Opportunities in M.Sc. Nursing

Demand for professionally-qualified nurses and nursing tutors are increasing day by day in the country and abroad. This demand is likely to continue in the future also. To rise further in the profession, with the option of being engaged in teaching assignments, a Master’s degree course in nursing is indeed a good choice.

M.Sc. nursing courses are being offered by the colleges of nursing attached to the medical colleges in various States. Majority of the nursing college admissions are for those domiciled in the respective States, but some prominent colleges at the national level admit students through entrance tests. Most nursing colleges tend to offer nursing courses to girls only, but the field is open to males also, though in restricted numbers.

Specialisations

Specialised courses in nursing are also available either as Master’s degree or post diploma courses in areas of medical surgical nursing; community health nursing; child health nursing or paediatric nursing; obstetrics and gynaecology nursing; mental health nursing or psychiatric nursing; and so on. Study facilities with a limited number of seats are available for the Master’s degree level programmes. Nursing graduates can also enter the administrative field by securing a postgraduate (PG) degree or diploma in hospital administration.

Study facilities

In Kerala, the government nursing colleges at Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Kozhikode offer M.Sc. nursing in different specialties for meritorious graduates in nursing.

The details are as follows:

•M.Sc. nursing (medical surgical nursing) – Total 20 seats; offered by nursing colleges at Thiruvananthapuram (8 seats), Kottayam (6 seats) and Kozhikode (6 seats).

•Community health nursing – 18 seats; offered by colleges at Thiruvananthapuram (8 seats), Kottayam (4 seats) and Kozhikode (6 seats).

•Child health nursing – 18 seats; Thiruvananthapuram (8 seats), Kottayam (4 seats) and Kozhikode (6 seats).

•Obstetrics and gynaecology nursing – 14 seats; Thiruvananthapuram (4 seats), Kottayam (4 seats) and Kozhikode (6 seats).

•Mental health nursing – 10 seats; Kottayam (4 seats) and Kozhikode (6 seats).

Duration of the course is two years. Selection is through the State-level entrance examination conducted by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, Government of Kerala. Those who have secured a B.Sc. nursing degree from any of the universities in Kerala or from any other university recognised as equivalent thereto by any university in Kerala are eligible to appear for the M.Sc. nursing entrance examination.

Those who have passed basic B.Sc. degree in nursing or post basic B.Sc. degree in nursing (regular course) or equivalent examination from universities outside the State should produce recognition or eligibility certificate.

Outside Kerala

M.Sc. nursing courses are offered by the following colleges outside Kerala. More details can be collected from the colleges concerned.

•Rajkumari Amritkaur College of Nursing, New Delhi – 110 024

•Christian Medical College and Hospital, College of Nursing, Vellore – 632 004

•Christian Medical College and Hospital, College of Nursing, Ludhiana – 141 008

•College of Nursing, Manipal University, Manipal – 576 119

•St. John’s Nursing College, St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore – 560 034

•M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Nursing Education and Research, Bangalore – 560 054

•Father Muller’s College of Nursing, Mangalore – 575 002

•KLE Society’s College of Nursing, Belgaum – 590 010

•Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Paramedical Sciences, College of Nursing, Coimbatore – 541 044

•Sacred Heart Nursing College, Madurai – 625 020

•Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh – 160 012

•All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, 110 Chitaranjan Avenue, Kolkata – 700 012

•Leelabai Thackersey College of Nursing, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Mumbai – 400 020

•Annapoorna College of Nursing, Vinayaka Mission, Salem, Tamil Nadu – 636 308

•National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore – 560 029 ( http://www.nimhans.kar.nic.in/)

M.Sc. psychiatric nursing

•All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi ( http://www.aiims.edu/)

M.Sc. nursing (neuro science, psychiatric nursing and so on)

Research

Those who successfully complete M.Sc. nursing with good marks can go for M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes. The following are among the institutions offering such programmes.

•College of Nursing, Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 011

•College of Nursing, Manipal University, Manipal

•Leelabai Thackersay College of Nursing, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Mumbai

•The Institute of Health Science, Mangalore

Career prospects

After the successful completion of M.Sc., one could try to become a clinical nurse, nurse administrator, nurse educator, nurse researcher and so on. Clinical nurses act as consultants for providing care in a designated clinical setting. A nurse administrator has organisational and functional responsibilities in running a nursing service department at various levels. Nurse educators participate in curriculum development in the clinical specialisation and helps in the academic, professional and personal growth of students.

The demand for highly-qualified and skilled nurses will continue to grow with the expansion of healthcare facilities. With the expansion of educational and training institutes in nursing, the demand for teachers is also increasing. Professionally-qualified nurses could try to get suitable positions in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and in various European countries, after qualifying NCLEX- RN (National Council Licensure Examinations for Registered Nurses), CGFNS (Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing School), TOFEL (Test of English as Foreign Languages), IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and so on. ( http://www.cgfns.org/, http://www.tofel.org/, http://www.ielts.org/). Nurse researchers are involved in research process and methodology and should be able to carryout research independently in an area of specialisation.