According to “American Nurses Association”, Nursing is defined as the process of protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of different illnesses and injuries, improvement of suffering through diagnostic treatment and encouragement in the care of individuals, families, communities and populations. Nursing profession not only cares for the physical aspects of the patient but the mind and spirit as well. The task performed in nursing profession is wide. It is the process of encouraging, providing safe environment, doing research related to health system and management and providing education etc.
A. History Of Nursing In Nepal (Past, Present and Future)
Florence Nightingale is considered as the founder of modern nursing. It is believed that Nursing began in a home as a result of the traditional women taking care of their family as a role of mother, daughter, wife or sister. Similarly, nursing profession became eminent when women helped the wounded militaries and armies in the second war. The status of women in Nepal is relatively poor compared to other parts of Asian and other developed countries. In the past few decades, most of the women in Nepal were illiterate even if some are literate they were bound to do the household work. When nursing profession was first introduced in Nepal, there were various sociological factors that affected the personal and professional development of women. Conservative believes and male dominant society always kept the Nepalese women in the back of the society. Women who were working outside of their home were not viewed having a good culture. Although nursing profession has been always regarded as a valuable profession in developed countries but in Nepal nursing profession mostly being a female occupation was taken as a low status. In past days, nursing profession was totally banned for female members. Mostly, in rich family the daughters were not allowed to become a nurse. The parents strictly used to prohibit their daughter from receiving nursing education. Still there is a motto in Nepal that, ‘If sons are spoilt by studying commerce and girls are spoilt by studying nursing”. However, modern advances in technology and medicines have brought dramatic achievement throughout the world. The change of this achievement also touched in many developing countries like Nepal. These days in Nepal, the role of a nurse is more expanded from hospital to the community field. Nursing profession has been developed for both art and science consisting of psychological and biological sciences that work together to continually improve the health care field.
Because of the development of modern technology, the training of the modern nurse is incomparably better than past days. The education and the special trainings that have been provided to the Nepali nurse have changed the past concept about nursing. Now this profession has been recognized as a prestigious and responsible occupation in Nepalese society. The concept about studying nursing has changed a lot. People have started saying that the nursing profession is very different than other occupation because it is a profession that has got higher responsibility by working with the life and death of the people in the society. For this reason too, Nurses are taken as highly respected profession in the Nepali society. Instead of sending their daughter in other fields, parents have started sending their daughter in nursing field. The most recent development in nursing education has leaded this profession to a bright future of all Nepali nurses.
B. Educational background
Today, in Nepal, this profession has developed practices in different nursing specialties. They can go in any field according to their choices like in other international countries. They can specialize their nursing study in any branch of nursing like, Psychiatric, pediatric, midwifery, emergency, community etc. Because of broaden features in nursing profession Nepali citizen will enter in this filed in future too. In order to become a licensed nurse, one should take a three year course at a college, or four year program at a university. However, there are different levels of nursing study in Nepal. The requirements to enroll in nursing school now have become very strict. One has to pass her school leaving certificate in first division. By passing Proficiency Certificate Level (PCL) nursing which is three years course, one can become Staff nurse or Registered nurse. Similarly, Bachelor’s in nursing is a two years course after PCL, to study bachelor one has to have at least two years working experience. There is also a provision to do Bachelor in nursing by completing final two years of high school from the science background with the biology major. The demand of well qualified nurse is growing equally in Nepal like in other foreign countries. For this reason too, there are lots of nursing colleges established in Nepal. Increasing number of patients and hospitals, nursing homes and clinics are the main reasons for the numerous establishments of nursing colleges. As a result this has led many students to choose nursing course for their career development. According to the statistics provided by Nepal Nursing Council, there are total of seventy nursing colleges in Nepal, on which there are six academics authorities to run nursing colleges. They are Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu University, Pokhara University, National Academy of medical sciences, BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and Council for Technical and Vocational Training. (CTEVT). These institutions provide both theoretical and practical knowledge in and outside the college area. For the practical knowledge they take their students to different reputed hospitals and work with the patients and different virtual scenarios. The development of nursing profession has been increasing day by day to take up nursing as a remarkable career.
C. Professional Background in Different areas
Nursing profession is the one which requires more theoretical and practical knowledge. In Nepal, nursing career can be seen in different faculty. Some are oriented to clinical area and some are oriented to community or public area. Nurses who work in community area are called community nurse. The community nurse provides different levels of cares to individuals, families, population groups and communities, concerned with the promotion of health, prevention of disease and disability and rehabilitation. The goal is to raise the standard of community by helping them and their families to cope with the threats to health in such a way as to maximize their potential for high level wellness. They especially focus on promotion, prevention, protection, balance and social justice. They go to different area of villages and provide health education about different diseases and health related topic. Clinical practices recognize the Registered nurses for their excellent services, their role in promotion for the personal and professional growth and reward them for their hard work. The continuous involvement of the nurses for the quality improvement activities ensures a quality level of expertise towards nursing care to the patients and the families. Clinical practice is beneficial for the nurses for their overall progress, as their goal is to be a caregiver to the patients in the clinical setting. It is a very recognized practice which will benefit the nursing profession as well as the entire hospital. Hence, Clinical nurses are rewarded by various benefits like prestige, recognition, monetary compensation, and opportunities that will be benefit their career in the long run. Though, the background of nursing profession maybe various but it is recognized as a respected profession and best career for all people especially for women in the world. For this reason, nursing profession has been famous in all over the world. Nursing profession has been demanding day by day through its various specialties in all over the world
D. Personal Background
When nurse work in the different field like in hospital and community it is a very rewarding career. Nursing is the profession who specialize in the care and support of patients in various medical settings. They perform a variety of tasks from assisting doctors, administering medications, and monitoring patients. However, nurses are also someone’s’ mom, daughter, daughter in law etc The history and development of the nursing profession is very interesting. As we know that, nursing is believed to have begun in the home as a result of the tradition of women taking care of their family when needed, whether it be the role of a wife, a daughter, a mother, or a sister, still in Nepal. . When she finishes her job in hospital then again she has to do household work as well. The nursing profession in Nepal can be considered as the profession with more struggles. Sometimes, she doesn’t get chance to give time to her family by doing her long hour duty in hospital area. They are totally dedicated to their profession who are always ready to spend twenty-four hours with their patients. For this reason, to become a nurse one should have strong emotional stability. In a society , she has to act as a model of one professional medical person in medical area and when she go back to home then has to act as a model of mom, daughter or sister.
E. Factors affecting the Nursing Profession
There are many factors which affect the nursing profession in Nepal. In Nepal there is no additional government support to improve the nursing profession. Government has not given care in the shortage of staffs in the hospital, for this reason single nurse has to see whole ward with the multiple number of patient. Because of work load nurses in Nepal are frustrating day by day and they are motivated to go in foreign land. Not only in Nepal, study has shown that all nurses in the world are frustrated and have faced job dissatisfaction due to lower level of nurse staffing and growing workload. Nepal being a developing country there is still lack of medical manpower like nurses, doctors in remote areas in the ratio between patient and health personnel. Not only for remote areas but Nepali nurse has started working in foreign land too as being an international registered nurse. They go to other international countries because of high salary quality. For this reason too, Nepal has been facing a problem of nursing shortage. Also, in a Nepali society, nursing profession is not given that much respect which is given to the doctors or other health professionals. In spite of working hard in her profession, credit always goes to physicians only. Along with that there is less salary and less facilities in the working area. Those kind of some negative factors have negatively affect in nursing profession in Nepal.
F. Conclusion
The nursing profession is the profession which provides new opportunities and new skills in the society. For this reason too many youngsters are attracted in this field. However, there is always full of job opportunity at all levels of nursing in Nepal as well as in international countries in any practice and specialties which proves that future of nurses in Nepal is highly demanded. Nursing profession is highly demanded by all around the world. However, before choosing to become a nurse, one must first examine themselves and look to see if they have the right qualities for this demanding job or not. They should examine themselves that some qualities such as caring, compassion, a strong desire and willingness to help those in need, patience, honesty are with them or not.
Citation
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