Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

‘Youngsters not aware of scope of nursing courses’

VISAKHAPATNAM: Many youngsters are not aware about the qualities of the nursing and the huge job opportunities the profession provides, while the locals do not show interest and many students from outside the State join the course in Andhra Pradesh colleges and schools, said office-bearers of the State branch of Trained Nurses Association of India (TNAI).

A lot of details about nursing profession and courses were explained by them at a press conference organised here on Saturday on the eve of the two-day conference being organised by the State unit to celebrate the centenary celebrations of TNAI and the centenary conference of AP branch on Sunday and Monday in the city.

Incidentally Visakhapatnam is hosting the State conference for the first time, at the Kalavani auditorium in the Nehru Place, the port’s sports and cultural complex. About 2,000 nurses and nursing students are attending the conference.

The Manisha nursing institutions, which is running five nursing colleges in the State, is hosting the conference.

Chairman of Manisha institutions V. Vijay Kumar Raju, president of AP branch of TNAI A. Gnanalaxmi, who is also former Deputy Director of Nursing, secretary C.R. Shamshad Begum, chairperson of the organising committee and Principal of Manisha College of Nursing Anita Collins, Principal of Academy of Life Sciences-Nursing B. Ratna Philip, Principal of College of Life Sciences Shakuntala, vice-presidents of AP branch of TNAI Sr. Florance, and treasurer Hemalata Sarojini spoke at the press conference.

Nursing was a professional course on par with any other course. It has made a lot of advances during the last 100 years since the time a group of European nurses holding administrative positions in India formed TNAI. It was an independent profession and the mind set of medical profession must change regarding nursing profession, they said. Nursing conditions must develop because there was no total cure for some diseases and the patients needed nursing care. However this was not understood by the people.

Nursing was distinct from the procedure that was under the purview of doctors and this was also not known by the people in India. On the other hand patients in advanced countries like the UK and the US were provided a better care and enjoy the nursing care more because of the services made available to them. There was a great demand for nurses in India and in foreign countries the Indian nurses were most preferred due to the quality service they render. In spite of this fact not many were preferring the profession, which would offer immediate employment after finishing the course. Nearly half of the seats under the Government quota were not being filled.

People were also not aware that there were post-graduate and Ph.D. programmes in nursing. The nursing education had grown tremendously and there were specialisations in the course.

From health workers like ANMs to professional nurses, all were members of the TNAI.

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