The Hindu : Kerala News : MGU to restructure B.Sc. Nursing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007
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Kerala

MGU to restructure B.Sc. Nursing

G. Krishnakumar

University to hold discussions on compulsory internship

TIME TO SERVE THE NATION: Nursing students of the School of Medical Education under Mahatma Gandhi University at a convocation ceremony in Kochi on Tuesday.

KOCHI: Mahatma Gandhi University has plans to restructure its syllabus for the B.Sc. Nursing programme after the Indian Nursing Council tightened its stance on making one-year internship in hospitals a compulsory part of the academic programme.

In an interview to The Hindu here on Tuesday, Vice-Chancellor Jancy James said that the university would soon hold a detailed discussion, as the council had already made it clear that no relaxation would be given in making internshi p an essential component of the nursing degree course.

Internship

According to the Indian Nursing Council, the academic content of the course would be completed in four years. Students would then join various hospitals to complete their one-year internship programme.

The council guidelines highlight the point that internship would help students learn to give comprehensive care in different areas, as well as develop professional skills in providing care to the patients.

Referring to the growing resistance against making internship compulsory, Dr. James said that students wanted to take up jobs immediately after they completed the four-year academic programme.

They complain that the stipend given during the internship period was low forcing many to take up jobs in hospitals.

Dearth of professionals

Moreover, many hospitals were eagerly awaiting the students to complete their course for immediate placement following an increasing demand for skilled professionals in the nursing sector.

Pointing out that the hospital industry had unanimously certified the competence of students passing out from various centres of the School of Medical Education under the university, Dr. James said that students were finding it really difficult to get clinical experience, as most of the Government hospitals refused to extend a helping hand to them.

Clinical practice

“I had personally held discussions with District Collectors to resolve the issue. After several rounds of discussions, students were given certain schedules for their clinical practice. But the odd timings had added on to the existing problems. Our students were waiting to provide care to the patients at a time when most of the Government hospitals remained short of personnel,” she said.

Lack of funds

Highlighting the lack of funds for development of the centres under the School of Medical Education, Dr. James said that any move to slash the existing fee structure would adversely affect improvement of infrastructure and other facilities for students.

The centres needed funds for having the best of faculty and modern equipment. “Despite severe financial crunch, we have established a full-fledged building at Pathanamthitta. The process of acquiring land at Nedunkandam was progressing with the help of the local community, she said.

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