NURSING ?
What is Nursing
The field of medicine is one field that will continue to exist forever. Medicine is a need for humankind. Healthcare is a basic necessity. Similarly, in the field of medicine, nurses are the backbones of the entire sector. There are various courses available for nursing. From diploma studies to postgraduate studies, the students have opportunities across various stages. Nursing is a career that most individuals opt for. It provides an opportunity for people to work with the health sector and help and serve people in need.
Nursing professionals play a prominent role across hospitals and healthcare sectors. They act as the link between patients and doctors. Doctors don’t perform all duties; nurses perform pre and post-operation procedures. They also assist doctors in various operations and operations. They update charts and look after the patients. The demand for quality of healthcare has been increasing over the years. Nursing students are given sufficient practical training during their course. They are trained to deal with problematic and high-risk cases.
Eligibility Criteria (UG & PG) of Nursing
For Nursing Undergraduates Course
The eligibility criteria for nursing students remain basic to a certain extent. These are some criteria mentioned by most colleges:
The student should have completed 10th and 12th from a recognised board or institute.
They should have obtained a minimum of 50% at the 10+2 level.
The students should be from the science stream. They should have taken Biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics as their core subjects.
For Nursing Postgraduates Course
These are the eligibility criteria colleges look into during admissions:
The applicants should have completed their 10th and 12th from a recognised board.
The student should obtain a minimum of 50% at the 10+2 level.
The student should get a degree in the field of medicine. They should have a B.Sc. degree.
At the undergraduate level, the student should have obtained 55% or above.
Entrance exams determine admissions mostly. Hence, students should focus on scoring good marks in these exams.
The common requirements that colleges specify are mentioned here. Students should refer to the college’s notices before applying for the courses.
Entrance Examinations for Nursing
All colleges and universities that provide admission to nursing students conduct entrance examinations. Entrance examinations determine the eligibility of the student to apply for the course.
Here are the entrance exams conducted for nursing:
NEET– NEET is a national level exam conducted for all medical science students. According to the ranks obtained, the students are given admissions to various courses across colleges.
ITM NEST– It is conducted for both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. NEST University conducts this exam.
SAAT– SAAT is conducted as an entrance test at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The question paper pattern is usually in the MCQ format.
AIIMS– AIIMS conducts its entrance exam for selecting nursing students. AIIMS is one of the top medical colleges in our country. The exam is conducted for various courses.
CET– Common entrance exams are conducted across various states. These exams are held by state governments for various courses.
Various colleges conduct entrance exams for the nursing courses. They are conducted for both Bachelor’s and Master’s students. Students should have basic knowledge of the subject if they wish to write the examination.
These exams play a major role in deciding the admission of nursing students. A lot of colleges in India provide admissions based on the student’s performance in these exams.
Scope of Nursing in India and Abroad
Nursing is a very well established field in India. Many students apply for nursing all over India. Since the field of healthcare has a lot of demand and popularity in India, nursing has great participation. Nurses perform major duties and roles in a hospital. They attend to patients 24/7. They are the backbones of the healthcare sectors.
In India, nurses are not only employed in hospitals, but they are also hired across various wellness centres and holistic healing centres. Few individuals hire nurses at homes to attend to a patient’s everyday health needs. Nurses have great demand all over the country. The healthcare industry would cease to function if nurses stopped working. The whole industry is dependent on Nursing group of individuals.
Even outside, nurses are of great demand. Every single country that has a well-established healthcare sector have great demands for nurses. Since all individuals require healthcare, nurses are employed to attend to patients at the primary level. They prepare the patients for procedures and help the patients during their time in the hospital. They take care of the patient’s needs and give them their required medicines. The scope for nurses will continue to do well. Even though there are millions of people enrolling for nursing courses around the world, there is still a scarcity of nurses. This increasing demand will result in nurses being paid well and at much higher rates in the coming year
Course Fees Nursing
| Minimum Fees | Maximum Fees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | Government | Private | Government | |
| UG | 21.00 K  | 3.90 K | 16.06 Lakhs | 3.95 Lakhs |
| PG | 80.00 K | 56.05 K | 3.10 Lakhs | 2.81 Lakhs |
| DOCTORAL | 1.80 Lakhs | 67.92 K | 6.00 Lakhs | 67.92 K |
| DIPLOMA | 10.66 K | 1.50 K | 1.87 Lakhs | 50.00 K |
Course Subjects
These subjects are taught to nursing students:
Human Anatomy
Sociology
English
Pharmacology
Nutrition
Pathology
Medical-Surgical Nursing
Physiology
Environmental Science
Biochemistry
Genetics
Psychology
Microbiology
Nursing foundation
Child health nursing
Basic of computer science
Community health nursing
Mental health nursing
Research
Management of nurse Service
Communication Technology
Advanced nursing
Nursing Statistics
Gynaecological nursing
Psychiatric nursing
Careers in Nursing
Becoming a nurse is not the only option that a nursing student has. Now, a lot of nursing students complete their higher education and specialise in a field of medicine. This increases their demand and employment rates. Nurses are also given the responsibility of becoming supervisors and managers in various hospitals. They also get into teaching; since there are many medical institutes in our country, they have a great chance of finding jobs. Research is also a possible option to explore.
Job Profiles and Top Recruiters
Job Profiles in Nursing Course
Here are a few opportunities that are available for nursing students:
Job Profiles | Description |
Nurse | A nurse’s role is to attend to various patients. They help doctors during various procedures. They prepare various instruments and equipment required for procedures. |
Nurse Educator | A nurse educator is in charge of training nurses. They help the nurses around and instruct them on what is to be done. |
Nurse Supervisor | Supervisors are responsible for a team of nurses. They manage and ensure the nurses do their duties. They check on chart updates and other such duties performed by nurses. |
Professor | Many opt for the teaching profession once they finish their nursing studies. These individuals work in various private and government medical colleges. |
Counsellor | Since nurses work in close relations with patients, nurses perform the roles of a counsellor. They provide support and guidance to patients daily. |
Nursing Top Recruiters
Here are the top recruiters in the field:
Government Hospitals
Government medical colleges
Ramaiah group of hospitals
Apollo Hospitals
Fortis Hospitals
Columbia Asia Hospitals
CMC
Ayurvedic treatment centres
AIIMS
PGIMER
Medanta
Average Salary
These are the approximate figures that individuals in this field earn in a year.
Job Profiles | Annual Salary |
Nurse | Rs. 3 lakhs p.a. (Approx.) |
Nurse educator | Rs. 4 lakhs p.a. (Approx.) |
Nurse supervisor | Rs. 4 lakhs p.a. (Approx.) |
Professor | Rs. 6 lakhs p.a. (Approx.) |
counsellor | Rs. 5 lakhs p.a. (Approx.) |
Required Skillset for Nursing
The nursing field is greatly dependent on skills. Nurses require certain skills to work in this field. Here are a few:
Dexterity– Nurses need to have skilful hands. Since nurses have to perform various procedures that require them to be able to work well with their hands, dexterity is important. They should have stable hands and should be able to perform procedures and tests meticulously.
Physical Stamina– Nurses work a lot more than doctors. They spend long hours at work. Most of the time, they have to stand through time-consuming operations. They are required to attend to patients regularly. For all this, they need physical strength to stand through physically exerting work.
Strong Mental Frame– Nurses work in an environment that is constantly faced with deaths and other such negative and disappointing happenings. Nurses should be able to work in painful environments. Being the lowest in the chain, they usually hear the brunt of doctors and patients. To survive through all this, they should train themselves to have a strong mental frame.
Presence of Mind– Most of the work in the medical field are learnt and dealt with spontaneously. Training is usually insufficient to deal with matters that arise in the fields. Nurses should have the ability to react quickly to situations. For this presence of mind is important, they must know how to deal with problematic situations. They are sometimes required to work with patients when the doctor is unavailable also. Hence, presence of mind is important.
Medical Knowledge– Besides the training that the nurses are provided with, they should have basic medical knowledge. They should be aware of various procedures and methods in the field. This not for them to conduct operations, but so that they are prepared to deal with unexpected circumstances.
Observational skills– The training during nursing courses is learnt mostly through observing. The nursing students are required to observe the procedures conducted and learn from them. Their entire training is based majorly on observation.
Organisational skills– Nurses deal with a lot of responsibilities. For them to complete the work assigned to them on time, they need to be organised. They must have the ability to perform their work without making mistakes.
There are various skills that nurses require. They usually develop most of these skills during training. Those interested in taking up the course should analyse their expertise with the respective skillsets.
Course Curriculum for Nursing
The undergraduate course in nursing is usually for four years. During these years, the students are provided with adequate knowledge of various medical aspects required in the field. They are trained in various practical procedures and methods. They are given all-round training throughout the years. Colleges also provide students with internships. During the final years, the students are usually made to work in various medical colleges and government hospitals as part of their training.
The postgraduate training is usually for two years. Postgraduate training gives more exposure to students. They gain more knowledge related to the field.
