Nursing in India

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Nursing in India is the practice of care for medical patient in that nation.
Its history indicates that the principles and practices of nursing are ancient. These ancient nursing
practices are so clear, intelligent and scientific, that many of them might fit into any of the
modern textbook. Prior to the 20th century, Indian nurses were usually young men, and only in
special cases, women were taken for conducting childbirth. The progress of nursing in India was
obstructed by the low status of women, the caste system, illiteracy and political unrest.
Contents
1 Military nursing
2 Maternity
3 Florence Nightingale
4 Training schools
5 The 20th century
6 Scope of nursing in India
7 Further reading
8 See also
9 External links
Military nursing
Military nursing was the earliest type of nursing. In 1664 the East India Company started a
hospital for soldiers in a house at Fort St.George, Madras. The first sisters were sent from St
Thomas' Hospital, London to this military hospital.
Maternity
In 1797 a Lying-in-Hospital (maternity) for the poor of Madras was built with the help of
subscriptions by Dr. John Underwood. In 1854 the Government sanctioned a training school for
midwives in Madras.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was the first woman to have great influence over nursing in India and had a
close knowledge of Indian conditions, especially army. She was interested in the nursing service
for the civilian population, though her first interest was the welfare of the army in India.
In 1865, Miss Florence Nightingale drew up some detailed "Suggestions on a system of nursing
for hospitals in India". Graduates were sent out from the Nightingale School of Nurses at
St.Thomas Hospital, England to start similar schools in our country. St Stephens Hospital at
Delhi was the first one to begin training the Indian girls as nurses in 1867.
Training schools
In 1871, the first School of Nursing was started in Government General Hospital, Madras with 6
months Diploma Midwives program with four mid-wife students.
Four lady Superintendents and four trained nurses from England were posted to Madras.
Between 1890 and 1900, many schools, under either missions or government, were started in
various parts of India. In the yearly twentieth century, National Nursing Associations were
started.
In 1897, Dr. B. C. Roy did great work in raising the standards of nursing and that of male and
female nurses.
The 20th century
In 1908, the trained nurses association of India was formed as it was felt necessary to uphold the
dignity and honor of the nursing profession.
In 1918, training schools were started for health visitors and dais, at Delhi and Karachi. Two
English nurses Miss Griffin and Miss Graham were appointed to give training to and to supervise
the nurses.
In 1926, Madras State formed the first registration council to provide basic standards in
education and training. The first four year basic Bachelor Degree program were established in
1946 at the college of nursing in Delhi and Vellore.
With the assistance from the Rockfeller Foundations, seven health centers were set up between
1931 - 1939 in the cities of Delhi, Madras, Bangalore, Lucknow, Trivandrum, Pune and Calcutta.
In 1947, after the independence, the community development programme and the expansion of
hospital service created a large demand for nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives, health visitors,
midwives, nursing tutors and nursing administrators.
The Indian Nursing Council was passed by our ordinance on December 31, 1947. The council
was constituted in 1949.
In 1956, Miss Adrenwala was appointed as the Nursing Advisor to Government of India. The
development of Nursing in India was greatly influenced by the Christian missionaries, World
War, British rule and by the International agencies such as W.H.O. UNICEF, Red Cross,
UNSAID etc.
The first masters degree course, a two-year postgraduate program was begun in 1960 at the
College of Nursing, Delhi. In 1963, the School of Nursing in Trivandrum, instituted the first two
years post certificate Bachelor Degree program.
The associations such as International Council of Nurses, the nurses auxiliary of the CMA of
India, T.N.A.I. Indian Nursing council and State level Registration Council are closely connected
with promotion and the upliftment of the nursing profession.
Scope of nursing in India
There was a time when professional nurses had very little choice of service because nursing was
centered in the hospital and bedside nursing. Career opportunities are more varied now for a
numbers of reasons. The list of opportunities available are given under:
1. Staff Nurse provides direct patient care to one patient or a group of patients. Assists ward
management and supervision. She is directly responsible to the ward supervisor.
2. Ward sister or Nursing Supervisor, She is responsible to the nursing superintendent for the
nursing care management of a ward or unit. Takes full charge of the ward. Assigns work to
nursing and non-nursing personnel working in the ward. Responsible for safety and comfort of
patients in the ward. Provides teaching sessions if it is a teaching hospital.
3. Department supervisor/Assistant Nursing Superintendent. She is responsible to the nursing
superintendent and deputy nursing superintendent for the nursing care and management of more
than one ward or unit. Example Surgical department. Out-patient department.
4. Deputy nursing superintendent. She is responsible to the nursing superintendent and assists in
the nursing administration of the hospital.
5. Nursing Superintendent She is responsible to the medical superintendent for safe and efficient
management of hospital nursing services.
6. Director of Nursing She is responsible for both nursing service and nursing educations within
a teaching hospital.
7. Community Health Nurse (CHN) services rendered mainly focusing Reproductive Child
Health programme.
8. Teaching in nursing. The functions and responsibilities of the teacher in nursing are planning,
teaching and supervising the learning experiences for the students. Positions in nursing education
are clinical instructor, tutor, senior tutor, lecturer, and associate professor, Reader in nursing and
Professor in nursing.
9. Industrial nurse Industrial nurses are providing first aid, care during illness, health educations
about industrial hazards and prevention of accidents.
10. Military Nurse. Military Nursing service became a part of the Indian Army by which means
nurses became commissioned officers who are given rank from liutenant to major general.
11. Nursing service abroad Attractive salaries and promising professional opportunities, which
causes a major increase for nursing service in abroad.
12.Nursing service administrative positions. At the state level the Deputy Director of Nursing at
the state health directorate. The highest administrative position on a national level is the Nursing
Advisor to the Govt. of India. 13. Nursing leadership is not at all in India. there must be need of
the strong leaders in India which may make the nursing level high. At this time India is suffering
from the lack of good and actual leader in nursing.
Further reading
Wilkinson, Alice (1958). A brief history of nursing in India and Pakistan. Delhi: Trained
Nurses Association of India. pp. 115.
See also
Indian Nursing Council
External links
Indian Nursing Council
Indian Nursing schools
KNN College of Nursing