The Bahamas was grappling with a shortage of nurses – a global challenge – even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced health care professionals to become even more resilient, skillful and resourceful. A depletion of skilled professionals in an era of deadly infectious disease is the daunting reality facing hundreds of aspiring nurses who are graduating from University of The Bahamas (UB) this month.

UB held its first virtual School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions (SNAHP) Pinning Ceremony on Wednesday, 26th May, a celebrated rite of passage. The ceremony has become a symbolic representation of the integrity, dignity and resolve of the persons who are one step closer to assuming critical roles in the healthcare profession.

Vice President of Academic Affairs at UB Dr. Maria Oriakhi told the graduands that although the world has been celebrating the vital role that nurses play in society, the numbers of those who serve need to be increased.

“Just as the field of nursing is important to society, so is the School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions to University of The Bahamas. We recognize the critical role we play in preparing world class nurses to work in hospitals and health care facilities, both locally and internationally,” noted Dr. Oriakhi, whose mother, the late Senior Retired Nursing Officer Thelma Rose served in the profession for 41 years.

“It is a fact that nurses are in great demand worldwide and the high rate of attrition in the nursing profession is alarming. Now more than ever, we must increase our human resources in the healthcare profession.”

While being professionally skilled is a vital attribute, Dr. Oriakhi added that those entering the procession must also accord their patients with compassion, sensitivity and understanding while being firm and grounded.

“This nurses pinning ceremony is a rite of passage for our nursing graduates. It represents the successful completion of a rigorous and sometimes torturous curriculum. Wear your pins proudly. You have worked hard and you deserve to be proud of this achievement and to celebrate your success.”

More than 40 grads from the Bachelor of Science Degree Nursing Programme and approximately 20 grads from the Post-Basic Diploma in Midwifery Nursing Programme received nursing pins.

Guest speaker Anastarcia Palacious, a UB alum, and owner of The Social Light Media affirmed the integral role that health care professionals also play in the mental and emotional wellbeing of individuals and society. She recounted personal details of how members of this profession helped her weather moments of grief and medical challenges. She urged the grads to be bold and believe in the power of their own potential and impact.

“You also have the opportunity to impact the way we think and do medicine, but it requires you to be bold enough, to believe in yourself enough, to stand in your own light enough to be willing to write your story; to be able to see things differently than other people, to unleash that same creativity to unlock opportunities for us all to improve, but only if you can stand confident in your training and value who you are,” she said.

She also challenged them to use their creativity and imagination to transform health care. “Even though today is your pinning ceremony, you must never stop learning; never stop pushing the boundaries of discovery and knowledge. Never stop trying to improve the things around you; be curious, be committed and most of all be consistent,” she added.

Chair of SNAHP Ms. Leah Rolle applauded the grads for their perseverance and achievements.

“Valuable lessons have been learnt and experiences garnered, lessons that will hopefully sustain your thirst and commitment throughout your careers. Indeed, it is these lessons and experiences that we expect you to harness in leveraging your creativity as you transition into or continue your contributions to the nursing profession,” she noted. “Our profession needs creative thinkers. We need new approaches to age-old challenges that plague the healthcare system. We need dedicated life-long learners and researchers. We need transformational leadership.”

SunCash penned an Agreement with the Government of The Bahamas (GOB) this week to facilitate its’ DigiPay Platform Payments.

Now you will be able to conveniently pay at all SunCash Stores nationwide, the SunCash Mobile app with over 40,000 plus users online and coming soon to the 100 plus Quickpay Kiosks countrywide. SunCash provides convenience and time savings to users by accepting Cash and Cashless options like, Sand Dollar, SunCash Wallets, Debit and Credit Cards, SunCash Vouchers, Cash and other methods appealing to every segment of society from the banked, underbanked and unbanked.

“The time is now for Bahamians to take advantage of the Government’s DigiPay Platform. We are excited to have partnered with the Ministry of Finance to facilitate payments to all Governmental Agencies connected to the DigiPay Platform that is expanding rapidly over the next few months,” noted SunCash.

As it gets nearer and nearer to the Tokyo Olympic Games, uncertainty remains because of COVID-19, but the list of Bahamian qualifiers is growing – now at eight in athletics and one in swimming.

Brianne Bethel, the 22-year-old Grand Bahamian, became the latest Bahamian competitor, in athletics, to book her ticket for the games, clocking a personal best time of 22.54 seconds for the women’s 200 meters (m) title at the 2021 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Tampa, Florida. That time has her tied for eighth on the world’s top performance list for 2021. Bethel has matured as a sprinter in recent times, running faster than she ever has in her life. She has switched her focus from the short sprints to the long sprints, and it is paying dividends for her. Bethel also ran a personal best in the 400m over the same weekend, winning the AAC title in that event as well, clocking 51.77 seconds. She is just four tenths of a second off the Olympic qualifying mark in that event.   Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 27, continues to be the gold standard for Bahamian female sprinting, clocking Olympic qualifying times in the women’s 100, 200 and 400m events over the past three seasons. Last season, Miller-Uibo showed tremendous versatility, moving down to the 100 and qualifying for the Olympics in that event with a run of 10.98 seconds at the Back to the Track Classic in Clermont, Florida. In posting the stunning time, she became the sixth Bahamian to ever run under 11 seconds in the women’s 100m, and the fourth athlete worldwide to ever go sub-49 in the women’s 400, sub-22 in the women’s 200 and sub-11 in the women’s 100 in the history of athletics. Miller-Uibo is the world leader in the women’s 200 and 400m this season, running times of 22.03 seconds in the 200m at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, and 49.08 seconds in the 400m at the USATF (USA Track & Field) Grand Prix Meet at Hayward Field, in Eugene, Oregon, both in April. The Bahamas’ Olympic Champion in the women’s 400m already said she’ll opt out of defending her Olympic title in that event in Tokyo in favor of going after the 200m title. The rapidly approaching OIympics is set for July 23 to August 8, in Tokyo, Japan. Tynia Gaither is the only other Bahamian woman who has qualified for the Olympics in two events – making the mark in the 100 and 200m.

Brianne Bethel, the 22-year-old Grand Bahamian, became the latest Bahamian competitor, in athletics, to book her ticket for the games, clocking a personal best time of 22.54 seconds for the women’s 200 meters (m) title at the 2021 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Tampa, Florida. That time has her tied for eighth on the world’s top performance list for 2021.

Bethel has matured as a sprinter in recent times, running faster than she ever has in her life. She has switched her focus from the short sprints to the long sprints, and it is paying dividends for her. Bethel also ran a personal best in the 400m over the same weekend, winning the AAC title in that event as well, clocking 51.77 seconds. She is just four tenths of a second off the Olympic qualifying mark in that event.  

Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 27, continues to be the gold standard for Bahamian female sprinting, clocking Olympic qualifying times in the women’s 100, 200 and 400m events over the past three seasons.

Last season, Miller-Uibo showed tremendous versatility, moving down to the 100 and qualifying for the Olympics in that event with a run of 10.98 seconds at the Back to the Track Classic in Clermont, Florida. In posting the stunning time, she became the sixth Bahamian to ever run under 11 seconds in the women’s 100m, and the fourth athlete worldwide to ever go sub-49 in the women’s 400, sub-22 in the women’s 200 and sub-11 in the women’s 100 in the history of athletics.

Miller-Uibo is the world leader in the women’s 200 and 400m this season, running times of 22.03 seconds in the 200m at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, and 49.08 seconds in the 400m at the USATF (USA Track & Field) Grand Prix Meet at Hayward Field, in Eugene, Oregon, both in April.

The Bahamas’ Olympic Champion in the women’s 400m already said she’ll opt out of defending her Olympic title in that event in Tokyo in favor of going after the 200m title. The rapidly approaching OIympics is set for July 23 to August 8, in Tokyo, Japan.

Tynia Gaither is the only other Bahamian woman who has qualified for the Olympics in two events – making the mark in the 100 and 200m.

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ABNT20 KNHC 271120

TWOAT

Tropical Weather Outlook

NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL

800 AM EDT Thu May 27 2021

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

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Forecaster Brown