Nursing is a noble profession and requires as much dedication as that of a doctor. A nurse is the primary care-giver to a patient and contributes in the safe recovery of patients. Good nurses are always in demand. Any medical service is incomplete without nursing. Whether it is the general wards or the operation theater, the role of trained nurses is paramount everywhere. Nursing includes various responsibilities, such as maintaining patients’ records, dispensing medication, setting up the equipments of an operation theater and many other routine jobs. As specialized duties, nurses are required to take care of psychiatric or pediatric patients.

In fact, these days, Indian nurses have good career opportunities abroad too. India is seen as a talent pool of skilled nurses. The nursing course can be done at both degree and diploma levels. B.Sc Nursing is a popular course and available at various reputed universities and institutes. There are many nursing courses and nursing colleges in India. Nursing training includes both theory and practical.

Taking care of the sick and the infirm people is no mean task. It requires patience and kind-heartedness beyond comparison. Probably, this is the reason why t his profession is dominated by women. The name of nurse Florence Nightingale became a part of history when she served patients in the Crimean War.

At the beginning of the service, a nurse is mainly trusted with the bedside care of patients. As time passes by and she gains more experience, she can specialize in the management of patients in a particular section like Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Cardiology, for which specialized skills are required.

The eligibility to pursue a Bachelor’s nursing course is that one should have completed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as mandatory subjects. For a postgraduate course in Nursing, one should have successfully completed a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. Subsequently, the eligibility required for doing a Ph. D in Nursing is the successful completion of Postgraduate degree in Nursing. There are around 500 nurses training institutes in India that admit about 10,000 students every year. The minimum age of admission is seventeen years.

One can pursue a course at Hindu Rao Hospital, Delhi, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education Research in Chandigarh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College Of Nursing in Delhi, Jamia Hamdard Rufaida School of Nursing in Delhi, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in

New Delhi, Institute of Health Sciences in Mangalore, besides many other institutes.

Acharya Institute Of Health And Sciences is affiliated to the prestigious University at Bangalore. The institute offers degree level graduate and postgraduate course in nursing. B.Sc Nursing is a full-time four-year course which includes the following subjects: Kannada, Sociology, Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Basic Principles and Practice of Nursing, General Psychology, Educational Psychology, Microbiology, Introduction to Community and Health Nursing. M.Sc Nursing is a full time two-year course which includes the following: Medical Surgical Nursing, Community Health Nursing, Paediatric Nursing, Advanced Concepts of Health & Nursing, Biological & Psychological Foundation of Nursing, Education & Nursing Education, Biostatics, Research Methodology & Nursing Research.

Sacred Heart School of Nursing based in Jalandhar, Punjab offers a full time 3-year Diploma of General Nursing & Midwifery to train the students in the field of General Nursing & Midwifery. The eligibility to appear for eh entrance exam is obtaining a minimum of 45% marks in 12th class. An entrance examination is conducted for the eligible candidates. Oral interview and verification of original certificates is conducted for those candidates who qualify in the entrance examination.

After the completion of the course, one joins as Staff Nurse in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. One can become a staff nurse irrespective of whether one holds the B.Sc. degree or the Diploma certificate. The main difference is reflected in the number of increments and the duration between the promotions. After the initial course, a nurse can specialize in fields such as Psychiatric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing, Operation Theatre Nursing, Cancer Treatment Nursing and Neo-natal Nursing.

A good nurse would have inherent qualities like patience, perseverance, responsibility and punctuality. On the job, a successful nurse develops qualities such as organizational skills, flexibility and the ability to make observations and quick decision making. Alertness of mind and team spirit are also required to tackle emergency situations.

Demand for trained nurses is very high in India as well as abroad. Nurses can get good jobs in schools, health departments, orphanages, old age homes, defense, industrial houses etc. One could also opt to join a training institute as an educator. In countries such as the UK, the US and the Middle East, nurses get paid very handsomely. In fact, India is the largest supplier of nurses to the world.

The starting salary of a nurse ranges between Rs.10,000 to Rs.12,000 per month. In state-run hospitals, they also get certain allowances like uniform allowance, house rent allowance, washing allowance, Government accommodation and free medical treatment