- FILE
In this 1967 photograph, a batch of thirty-seven nurses graduated form the University Hospital of Nursing.
Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Reporter
DESPITE THE prevailing shortage in nursing professionals in the health sector, the Jamaican authorities are not making it easy for new recruits. Jamaicans who want to work in this sector will have to shell out - in some cases - $300,000 for each year of training at local nursing training institutions.
For the degree programme, the last two years have seen nursing fees move dramatically from free tuition to between $110,000 and $300,000, depending on the institution of training.
At the University of the West Indies School of Nursing (UWISON) charges are $300,000 for the degree training programme.
The basic salary of level one nurse is $465,078 ($38,756.5 monthly) up to $552,832 ($46,069.33 monthly) per annum. Those who take student loans will be doing little more than living off their parents for the nine years that it will take them to pay off their loans. Those who borrow the $1.2 million ($300,000 each year for four years) for UWISON will be paying back $23,111 at the add-on rate monthly, or $18,221 if the 12 per cent charge is calculated on the reducing balance.
To offset tuition fees, the Ministry of Health offers funding of 50 per cent and in dire cases, 100 per cent. There is also the Jamaica Values and Attitudes Project (JAMVET) from which students can receive financial assistance. In addition, the three-year certificate programmes at Kingston School of Nursing (KSN) and Cornwall School of Nursing (CSN) are still free.
"These schools are also in transition to move into the University of Technology where a fee might be charged," says Sharon Brown Botherton, first vice-president for the Nurses' Association of Jamaica (NAJ).
BONDED
However, those who receive sponsorship from the Ministry of Health or attend KSN or CSN must be willing to be bonded to serve Jamaica after completion of the course of studies. Nursing students of KSN, CSN and UWISON who receive sponsorship are bonded for five years.
Natasha, a second-year student at UWISON told The Sunday Gleaner, "the sponsorship is good but in the long term it does not work out for us as we are bonded and we cannot work outside of Jamaica for at least five years."
The Ministry of Health has told The Sunday Gleaner that removal of complete subsidisation has not negatively impacted enrolment at the nursing institutions.
"None of the four schools which currently attract a tuition fee is experiencing a difficulty in attracting nursing students. In fact, the complaint is that they do not have the capacity to accommodate all the applicants," says Pearline Cooper-Sharpe, chief nursing officer at the Health Ministry.
However, the Ministry has admitted that there is a worsening shortage of 50 per cent in health care institutions across the island.
And, students already enrolled are feeling the fee pinch.
EXPENSIVE
"The fee is expensive for me," said Dian, a second-year student at UWISON. She is fortunate to be receiving assistance from relatives in the U.K., otherwise, she says, she could not afford to pay.
Up to two years ago, it was relatively free to complete a degree in nursing. Brown Botherton says previously, for applicants to fulfil a nursing programme, they were only screened by completing an entrance exam and an interview prior to selection. This was when the programme was free of cost and administered by the Ministry of Health, and not the Education Ministry.
Brown Botherton said that, in her opinion, although the fees might be considered costly, paying for admission has allowed more persons to join the profession.
"It has opened up the avenues for many persons who wish to do nursing. Before this, you wouldn't have over 100 at UWISON," said Brown Botherton, adding that anyone can now apply and get in.
Names changed to protect identity.
Cost of a nursing degree
Northern Caribbean University (NCU) $89,900 twice yearly. EXED Community College $213,000 per year.University of the West Indies School Of Nursing, Mona, (UWISON) $300,000 per year. Brown's Town Community College $110,085 for first year.
