Nursing courses can now be studied even at the age of 60 in thousands of nursing colleges across the country. Taking a major decision, the Nursing Council of India (NCI) has removed the upper age limit for admission to ANM, GNM, B.Sc Nursing, M.Sc Nursing, Post Basic-B.Sc Nursing, Post Basic Diploma and Nurse Practitioner courses. Till now the minimum age for admission to these courses was 17 and maximum 35 years. Now after the new orders, students of any age above 17 years will be able to make their career in nursing by taking admission. The orders of Council Secretary Lt. Col. Dr. Sarvjit Kaur were uploaded on the website on Monday evening.
The above decision of the council will have a big impact on the nursing institutions across the country. There will be an increase in the number of students taking admission in colleges. With this, the shortage of trained nursing staff will be met. Amidst the demand of Indian nurses abroad, this decision of the council can now open a new avenue of opportunities for students in this field after the age of 35 years.
more than one lakh seats
Nursing studies are being done in 2015 institutes across the country. GNM has the maximum number of 678 colleges. There are 579 institutes which have B.Sc Nursing. There are 305 institutes for ANM, 194 institutes for MSc Nursing, 186 institutes for Post Basic Nursing, 64 institutes for Post Basic Diploma and nine institutes for Nurse Practitioner. There are more than one lakh seats in all the courses.
Lack of nursing staff will go away from hospitals
This decision will be effective in training the untrained staff in the hospital. With the removal of age limit, there will be a huge increase in the number of candidates willing for training. The number of government and private medical colleges and hospitals has to increase in future. Preparations are underway to improve the health sector. Removal of maximum age will increase the availability of trained staff. Dr. Amit Sharma, Coordinator, Department of Nursing and Paramedical, Radha Govind Nursing College
Nursing staff is the backbone of medical services. There is a shortage of nursing staff across the country. To meet this deficiency, the age limit that has been abolished is a very good decision. – Dr. Sunil Gupta, Director KMC Nursing College
The decision to remove the age limit from the nursing course is commendable. The unemployed will get the benefit of this decision. Seats will increase in colleges and new employment opportunities will be available.- Dr. Dinesh Rana, State Nodal Officer Nursing
The abolition of the maximum age limit for nursing course studies will have a direct impact on the hospital in the years to come.
The highest participation of nursing staff in hospitals across the country is from the state of Kerala. Most of the nursing staff is working in private hospitals, but they are untrained. Many of these people are such who know the work, but were not able to take training due to their old age. The decision of the Nursing Council of India can change the entire picture of the health sector.