Q: Give us a one-minute history of your career in healthcare.
A: Nursing was a second career choice. I had a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre and enjoyed many years of performing onstage, and still do. I then decided I wanted to become a nurse and attended a small but highly recommend college in the Mid-west started and still run by dedicated Catholic nuns. Viterbo University of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA was a perfect learning environment and I attained my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Before returning home to the Cayman Islands, I wanted to gain professional experience and I landed an opportunity at Appleton Medical Center, Appleton, Wisconsin where they trained me to become a cardiology specialist for their CCU.
I was eventually offered a position by Nurse Eloise Reid at the Health Services Authority and feeling homesick, I returned and worked in their CCU department. There Dr. Steve Tomlinson invited me to join his team at the brand new Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital. Then it got interesting – during a vacation, I received a back injury. As a result, it prevented me from working the nursing floor and I had to retire from floor work. Fortunately, after many tough months, I made a complete recovery.
Full circle happened when a few years later, I was given an opportunity to work as an Analyst for our local Ombudsman office, known in Cayman as the Office of the Complaints Commission. We were trained by an Ombudsman from Ontario Canada and his top investigator. The Commissioner usually assigned any medical related cases to me. The circle was reached when the country decided to hire an inspector of health care facilities and finally my nursing background and my newly acquired investigation skills were given this opportunity.
As the first Health Practice & Facilities Inspector for health care facilities in the Cayman Islands, I developed the policies and procedures for conducting inspections in the health care sector and continued in this role for seven years. As a consultant in health care, I am uniquely positioned to be the first in Cayman to do this and I love inspiring practitioners to strive for high quality in their health care practices. I am currently facing the dissertation (final) stage for my studies towards a Master’s in Public Administration and this knowledge is particularly useful in helping my clients navigate government requirements.
Q: Why do you actually do what you do? What is the passion or purpose that drives you?
A: As in many professions, quality can drift away from its original training. Its human nature. As a professional nurse I witnessed cases where basic safety practices were side-stepped or worse. Helping other professionals stay on track with top quality has great meaning for me personally and of course for our people, when they need help the most.
Q: Since your launch, what have you learned?
A: I have confirmed that busy medical professional need support, too and I am happy to fill this gap. It is very satisfying when a medical professional, sometimes a former colleague, says: “Thank you Barrie.” I am nursing once again.
Q: According to what you’ve learned, what are the most common healthcare client needs in the market?
A: They may not have the time to update their policies to stay on top of relevant medical research. They certainly have a difficult time navigating registration requirements for themselves and their facility and the ones I have worked with have told me how much easier it made it with my supportive work.
Visit again next week for Part 2.
Well done Barrie. You are an inspiration to so many.
Keep on keeping