[Training of the auxiliary personnel]

The writer highlights the essential role played by auxiliary nursing staff in health services. She stresses the need that such staff be trained in well-organized programs that include learning experience that prepare the student for real-life situations that will be encountered on the job. She cites the advantages of employing auxiliaries, who increase the productivity of the health system and release higher-level personnel for more demanding tasks. She also refers to the importance of competent supervision capable of stimulating auxiliaries to occupational self-improvement. Finally, she outlines a series of strategies for the future training of nursing auxiliaries in Latin America.