Revamp nursing profession

HYDERABAD: The Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) organised a national-level workshop on “Future of Nursing in India” on Thursday in the city. Present on the occasion was Professor A Kalyani, vice-chancellor, Tamil Nadu Open University, Archbishop of Hyderabad, Rev Thumma Bala and the  director-general of CHAI, Dr Rev Tomi Thomas. Speaking about the current situation of nursing in India, Rev Thomas said, “The biggest challenge India faces today is the lack of adequate human resources in health — physicians, specialists, nurses or paramedics, quality, number and willingness to work. In India, we are not making enough efforts to allow nurses to play the role of nurse-practitioners. It is high time we allowed them to play a crucial role in healthcare delivery.”  There are approximately 10,54, 677 nurses in India according to the CHAI statistics. “Nurses play a crucial role in the health care delivery system of today. Their role is not secondary any longer. If their skills are developed and if they are given adequate facilities they can manage the basic health care system independently. They need to be strengthened and enabled to play a vital role in health care delivery,” said the Archbishop.The workshop had four sessions. There were presentations and discussions on various topics related to nursing and nurse practitioners in India and other countries. One of the common observations was that the nursing profession over the years has undergone changes only to be diverted towards administrative procedures. A group discussion on the topic — ‘How can the services of nurses working in areas where doctors are not available be made effective?’, was elaborated on with the group concluding that it is perhaps time to rethink the role of nurses in the context of needs of the Indian population and to introduce changes in the curriculum of nursing education to meet the said needs.The workshop was conducted to mark the Silver Jubilee of CHAI’s presence in Hyderabad.