The British Virgin Island Fraternity of Health Practitioners has welcomed 11 newly graduated Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians to join the territory’s artillery of emergency care professionals.
The new graduates emerged from the second cohort of trainees to pursue this course of education provided through a joint collaboration between the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC).
Over an 11-month period commencing in July 2021, the trainees underwent clinical rotations, exams and research papers. The training culminated with a final exam.
The course is certified by the Caribbean Association of Fire Chiefs. The successful candidates, who emerged from an initial grouping of 14, were honoured at a recent graduation ceremony.
Five of the graduates obtained basic EMT certification, while the other 6 have graduated as Advanced EMTs.
To mark the occasion, they received an official welcome from Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BVIHSA, Dr. June Summer.
She said, “On behalf of the BVI HSA Executive, I want to wish you the warmest congratulations and welcome you to the family of health care professionals. Welcome! Sometimes we get a lot of beat down. It’s not necessarily glamorous all the time, but it is vital. The work that you do is vital. I want you to value the skills that you have gained as graduates because you can save a life and that is a valuable skill to have.”
Also addressing the ceremony was Minister for Health Honourable Marlon Penn who spoke of the importance of the role of EMTs and AEMTS in emergency response in the BVI, and urged the graduates to be conscious of the extremely important role they will play in saving lives.
“The field of EMTs is a very important field. It’s a very important cog in the health care provision in this territory, in general. Because you are the first responders. You are the ones most times who see the patients, who see the accidents. You’re the ones who need to administer care. You’re the difference between life and death sometimes for those patients. So I want you to take your responsibility extremely seriously because it’s an extremely serious one”, Penn said.
The minister assured that the Government of the BVI remains committed to building the capacity of local health services and providing training opportunities for healthcare professionals.