Shimla: Lest untrained staff is engaged by nursing homes, private clinics, nursing colleges or the upcoming medical colleges in the state, the Nursing Council of Himachal Pradesh has mandated that all qualified professional nurses need to be registered with the state body.
Director medical education, Jaishree Sharma, who is also president HP Nursing Council says, “it has come to our notice that there are nurses engaged in the health care sector or on the faculty of nursing colleges who are not registered with the council.”
“At a council meeting today,” she said, “it was decided to warn them that registration was mandatory, otherwise penal action against nursing professionals by suspending their practicing licenses would be taken. Action against the employers could also be initiated, she added.
With the number of nursing training schools and colleges increasing by the year, tab on monitoring about quality of education being imparted needs to be kept and for that it is essential that faculty is registered with the council, says Sharma.
Council records showed that till date there were 2778 GNM (General Nurse & Midwifery) and 2994 ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) category of nursing staff was registered with it.
It was after a gap of 7 years that training in GNM courses was started again in July 2007 to overcome acute staffing shortages and after notifying a policy, the first college offering a BSc nursing degree course was established only in 2008.
Records showed that for the 2011-12 academic session that 30 GNM schools (2 in government sector) had an intake of 1170 students and 11 nursing colleges (1 in government sector) had an intake of 500 students.
With some of these institutions deficient on infrastructure, Sharma said that those institutions that do not have their own buildings by April 2012 would face penal action from Indian Nursing Council. And should the institution not comply within three years, it would be de-recognised.
Licenses of nursing teachers found indulging in malpractices such as duplication of faculty would be cancelled, said the council president
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads the team of media professionals at Hill Post.
In a career spanning over two decades through all formats of journalism in Electronic, Print and Online Media, he brings with him enough experience to steer this platform. He lives in Shimla.
Madam,
this kind of illegal practice by the the different individuals or the society is a great hindrance to the qualified nurses and the status of Nursing profesion in almost all the states of India, Your action/warning to such practice is really a good job u are doing keep it up!