Nursing as a profession is probably the most misunderstood one; often wrongly assumed to be an unrewarding profession suited only to women, and intellectually incomparable to being a doctor. Due to these misconceptions, of the 6,66,000 seats available each year to pursue nursing studies in India, most remain vacant.
But now with the growth of private multispeciality hospital brands, pharma cos and even government healthcare systems, the demand for nurses has accelerated.
"Today there are is just one nurse instead of the ideal 2.2 nurses, for every 1000 patients in India," informed Jaya Kuruvilla, Principal, PD Hinduja College of Nursing. "Not just in India, but also in Gulf countries, UK, Ireland and the US there is a shortage of nurses. In fact the US Bureau of Labour Statistics has projected a need for over one million new and replacement nurses by 2016," she added.
Nursing is an exciting profession that is heavily dependent on knowledge of health sciences like anatomy, physiology, genetics, biochemistry, nutrition and behavioural sciences such as psychology and sociology. With BScs, MScs, PhDs, nursing can be an exciting and lucrative option for those desirous of a medical career.
One can pursue courses like diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) and BSc in Nursing after class 12 science. For students who are unable to pursue a BSc in nursing, some colleges conduct a post basic BSc Nursing bridge programme to enable GNM Diploma holders to upgrade themselves to a BSc degree.
Beyond a BSc, today nursing also allows students to create a niche by picking specialisations and super specialisations. "MSc courses allow students to pursue specialisations like critical care nursing, oncology nursing, cardio vascular and thoracic nursing, neonatal nursing, operation room technique, obstetric nursing, mental health nursing and community health nursing," highlighted Kuruvilla.
With 100% job placements, Indian nurses can make their way up the ladder in hospitals, community clinics, health departments, rural and urban out reach programmes, school health programmes, home care for an independent practitioner, occupational health nursing, pharmaceutical companies, clinical research in roles like administrator/ supervisor/ manager/ director of nursing.
"Even the most basic GNM diploma holders get Rs8,000- 12,000 as starting salary. After two years, a BSc Nurse is eligible to be a teacher and fetches around Rs15,000-20,000 per month. After post graduation salary can be anywhere between Rs30,000-60,000 per month," said Kuruvilla. "While abroad, a nurse earns around Rs2 lakh per month, making this profession an extremely rewarding one." Over the years, nurses have also ventured into running polyclinics, nursing bureaus and hospital planning.
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