from Divvy Kant Upadhyay
for Daijiworld Media Nework - Mangalore (GA)
Mangalore, Nov 15: “Lighting the lamp is one of the most auspicious occasions in the nurse’s life” said the principal of Nitte-Usha Institute of Nursing Sciences, Meera K Pillai in her address to the students on the occasion of the Lamp Lighting ceremony of the First Batch of B.Sc. Nursing Students of the newly-commissioned Manipal College of Nursing Sciences (MCONS).
She emphasized on the significant difference between the art and science on nursing. She said “while the sciences can be learnt easily, it is tough to learn the art of nursing and the onus to grasp the art is the students’ entirely”. She asked the students to develop a child-like curiosity to learn things rather than to memorize portions for the examinations.
Dr Rajasekharan Warrier, vice-chancellor of the Manipal University, the chief guest at the function wished the new batch of students good luck for their future endeavors. Being a pediatrician himself, the organizers were happy to have him for the occasion which coincided with the Children’s Day that falls annually on November 14. He stressed that nurses and doctors did not need high intelligence to treat patients. “Average intelligence but with a very high and selfless degree of compassion and dedication is what is required to take care of patients,” he said. He added “training for nurses is crucial as it is the nurses who spend the maximum time with the patient and are the actual bridge between the patients and doctors.
He encouraged the nursing students to take up higher studies and be clinically oriented rather than have theoretical knowledge alone. The dignitaries hoped that in India the system of advanced nurse practitioners comes soon.
MCONS dean Juliana Linnette D’Sa welcomed the gathering. Senior administrators from Kasturba Medical College in the city were present at the function.
Ironically, doctors in India have recently voiced their concern over the high rate of brain-drain of trained and experienced nurses to the middle-east and the western countries, especially USA. Even in the city senior surgeons and doctors feel at a loss when senior experienced nurses leave the shores of the country for better prospects overseas ignoring the fact that they are creating a large vacuum in quality of patient care. Apart from nursing institutes mushrooming in the country, it is perhaps high time to have serious policy change and good pay packages to stop the vital loss of trained nurses in India.