Nurses and nursing assistants are the largest group of professionals in the healthcare sector. The job of a nurse is exciting and challenging at the same time. There are extensive responsibilities on nurses and they are directly responsible for a patient’s care during the treatment period. Nurses don’t just take care of those who are sick but also educate those who are well. The very basic requirement to become a nurse is to have a spirit of service. One should be loving, dedicated, gentle and with immense patience to effectively take care of the physically weak, injured, infants, recuperating mothers, old patients and also mentally challenged patients. Apart from having patience and skills, nurses should also have good physical strength and stamina as their job is quite physically demanding. .

Those who wish to take up this career undergo specialized training to learn skills and knowledge to work as professional nurses. After the completion of the course, one can look forward to getting hired as a general nurse on duty or work in hospitals, nursing homes, as school nurse, in industry and private medical clinics. In normal hospitals and nursing homes, specialized nurses work with patients in a particular category. It could be surgical cases, maternity patients or pediatric cases. There has been a lot of development in this sector and consequently, nursing education and care has also been constantly improving.

The training to become a nurse includes both theory and practical practice. One could seek admission into a nursing course straight after Class X or Class XII. After the 10th standard, one can join an 18-month auxiliary nurse midwife course or multi-purpose health worker courses. The entry to these courses is merit-based. After 12th class, one can pursue a three-year diploma in general nursing from reputed nursing colleges in India and abroad. Students from Science stream are preferred in this. There is an entrance exam to get admission into this nursing course. The exam includes objective type questions in English and General Science. Other than this, one can do a four-year B.Sc in Nursing. The basic eligibility for this is pass in XII with Physics, Chemistry, Biology. Also, there are certificate courses in general nursing (GN), general nursing midwives (GNM) and male nursing (MN). The eligibility for these courses is 17 to 25 years of age.

Thus, there are degree, diploma and certificate courses to choose from in Nursing. One can also go for post graduate training in nursing. There are 2-year Master’s Degree, M Phil and Ph D courses. Mostly nursing courses are taken up by women only but there are seats for male candidates too. After the completion of one or more of these courses, one can take up a job in a hospital or a nursing home or a dispensary to gather practical experience. Nursing jobs are of various types.

The most common and the largest group of nurses is the hospital nurses. The job of these nurses is to give bedside care to recuperating patients. Also, they assist main doctors and physicians when they examine or operate upon a patient. It is a demanding profession that requires 8 to 10 hours of work each day. Nurses record temperature and pulse rate of a patient at regular intervals or as advised by the doctor. They administer medication orally and give injections. Nurses are required to change dressings and assist patient in personal care. All these duties require patience, skill and understanding of patients needs.

Nurses have to observe the condition of the patients closely and inform the doctors of the daily progress report or in case there is an emergency with the patient. Nurses are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the ward and to ensure a hygienic atmosphere for the patient.

Other than a hospital nurse, one can also work as a school nurse. These nurses supervise student’s clinic and attend to injuries or any sudden illness amongst students. They also impart first aid skills and health and hygiene practices to students. Then, there are specialist nurses such as psychiatric nursing, paediatric nursing, operation theatre nursing, cardiac care nursing. They require special training as they have to work in these specialised areas. There is a growing demand for Indian nurses abroad. In Gulf and the western countries, nurses get lucrative jobs. Hence, there has been an increasing demand for nursing courses in India.

Few useful links:

www.shiksha.com

http://medicine.shiksha.com/getCategoryPage/colleges/medicine/All/All/Nursing-Related-Courses