[Washington, DC - June 13, 2013] Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) is delighted to announce the launch of a new nurse anesthesia program in Belize. In partnership with the University of Belize and the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) in Belize City, HVO volunteers will work to increase the number of highly-skilled, safe, and effective nurse anesthetists in the country by January 2015 through development and implementation of a formal 2-year, full-time bachelor's of nurse anesthesia program.

A country of more than 300,000 people, Belize currently has only fifteen nurse anesthetists to provide essential anesthesia care and support. In January 2013, sixteen students from diverse nursing backgrounds began the newly devised bachelor's of nurse anesthesia program. Students will attend classes at the University of Belize (UB) campus in Belize City, and complete clinical rotations at KHMH, the country's largest and only referral hospital. The program will also utilize other regional hospitals to serve as advanced clinical sites for students.

 

HVO volunteers will provide the majority of the faculty for the technical courses related to anesthesia while nursing and allied health faculty from UB will teach university core courses, including a master's level pharmacology course. HVO will recruit highly qualified CRNA volunteers - active or retired - in all areas of nurse anesthesia expertise to provide both clinical and didactic training. Clinical faculty volunteers must hold a current license to provide anesthesia in the United States, but HVO will consider volunteers without an active license to provide didactic instruction. Assignments range from two to four weeks, though four weeks is preferred.