CHENNAI: With an eye on reducing workload, government nurses have appealed to the health department to enrol male students in Diploma Nursing Course in government School of Nursing Colleges. The Tamil Nadu Government Nurses Association recently submitted a memorandum, for which senior officials replied they would consider after discussion with directorates of the department.
Speaking to Express, S Kaliyammal, State treasurer of the association said, “Male nurses can be posted in sensitive wards like trauma and convicts wards, which we find tough to handle. Now, they are recruiting male nurses through Medical Recruitment Board who are graduated from private nursing colleges and they directly join. But if the department offers the course to male students, they can be trained in government hospitals during training period. This will reduce burden on us.”
A source said, “The health department stopped course for male students in 2008. One of the main reasons was it could not arrange for accommodation as it is a residential course. Also only a few seats were available, besides nursing profession is more synonymous with female as they have to assistant deliveries also. If it was male, pregnant women may feel uncomfortable.”
Nursing students stage protest on DME campus
Chennai: Around 200 people who completed their nursing assistant courses in government colleges held a protest at the Directorate of Medical Education office campus on Tuesday. S Manikandan, said, “I completed my course at Govt Kilpauk Medical College in 2014-15. Only 2009 batch students were posted in govt hospitals but subsequent batches were not posted. We request the State to give us job as there are vacancies.”