Nurses at govt hospitals redesignated 'nursing officers'

It will be ‘nursing officers’, not ‘nurses’, who will be treating you at government hospitals and colleges as the government has agreed to a demand to change their designation to “end discrimination.”

The Karnataka State Government Staff Nurses’ Association, as well as the Government Employees’ Association, had been writing to the government to change the designation. Last month, nurses at the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) had urged the government to look into the issue.

BMCRI Permanent Staff Nurses’ Association president Sanoth Kumar B had written to the chief minister stating that the union government notified the change in designation back in 2016 and the state government was yet to follow suit.

The state government has issued an order designating staff nurse as “nursing officer” and senior staff nurse as “senior nursing officer.”

“There will be no change in the grade/salary,” the order said, adding that such staffers should not demand hike in salary or promotion citing the change in designation. The order came a day before the world celebrated the nurses day on Tuesday. Kumar said the word ‘nurse’ was used in hospitals in a ‘demeaning’ way.

“Despite high qualifications like master degrees, the designation made many feel like they are being looked down. We are happy that the government has notified the change as there were no financial implications,” he said.

He, however, said the association’s demand for providing NPS and GPF to nursing officers in the Medical Health Education Department was yet to be fulfilled. “We hope the government realises our crucial role in containing Covid-19 and consider our demand”, he said.