PESHAWAR, Sept 4: The provincial health department has launched a five-year programme for advanced training of the nursing staff at country's premier health institutions to improve the patient care.

The initiative titled “Skill development programme to award scholarships in the field of nursing and physiotherapy” would get underway from November for which an endowment fund of Rs701 million had already been set up, said Special Secretary Health Dr Noorul Iman.

“To select nurses on merit for BSc and MSc nursing and BSc in physiotherapy has been necessitated by the growing need for specialised nurses and physiotherapists and improve healthcare delivery,” he added.

He said that in the past they had been offering four-year BSc nursing courses to the students having secondary school certificate (SSC) examination with pre-medical group that would stand invalid by the year 2015. “Owing to rules of Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC) and global changes, the existing training system will stand invalid,” he said.

“Under the new programme, trainings being imparted will include Post Registration Nurse (PRN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and MSc,” he said. The male and female ratio has been fixed at 10:90 while the ratio in physiotherapy is 50:50.

For the PRN, the candidate will be required at least two years experience from any recognised institute while the students wanting to get BSN course will need at least 55 per cent marks in FSc.

The MSc candidates will require one year experience as BSN. Those aspiring to apply for physiotherapy courses will need with 55 per cent marks in FSc (pre-medical).

Dr Iman said that the profession of nursing had made tremendous progress globally and it was need of the hour to provide modern education to the students in areas of intensive and neonatal care besides other specialised branches of medical sciences.

“A total of 330 students would be given free education along with accommodation and expenses as well as tuition fee,” he said. A steering committee under secretary health had been formed to make final selection of the candidates, he said.

Nurses with basic training will apply for BSc where as for MSc, those candidates, who have successfully completed and are awarded BSc Nursing Degree by PNC after 16 years of education, will be considered.

Dr Iman said that all the nursing schools needed to be upgraded to offer bachelor degree by 2015 as per PNC guidelines and international criteria.

The programme aimed at developing skills of medical and allied professionals and building capacity of government to address the future challenges and contribute to the economic development through employment generation would also give much-needed boost to 10 nursing and two postgraduate nursing schools in the province.

All the 12 schools were on the verge of closure owing to lack of tutors, he said.

According to PNC rules all schools should have skilled faculties, three members with master degree in nursing with three to five years experience in teaching and clinical experience for 60 students while same number of faculty members with three years experience is required for Post Registration Nurse.

Dr Iman said that the selected nurses would get training at Agha Khan University Karachi, Shifa Institute of Nursing Education Islamabad and Khyber Medical University Peshawar (KMU).

For physiotherapy, which according to him was a neglected area so far, the selected students would be sent to College of Physiotherapy, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Institute Karachi and KMU Peshawar.