Career as Nurse: How career in nursing has evolved over the years

Nurses play an important role in today's society by promoting health, educating the public and patients about injury and disease prevention, participating in rehabilitation, and providing care and support. Florence Nightingale, who rejected the societal expectations of a middle-class woman and pursued her career in nursing, is considered by many to be the founder of modern nursing. Her unwavering determination and passion are traits that resonate with many midwives and nurses.

On the occasion of National Safe Motherhood Day The Telegraph Online Edugraph got into a candid conversation with Dr. M. M. Samsuzzoha, MD, FRCOG, Senior Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Manipal Hospital, Salt Lake, Kolkata. Speaking about Safe Motherhood, the topic of the day, he added “Specially trained midwives are highly useful in monitoring the labour and baby during labour, providing pain relief by patient control analgesia, commonly known as “painless labour” delivering the baby and looking after the newborn. They also make home visits to take care of the mother and the child, which considerably reduces the hospital load. In India, midwifery is taught as a part of General nursing training in two recognised curricula namely ANM (Auxillary Nurse Midwife) and GNM (General Nurse Midwife). Since midwifery is a duty that requires the nurses to be on their toes, a careful selection of the manpower has to be made without disbalancing any hospital or nursing home’s workload balance”.

Importance of Midwifery

The importance of having a strong midwifery cadre in providing quality childbirth care to mothers and newborns cannot be undermined. Midwives can ensure that the care provided is not only of high quality but also delivered with compassion and respect for the mother's dignity. Midwives can also play a crucial role in promoting a positive birthing experience for both the mother and the newborn.

As per Dr. Shailendra Hegde, Program Director, Jhpiego, midwifery-led care can help in promoting physiological births, which are natural and without unnecessary intervened by medical procedures. This can help in reducing over-medicalisation, which has become a concern in the healthcare sector. Studies have shown that a significant percentage of pregnancies and births do not require specialised obstetric intervention, and midwifery-led care can ensure that only the necessary interventions are provided.

Modern midwives go through rigorous and formal training after studying to be a nurse. They form a major part of a woman’s journey through her pregnancy and are intrinsic to respectful maternity care. This woman-centred approach to maternal health prioritises the needs, values, and priorities of women and their families. It ensures that pregnant women receive high-quality, compassionate, and culturally sensitive care during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. This includes ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect, that their choices and preferences are honoured, and that they receive evidence-based care that is tailored to their individual needs.

“Midwives play a critical role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By prioritising quality childbirth care they can contribute to achieving SDGs related to maternal and child health. Thus, building a strong midwifery cadre and rolling out midwifery services can help in achieving better health outcomes for mothers and newborns”.

How has midwifery changed over the years:

As per Dr. Samsuzzoha, before midwives came into the picture, obstetricians were looking after the childbirth process and care of pregnant & delivering mothers. However, a separate midwifery service has been established to share the load of the clinical staff, especially the pressure on gynaecologists in the process of childbirth, particularly uncomplicated vaginal births. Over the years, midwives have created an overall impact and they have proved that they are capable of handling straightforward and uncomplicated vaginal delivery, antenatal, postpartum and newborn care. It has come up with a lot of training and a series of developments in the process of midwifery services.

With the undeniable need for an alternative model of delivery and recognising the critical role of midwives in the area of childbirth and mother care, the concept of midwifery has gained momentum in India with the aspect of promoting continuum care through the provision of women-centric care. In the year 2018, midwifery services have been prioritised in India with an aim of having a dedicated team of midwives through intensive training and education.

A comprehensive approach has been undertaken to review the need of nurse practitioner midwives (NPM), to recognize that pregnancy is not any disease and that with the right support, uncomplicated deliveries can be done. To ensure the same, 18 months midwifery training program is provided as par the international standards. Skilled and motivated midwives will play a key role in achieving positive health outcomes for both child and the mother. The integration of midwifery in the Indian medical system is pivotal in not only reducing the workload of the clinical but a significant reduction in still born babies is also witnessed since midwives are capable of providing 87% of the essential care to the women & child during birth and even post birth. Moving ahead, an impetus will be given on more skilled staff, better training facilities and employment of midwives in Indian medical practice.

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With booming Information Communication Technology (ICT), the training for midwives has taken a new dimension and with letting the midwives acquire new skills, work across challenging environments, adapt to new requirements at times of medical urgency, provide evidence-based care, and acquire new skills to function in an effective manner in a diversified environment.

Types of Job opportunities in nursing in India:

• Staff Nurse
• Industrial Nurse
• Military Nurse
• Nursing teacher
• Department supervisor

Career in nursing:

Nursing careers in India can be explained by the form of responsibility and duty they offer. Some are generally involved in preparing and determining patient care requirements and performing surgical procedures, while others are expected to maintain medical records and supervise and administer routine examinations and medications. increase. Nursing careers in India offer many opportunities and scope, especially with the expansion of medical facilities. The average salary of a nurse in India ranges from ₹ 0.2 Lakhs to ₹ 4 Lakhs.