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Thursday, January 13, 2011

History of nursing education in Nepal

Along with the changes during the various time periods in society many changes also happened in the health care pattern due to development of science and technology in the medical field. Care was extended from home to institution from the care of sick to promotive and preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care concepts in Nepal. Different concept of health care was introduced in the health care system of Nepal.
Nursing was developed together with the development of medical services. At first Bir Hospital was established in 1947 BS. The hospital authorities realized the need for nurses and midwives to provide care to hospital patients and the four Nepalese girls were sent to India for an 18 month midwifery courses. After returning from training  they were posted to Bir Hospital. Dr. Uma Devi Das and Ms. Rikmini Charan Shrestha were the first registered nurses who did the registered nursing course from India in 2013 B.S. 
The formal training in nursing in Nepal began with the establishment of school of nursing in Surendra Bhawan in 2013 B.S. Maharajgunj campus is considered to be the mother institute for nursing education in Nepal. In 1959, another school of nurses was established under the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) named as Shanta Bhawan School of Nursing. 
The status of nursing was enhanced by the successful completion of PCL nursing by her excellency Princess Prekshya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah who joined the nursing programme in 1973. In the late nineties the private hospital started opening its own nursing schools. This brought sudden increase in nursing teachers with higher education in the year of 2000. Nineties was the boom decade for nursing campuses. 
Nowadays, nursing education is taken more as an academic programme. Unlike its initial days, there is no need to search for girls and convince them to join nursing. 

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