Nursing colleges in Punjab: Admissions to be made through centralized mechanism

LAHORE: To ensure uniformity and standardization, admissions to the nursing colleges in Punjab this year will be made through a centralized mechanism like public sector medical and dental institutions of the province.

Admissions will be done by the University of Health Sciences (UHS) and the candidates will apply for 4-year BSc Nursing programme through an online portal.

This was decided in a special meeting of the UHS Board of Studies in Nursing, on Tuesday, which was presided over by the caretaker Provincial Health Minister Prof Javed Akram.

Besides the heads of around 60 affiliated nursing colleges, Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME) department Punjab Secretary Dr Ahmed Javed Qazi, UHS VC Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore, King Edward Medical University VC Prof Mahmood Ayaz, Fatima Jinnah Medical University VC Prof Khalid Masood Gondal, and University of Child Health Sciences VC Prof Masood Sadiq were present in the meeting.

A delegation of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting under the chairmanship of its former president Dr. Shehla Javed Akram. Moreover, the principals of public and private sector medical colleges of Punjab also participated through a video link.

All the participants agreed to the decision to centralize nursing admissions. It was decided that a central induction policy will be formulated for nursing admissions on the pattern of postgraduate medical programmes.

The Admission Committee will be headed by Secretary SHC&ME while vice chancellors of all medical universities and DG Nursing will be its members. It was agreed that the BSc Nursing admissions will be advertised in September. The online registration of candidates will be completed in October while the first merit list will be out in December. Classes in nursing colleges will start in March.

This policy will be effective from the session 2023-24. A committee of experts was constituted to make the curriculum reforms which will submit its recommendations within a month.

On this occasion, approval was also given to start Punjab’s first journal of nursing to promote scientific research in the field.

The Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WCCI) Lahore announced that it will conduct three and six months short courses in English language, IT, and interpersonal skills for nurses to groom their personality. For this purpose, a formal agreement will be signed between WCCI and UHS.

Addressing the meeting, Prof Javed Akram said that reforms were being made in the nursing curriculum across Punjab.

He further said that the chief minister Punjab was taking a keen interest in improving the quality of nursing education and standards of the profession because he believed that “nurses can and should be leading, too”.

Secretary SHC&ME Dr Ahmed Javed Qazi said: “Nurses themselves must play the leading role in improving their image. Nurses should recognize that they have the power-and the responsibility to foster change in their profession. They can start by projecting a professional image in everyday interactions, including how they communicate with patients.”

UHS VC Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore said that the university was establishing a Professional Skills Development Center for the training of doctors, nurses, and paramedics through which it intended to offer courses to enhance the professional skills of health professionals.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023