Ms. Anita Shrestha holds a postgraduate degree in M.Sc. (N) in Medical-Surgical Nursing (CTVS) Specialty. She started her career as a Clinical Instructor for 2 years at the CPMS College of Nursing in Guwahati, after which she worked as a Coronary Care Unit Staff Nurse and later as a nurse educator at Apollo Hospitals in Guwahati for a total of 4 years. Her experience as a Clinical Instructor helped her assess and refine her teaching abilities, further motivating her to nurture and impart the best lectures and demonstrations to the budding ANM, GNM, B.Sc. (N), and P.B. B.Sc. (N) students. During her service at Apollo Hospitals Guwahati, working as a Staff Nurse in the coronary care unit helped her gain confidence and acquire skills to handle critical patients and provide the best care independently. She has also been actively involved in administrative and managerial roles at Apollo Hospitals in Guwahati during her tenure as a Nurse Educator. She has inducted nurses, organised and conducted rigorous training programs, nursing campaigns, webinars, and workshops, and also supervised nurses working in all areas of care in the hospital. When the pandemic hit the world and COVID was everywhere, she conducted several pieces of training like Operating Ventilators for all non-critical care nurses, Infection Control Practices for COVID, Safety of Nurses in the Workplace, Incentives for Nurses Working in COVID, etc., where she actively voiced and advocated for the nurses working in Apollo Hospital Guwahati. Her journey as a Nurse has been challenging yet fulfilling. With the knowledge and experiences she gained, she decided to join the PEWS Group of Institutions in the Department of Nursing as a lecturer and also the coordinator of B.Sc. (N) 1st and 2nd semesters. She is currently involved in teaching students from GNM, B.Sc. (N), and P.B.B.Sc. (N) batches. She also oversees, plans, and delegates the events, workshops, and conferences organised by the Nursing Department in the CPMS College of Nursing. Her vision is to impart the best nursing knowledge and skills to the budding nurses of the CPMS College of Nursing, who are the future of this world. As a faculty member in Nursing, she has pledged to render quality nursing education so that the students passing out from this institute can provide quality care to patients in this country and worldwide.

Ms. Anita Shrestha

What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute/dept. which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

At present, the latest program that we have started implementing in our Nursing Institute is the B.Sc. (N) Semester-Wise Program, which was directed by the Indian Nursing Council. The revision of the curriculum in this Semester System is what makes all the difference. It was undertaken by the Indian Nursing Council, considering the various recommendations of the NHP and NEP. The revised curriculum adopts a semester, credit, and choice-based system, and it comes with enormous advantages for the student nurses who are the future of the healthcare system in this country and worldwide.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt?

The introduction of the B. Sc. (N) Semester System has several factors which make it one of the best programs to opt for. Factors like modular learning and simulation-based learning are adopted by numerous nursing Institutions to refine the practice of student nurses and make them even more robust in their area of practice. Factors like relationship and transformational learning approaches are integrated throughout this revised curriculum. To facilitate the teacher's effective implementation of the revised syllabus, it has been presented in a format wherein details of the units have included several teaching and learning activities. The curriculum mainly utilises competency-based and outcome-based approaches.

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What will you say the “best practices” in the course you’re offering

A student nurse is evolving into a fully equipped community health officer (CHO) in Health and Wellness centres, and Nurse Practitioner Midwifery (NPM) is one of the best practices in this course. The reason is the topics exclusively included in this revised curriculum by INC. Topics like Nursing Informatics, which makes a student nurse well versed with the current technological trends and practices used for patient care and patient safety in and around the world, and other topics like Modules on Community Health Officer (CHO), which is a ready-made study guide to mould and polish the student nurses to independently function as CHOs right after they complete the course.

What are some valuable insights of the program that you are offering at your institute/dept.?

Student's induction and training in a well-equipped multi-specialty hospital setting expose them to the best nursing practices, making them confident to operate independently in critical and non-critical situations. When students are provided with the best healthcare facilities in the state and country, it leaves an everlasting impact on their minds and also motivates them to give their best. Reminding the students about the ever-lacking staff shortages in and around the country and how they can make a difference in society once they complete their course successfully is one of the few valuable insights imparted through this program.

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How does the program ensure that students are being prepared for the future?

Unlike the previous system of Nursing Education followed in the past, this program with a revised curriculum includes a wholesome and detailed curriculum that adopts Modular learning and also simulation learning in many areas, enabling future student nurses to be competent and also future-oriented with hi-tech care giving abilities. In this ever-changing world of technology, where digitization has crept almost everywhere, this program brings student nurses closer to the future, which they will be embracing in the years to come in the area of healthcare delivery systems. Practising ahead of time in a skilled lab with simulated dummies or having hands-on experience with the latest technologies used in hospitals across the country are a few of the many advantages that this program focuses on ensuring that the students are prepared for the future. 

How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

Attending training and carefully focusing on every INC meeting resolution, direction, and guideline has been a clear-cut road map to the implementation of this B.Sc. Nursing Semester Program in our Institute. Although the credit system and many other topics are new to the fraternity, with constant support and crystal clear directions, we can move ahead.

How do you tend to build an industry connect with this program?

With the implementation of this program, there is a wider scope of new learning for both the students and the teachers, and this is why it allows us to be able to connect with many other institutions and higher authorities in power to further understand and work together for the better implementation of this program. This program has also bridged the gap between institutions and got the nursing departments from all over the state and country into a discussion mode. Since it is a new thing for almost every one of us, communication and connecting with higher authorities have been key to expanding the network of communication between higher authorities heading the Nursing Fraternity.

What were the challenges that you faced while inculcating this program in your curriculum?

This revised curriculum is a power-packed program, that came with challenges like the need for immediate upgradation and procurement of smart boards, simulation lab preparation, learning of the application of the new system of calculation in scores, training of the teachers and the students, etc. Although it is a new thing, it is not impossible, and through other training and thorough guidance, so far it has been a learning curve.

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

As this revised program has been recently included in the institution's curriculum and only the first semester has been completed, there have been no projects so far, but the projects related to their subjects will be taken up by the end of this year.

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

The career options are numerous, and since the curriculum has now been revised, it opens many more doors for student nurses. As mentioned earlier, CHO is a career option that the student can directly start without any extra training. Also, including nursing informatics in the revised curriculum makes the student nurses competent in dealing with technology.