Tie-up

Hinduja ties up with Nebraska University

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Hinduja College of Nursing of Mumbai's PD Hinduja Hosiptal tied up with University of Nebraska Medical Centre.

They would jointly impart managerial knowledge to nurses, aimed at improving administrative and quality care skills of nurses. Said SL Shinde, Director, Nursing Administration, PD Hinduja Hospital, "The course designed on the lines of other prevalent global management programmes, aims at improving decision-making skills, communication skills, and assertiveness of nurses and also plays an important role in the grooming of the nurses by teaching them the various aspects of budgeting, performance management, stress management, etc."

The College aims to hold many more such programmes in the future, which will empower the nurses to become efficient managers. Details of the course has not been finalised.

The announcement coincided with a two-day management training programme for the nurses—’Summit 2007 Empowering Nurse Leaders’. The programme was inaugurated by the Governor of Maharashtra, S M Krishna. Speaking on the occasion, he said, "Exchange of ideas, knowledge and skills is the new age mantra for overall growth. In this background, the collaboration augurs well for the future of nursing profession."

"Proper training of nurses is crucial as nurses are the brand ambassadors of the hospital," said Vinoo Hinduja, Managing Trustee, PD Hinduja Hospital. Added Shinde, "Today, with India on the verge of becoming a hot bed of medical tourism, there is a severe shortage of trained nurses. The challenges faced today range from lack of management skills to crisis management to departmental skills. The healthcare system in India is slowly waking up to the need for involving nurses in the planning and decision-making process."

About the poor condition of nurses, Shinde lamented, "Opportunities for career advancement are limited due to the unrecognised status of the nursing profession, varying educational standards, lack of assertiveness amongst nurses, poor knowledge of business/managerial skills amongst them. Their work environment is ridden with inflexible duty schedules; occupational hazards, harassment by medical/paramedical/ office personnel. Therefore, the nurses in India are in dire need of training.”

EH News Bureau