GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Nurses in the Caribbean will sit the Regional Nursing Entrance Examinations (RENR) in October after the regional governing body agreed to a proposal by the Barbados-based Caribbean Examination Council (CXC).

The proposal was discussed at the just-concluded 41st joint meeting of the Executive and Education Committees and 10th Practice Committee of the Regional Nursing Body (RBN) held here.

A Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat statement, yesterday, said that the meeting reviewed and made amendments to the regional standard for nursing education as well as the practice standard, and that the revision of these standards will be completed with assistance from the Pan American Health Organisation, Regional Office for Caribbean Programme Coordination.

The objectives of the meeting were to discuss preparations for the CXC-managed RENR; finalise the standards of nursing education; align nursing and midwifery legislation; develop a regional policy for midwifery practice, and streamline the role of nurses in school health programmes across the region.

The statement said the draft model legislation for nurses and midwives to facilitate the standardisation of regulation, registration and licensing across the region was also reviewed and that "this legislation, when approved by member states, will put in place the necessary legislative framework to advance the free movement of those categories of workers within the region".

It said a regional policy and strategy for midwifery practice was also initiated and that a rapid assessment of the status of midwifery among Caricom member states, conducted by the RNB, through the Caricom Secretariat, provided the evidence base for these discussions.

"The study highlighted key areas for standardisation in a thrust for harmonising the midwifery practice across the region," the

statement added.