Guyana is located on the northeastern coast of South America with a population of 750,000 people. Compared to other neighboring countries, Guyana ranks poorly in healthcare indicators. Guyana’s Ministry of Health is working to upgrade the country’s healthcare system. Guyana did not have a radiology residency program until RAD-AID started it with the Ministry of Health and University of Guyana in 2017.
RAD-AID Volunteer in Guyana, January 2023
RAD-AID in Guyana
The RAD-AID Guyana Program began in 2013 in partnership with the World Health Organization’s Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO). In 2016, RAD-AID donated 2 CT scanners to Guyana at Bartica and New Amsterdam Hospitals, with support from Philips Foundation. Due to the lack of in-country pathways for training radiologists, RAD-AID started Guyana’s first-ever radiology residency at Georgetown Public Hospital in 2017, which now graduates approximately 3-5 radiologists per year.
In 2022, RAD-AID began working with its Canadian chapter organizations to sponsor fellowship training for the Guyana residency graduates (see picture below), such as in neuroradiology, IR, and breast imaging.
Guyana registrar receiving IR fellowship training at Dalhousie University (Canada), 2023
Through an innovative PACS-based tele-education system (RAD-AID Friendship Cloud), RAD-AID provides remote clinical teaching and support for Guyana’s technologists, residents, attendings, nurses, and IT professionals. RAD-AID Informatics is now working with the Guyana Ministry of Health to interconnect more hospitals in urban and rural Guyana for advanced inter-institutional PACS.
RAD-AID Nursing has scaled up support in 2023 for patient navigation in women’s health in Guyana, along with IV contrast training and patient safety for CT. In collaboration with Philips Foundation,
RAD-AID implemented a tele-ultrasound program in Guyana which includes providing real-time virtual education support and clinical hands-on, on-site support to residents conducting ultrasound exams.