Abstract:

Decentralised nursing education has emerged as a pivotal strategy for addressing workforce shortages and promoting equitable access to quality healthcare. This article analyses the impact of decentralised nursing and clinical and technical programmes offered through the Ministry of Health in Guyana and how they can help address shortages of healthcare workers and promote equitable access to quality healthcare. Attempts to increase diversity within the healthcare profession have resulted in more ethnically diverse students enrolling on nursing education programmes. One of the critical challenges faced by nursing and clinical education programmes in Guyana is the limited capacity of centralised institutions to accommodate many students. As a result, there is a need to explore alternative methods of delivering nursing and clinical education to meet the increasing health sector demand. Decentralised nursing and clinical education provide a solution to this challenge by bringing nursing and clinical education programmes closer to the communities in need. The paper uses empirical evidence collected from 2019 -2024 on four (4) decentralised training programmes: the nursing assistant, community health worker, pharmacy assistant, and medical laboratory technician training programmes. It examines the reasons behind decentralised education, its implementation in Guyana, and its various impacts on nursing practice, education, and healthcare outcomes. The rapid expansion in healthcare facilities throughout Guyana would demand an increase in the number of healthcare workers trained. This research has significant findings that show the impact of decentralising nursing and clinical education, which could be deemed one of the main sources of increasing the number of healthcare workers, improving healthcare accessibility, empowering local communities, and strengthening its health workforce.

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