Regulator Moots BSc Nursing Course For Arts, Commerce Students

If a draft proposal of the Indian Nursing Council gets approved, students with arts and commerce background will also be able to pursue BSc Nursing course. The Council's draft proposal reads "candidate with Science/Arts/Humanities/Commerce who have passed the 12th Standard examination (10+2) and must have obtained a minimum of 45% marks in the core/elective/academic subjects taken together and passed English individually," would be eligible for BSc Nursing course.

The Council has sought feedback on the draft proposal. Feedback and suggestion can be sent through email latest by January 24.

As of now, science students especially those who have cleared 10+2 with Biology as a subject are eligible for the course.

The B.Sc. nursing degree program is a four-year fulltime program comprising eight semesters, which prepares a student to become a registered nurse qualified to practice in a variety of settings in either public/ government or private healthcare settings.

Other proposals given by the Indian Nursing Council to boost the nursing education sector are in the physical and infrastructure facility of colleges, in the clinical facility provided to patients, etc.

The proposal comes after the Council had decided, last year, to opt for a single entry level for nursing by phasing out the General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) programme. While GNM is a diploma course, BSc nursing is a four year course.

In September 2019, the Council had decided to go for a 'single level entry for nursing' in order to ensure the quality of nursing education.

Admission to GNM courses will be stopped from 2021. Currently 3215 GNM schools run in the country and produce 1.2 lakh nurses in a year.

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