Senior nursing students meet Jamaican Minister of Health, Chief/Deputy Nursing Officers

Barry University’s senior nursing students (Nursing Study Abroad Program N-SAP) met with the Minister of Health during their trip to Jamaica to discuss health policies and the group’s experiences with Jamaica’s public health system. The students not only compared and contrasted the health care systems of the United States and Jamaica; they had the opportunity to work side by side with nurses out in the community. The senior nursing students made home visits and worked in the clinics. Students found Jamaica to have an excellent primary care system however; student nurses felt more education, empowerment, and evaluation must be strategically implemented in order to meet the needs of the people.

Caption: (From left to right) Marva Lawson-Byfield (Chief Nursing Officer, Jamaica), Whitney Hawkins (student), Dr. Debbie McGregor (N-SAP program coordinator),Mara Betancourt (student), Henry Cabrera (student), Loreta Gonzalez Vento (student), the Honorable Dr. Fenton R. Ferguson (Minister of Health, Jamaica), Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech (N-SAP program director), Kelissa Geffrard (student), Dayana Machado (student), Julia Cunningham (student), Jahneen Buckley (student), Shirley Hibbert (Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Jamaica).