Panel recommends one-yr compulsory govt service for nursing students

The 4th report of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended one-year compulsory government service for nursing students. The report, released a few days ago, said that the move would reduce nursing vacancies in the state.

The commission, headed by former chief secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, was appointed by the state government in 2021. The recommendations come at a time when medical graduates are protesting compulsory service.

The report said that the one-year compulsory service could be introduced for BSc Nursing and GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery) diploma students. And that they can be deputed to primary health centres (PHCs), community health centres (CHCs) and taluk hospitals with a stipend.

The ratio of doctors to nurses recommended by WHO is 1:3. But, the ratio in Karnataka is 1:1.7 as per the national sample survey organisation (NSSO), and 1:2.3 as per the national health workforce accounts 2018, the report said.

The union health ministry’s 2020 report ‘Human Resources for Health in District Public Health Systems of India’ also mentions that 14% of the regular staff nurse positions in Karnataka were vacant, along with 8% of contract positions. The vacancies were higher in the urban PHCs and CHCs, at around 45%.

Dr K Ramu, former dean of nursing department at RGUHS and currently vice president of the Trained Nurses Association of India - Karnataka chapter, said there was indeed a huge shortage of nurses in the state. But, in case of one-year compulsory service, the government should specify nurses’ salary and also assure that they will be regularised after the service period, he said.

MBBS graduates who do compulsory rural service are paid Rs 35,000 - Rs 40,000 per month, so a salary of around Rs 20,000 should be paid to the nurses instead of a meagre stipend, Ramu added.

“During Covid, state government mandated nursing graduates to work and promised them a salary of Rs 15,000 - Rs 20,000. But, they were paid only Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 despite the risk of infection at fever clinics,” he said. “Generally, students prefer corporate hospitals as the pay is Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month.”

In fact, a government order for compulsory one-year service for the GNMs was already issued a decade ago, Ramu said.

“But, this was never implemented. All government nursing colleges allow students to start work at private hospitals.”

The Administrative Reforms Report also stated that the nursing colleges in the state had to be upgraded. Nine districts still don’t have government nursing colleges.

And in the 27 nursing colleges that do exist across the state, only 3 to 4 have teaching posts sanctioned. In other colleges, teaching is done by nursing officers from the attached medical colleges. Hence, the Department of Medical Education should create teaching posts, the report said.

It also recommended starting B Sc Nursing courses in all district and taluk hospitals with a capacity of more than 100 beds, so as to meet the requirement of government hospitals.