A group of 20 second-year nursing students from The University of the West Indies, Mona, gained first-hand insight into the petroleum industry last week through a guided tour of Petrojam’s facilities. The visit offered an immersive look at refinery operations through the lens of occupational health and safety.

Ruth-Ann Dacosta described the experience as eye-opening and praised Petrojam’s comprehensive occupational health and safety (OHS) programme. “This was definitely an eye-opening experience,” she said. “The plant tour highlighted how everything works and where gasoline and other petroleum products are produced.”

She also noted the broader career implications: “This tour showed me that there are career paths beyond nursing, and it has sparked my interest in this field.”

Another student nurse, Ashanti Clarke, was impressed by the emphasis on safety procedures, particularly the lock out/tag out protocol used to prevent accidental energisation while maintenance work is performed. “This was an excellent learning opportunity. I learned to appreciate the importance of safeguarding the environment and, most importantly, the employees. They’re really about safety first here,” she commented.

Course coordinator Mickelle Emanuel-Frith expressed enthusiasm about the educational value of the tour as part of the group’s community health rotation. She noted that the experience allowed students to observe OHS and health promotion in action, broadening their understanding of nursing beyond hospital settings.

“Seeing industrial health and safety in practice helps them appreciate diverse career pathways and how health education is delivered in non-clinical environments,” Emanuel-Frith said. “The students were excited to engage with Petrojam’s operations and to witness health promotion in action within an industrial context.”

Petrojam’s Lab Supervisor Clement Hamilton led the tour of the state-of-the-art Petroleum laboratory and underscored the company’s commitment to education and nation-building.

“We were happy to host these students and to showcase a bit of what we do, show them the layout of the lab — including its structure and equipment — and, of course, our rigorous testing programme to ensure that, at all times, the highest-quality products are distributed to the market,” he said.

UWI trainee nurses are captivated by this plant equipment as Petrojam process technician Avoy Sherman gives them a glimpse into refinery operations. 

Second-year UWI trainee nurses hang on to every detail as lab supervisor Clement Hamilton gives them a tour of Petrojam’s state-of-the-art petroleum laboratory.