IHS - How to Become A Nurse: Complete Nursing Course Details
What is a Nursing Course?
As a lifesaver, Nurses are an inevitable part of the healthcare industry and the Nursing Course is the formal learning and training in this branch of science. With a combination of theoretical and practical training, the objective of a Nursing Course is to provide autonomous and collaborative care to all individuals, irrespective of age, families, groups, communities, sick or well in all situations. Thereby, the role of nurses can be regarded as an advocate for health promotion, including an educator, a caregiver, and a counselor.
Roles and Responsibilities of Nurses
The roles and responsibilities of nurses vary as per their specializations and being more than a full-time job; they have to perform the below duties in a challenging medical environment-
- Assisting doctors during the physical examination of patients and taking a lead role in implementing the prescribed care plan
- Recording medical history and symptoms by checking the temperature, blood pressure, and pulse rates
- Collaborating with medical teams to execute the patient care plan
- Communicating with patients and relatives regarding the medical condition and update
- Managing the recording and confidentiality of sensitive information
- Administered medications and treatments
- Providing emotional support for the health and well-being of patients
- Operating medical equipment and managing their settings and sterilization
- Guiding the patients regarding the management of their illness
Skills of a Nurse
As an incredibly rewarding career, the nurses have to perform various duties with diligence like
- Keeping the patients healthy
- Keeping a check on schedules of medication
- Treating their illnesses and injuries
- Preventing the spread of diseases
- Providing emotional support to patients and their family members
- Educating patients about aftercare and supervising and teaching the junior nursing staff.
So, a Nursing Course looks into the multi-dimensional roles of a nurse as their skills extend beyond administration, medication, and other therapies. To further simplify, one can segregate the nursing skills into clinical and soft skills.
The following section will give an overview of the necessary skills-
Clinical Skills-
● Patient care
● Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
● Life support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
● Emergency and Critical Care Nursing
● Case Management
Other Technical Skills-
● Pharmacology
● Cardiology
● Endocrinology
● Neurology
● Psychology
● Neonatal care and more
In the above cases, the nurses should possess the technical know-how in the above areas to manage the safety of patients.
Soft Skills-
● Effective communicator
● Critical thinking
● Flexibility and adaptability
● Detail-oriented
● Commitment to constant learning and development
Nursing Course - Types
Based on the above roles and responsibilities, the Nursing Course provides a distinct idea regarding the functions of nurses, and the educational courses and training programs are prepared accordingly. As a highly sought-after profession, under the Indian Nursing Council, nursing degrees vary in accordance with specializations. After class 12, the various types of courses are B.Sc. Nursing, M.Sc. Nursing, ANM Nursing, GNM Nursing, and Diploma in Nursing. A student with an aggregate of 50% marks can apply for the Nursing Course after the 12th. The following tables will give an overview of the different courses-