The Nursing Council Act was passed in 1948 and a council of nurses was formed to ensure the quality of nursing education in India. The Indian Nursing Council (INC) is an autonomous body that acts as a regulatory body for nurses and nursing education. There are several levels of nursing education India
Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM)
ANM is medical nursing course that focuses on the care of individual, families and communities. The duration of the course ranges from one to three years depending on the institution. The minimum education requirement for doing this course is senior secondary education with 45 percent marks. At the end of the course, the candidates can work as multiple health workers. The focus is on community health nursing. In some states, this course is offered after tenth class as part of vocational training.
General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM)
General nursing and midwifery course is conducted in several institutions across the country. The focus of general nursing is the care of the sick in hospitals. Schools of nursing are attached to teaching hospitals. The candidates need to have passed the senior secondary examinations. Both science and art students are eligible for study. The duration is three years.
Graduate Nursing programme (B.Sc. Nursing)
There are two types graduate nursing education in India. The 4-year basic course is for fresh entrants and the post basic course is for those who have already done the GNM course.
B.Sc. Nursing ( four years)
The entry qualification is senior higher secondary education in biological sciences, physics and chemistry. The course focuses on grooming professional nurses. The course provides balanced professional and general education and enables students to become professional nurses. The course prepares nurses to work at bedside and take up leadership roles in public health nursing.
Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing
This two year nursing programme is for those who have already done GNM. The course provides opportunity for higher education to practising nurses. The duration of the course is two years.
Postgraduate Degree in Nursing
MSc In nursing is offered in many universities. The entry requirement is BSc-N with two years’ experience. Besides, most of the universities conduct entrance test. The course trains nurses to be clinical and community health nursing specialists. At this level the students are taught to carry out research in nursing.
MPhil in Nursing
RAK College started MPhil in nursing in 1980. Now several universities offer MPhil programme. This one -year programme provides basic training required for research in undertaking doctoral work.
Ph.D programme in Nursing
The PhD programme was started in India in 1992. A candidate wishing to pursue PhD need to have gained an MPhil degree and a second class master’s degree. The course duration is three years.
Top Nursing colleges in India
- CMC Vellore: College of Nursing
- RAK College of Nursing, Delhi
- Department of Nursing: All India Institute of Medical sciences
- Manipal College of Nursing
- BM Birla Collge of Nursing Kolkota
- Government college of Nursing Kozhikode
- Sree Ramachandra Medical University, Chennai: College of Nursing
- SNDT Faculty of Nursing, Mumbai
- Government College of Nursing, Thrissur
- Father Muller College of Nursing, Mangalore
Scope of Nursing
- All staff nurses provide direct patient care.
- Nursing supervisor is responsible for the nursing care management of a ward or unit.
- Assistant nursing superintendent manages the nursing care of more than one ward or unit.
- Nursing superintendent is responsible for hospital nursing services.
- Director of nursing is responsible for nursing services and nursing education.
- Community health nurse (CHN) focuses on the reproductive child health programme.
- There are clinical instructors, tutors, lecturer, professors and readers in nursing.
- In military nursing, nurses become commissioned officers.
- There are high administrative positions in nursing service such as Deputy director of nursing at the state level and the nursing ad visor to the government of India.
Nurses working abroad
In recent years there has been a boom in nursing jobs abroad. Healthcare institutions in prosperous countries have found India as a new destination for recruiting well-trained English speaking nurses. Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi have emerged as the three main recruiting hubs. Delhi-based agencies focus on the US market while those in Kochi and Bangalore are facilitating migration to other destinations like the Gulf countries, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland and UK.