Audrey Hinchcliff said last month the council was not now considering reducing the 60-hour requirement but would do some assessments after the registration in January.
Last year, the Nursing Council had waived the 60-hour requirement as the programme had just started but had warned that for the next round of renewals, registered nurses, midwives and enrolled nursing assistants would have to complete 40 hours in courses relevant to nursing, midwifery and general health care and 20 hours in any other educational courses.
