The nursing profession is an integral part of the healthcare system. Nursing education is available at the diploma, degree, post-graduate and doctoral levels. B.Sc. Nursing is a professional degree course available in various nursing colleges in the country. Nursing Council of India is a regulatory body and before admission, students must check out its approval of the particular course they plan to take.

There are two categories of courses in professional nursing education - B.Sc. Nursing and B.Sc. (Hons) Nursing. The duration is four years each. Those who have passed Plus Two or equivalent examination in science subjects, including physics, chemistry and biology, with the prescribed percentage of marks are eligible for admission. Selection is through an entrance test.

IS NURSING EDUCATION OR A NURSING CAREER RIGHT FOR YOU?

The first "nursing school" is said to have been founded in India in about 250 BC; According to the document known as The Charaka, it trained only men "of good behavior, distinguished for purity, possessed of cleverness and skill, imbued with kindness, skilled in every service a patient may require, competent to cook food, skilled in bathing and washing the patient, rubbing and massaging the limbs, lifting and assisting him to walk about, well skilled in making and cleansing of beds, readying the patient and skillful in waiting upon one that is ailing and never unwilling to do anything that may be ordered." For the next 2000 years, men and women received training in caring for the sick and wounded in many different ways: from healers and physicians, from hospitals and hospices, and from military organizations. But one war, and one woman, would change nursing and nursing education forever - The legendary Florence Nightingale.

So are you the kind of person who makes a good nursing student and then a good nurse? Being able to help people with their health needs is a wonderful thing, and it's terrific if you want to learn how and do that. But there are a lot of things you'll need to be able to do: Spend long hours on your legs. Be multi tracked enough to care for six to ten patients at the same time. Put aside what you might feel about patients and prioritize your care by the sickest patients first. Maintain patients privacy and the confidentiality of their information. In some nursing jobs, you might be called on to care for prisoners. And because some facilities can't afford not to hire qualified nurses even if they're unpleasant or lazy people, you might need to be able to shrug off personal conflicts and pick up slack for others. Nurses should have "well rounded experience," so that they can deal with many different health concerns (and other issues that patients might have) on their own, outside a hospital environment; they should also have the patience and communication skills to both listen to homebound patients -- many of whom are elderly -- and to respond to their questions and teach them what they need to do to maintain their health.