The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : 25 graduate from geriatric nursing course

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 01, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

25 graduate from geriatric nursing course

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, MARCH 31. For S. Sridevi, being a geriatric nursing aide is not just a profession. She sees it as the best way to serve the elderly who crave physical and emotional care.

Her views echoed those of the 25 young women who had gathered at Kumaran Hospital, Kilpauk, on Wednesday for the valedictory function of the Geriatric Nursing Aides Training course.

Candidates from underprivileged families took up the six-month free course offered by the Senior Citizens Bureau and sponsored by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board in June.

Participating in the function, V. S. Natarajan, chairman of the Senior Citizens Bureau, said it was the first batch of a course, which would serve the elderly in need of physical and psychological support and provide jobs to underprivileged women. Ten students had already obtained jobs in hospitals and old-age homes, he said.

Important role

Aban Naidu, chairman emeritus of the organisation, said nurses played an important role in curing the patients.

P. Chintamani, a student, said that the training and the means offered to treat the elderly had opened their eyes to the problems faced by the aged. Besides theoretical training, the students gained hands-on experience through visits to hospitals and homes for the aged.

M. Shanmugam, chief community development officer, Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, who distributed certificates and identity cards to the students, said such courses were needed to boost the confidence of the candidates to take up such a profession.

S. P. Ambrose, editor of Adyar Times, announced a donation of Rs.10,000 towards the course and Ann Nandini Krishnaswami, president of Inner Wheel Club of Madras, said she would sponsor a candidate.

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