On International Nurses Day, Dr Annu Kaushik, Director of Nursing, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals highlights that while traditional nursing skills and abilities remain vital and are consistently upgraded, industry at large is adapting to the fast-evolving technologies that enable our nurses to provide instant, more efficient and personalised care
Nursing, one of the noblest and most trusted professions, has over the recent years expanded in scope and risen above the stereotype to include an extensive gamut of services that offer holistic wellness within healthcare settings and beyond. The relentless advancement of technology is expected to bring about significant changes not only in patient care, but also in the realm of nursing education and the roles that nurses will play in future. With the introduction of increased automation, mobility, and remote care capabilities, the profession is poised for a massive transformation. While traditional nursing skills and abilities remain vital and are consistently upgraded, industry at large is adapting to the fast-evolving technologies that enable our nurses to provide instant, more efficient and personalised care. For instance, the availability of Tele- NICU or E-NICU, in remote locations in our country, is one such initiative under this segment.
Another technologically enabled recent development in nursing care has been the advent of telemedicine. Enabling nurses to take up non-traditional roles and giving them the freedom to work from anywhere, it hopes to transform modern healthcare delivery for the better. As evident, workforce shortage is a reality in nursing care and will only aggravate further. Fuelled by nursing school and faculty shortage and a significant brain drain for greener pastures, the future belongs to thought leaders who can innovate smart solutions to manage this shortage while maintaining the quality of care. Building a skill-mixed nursing model is therefore a priority at Cloudnine. It will allow higher skilled nurses to manage more patients by allocating their time and efforts exclusively towards tasks that directly involve patient care while the indirect tasks can be allotted to the lower-skilled medical assistants.
In another endeavour to build capabilities and create a talent pool of well-qualified and committed nurses, our effort should be to go beyond the conventional metro and tier 1 locations and focussing efforts on recruiting nurses from remote locations and tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India. Coming from remote locations where nursing opportunities are limited, the nurses immensely value their job, are always eager to learn, excel, and go beyond the call of duty, stay more committed to their patients, and are loyal towards the organisation. We should as an industry at large continue to inspire others living in smaller towns and remote locations to pursue nursing as a growing profession and driving a positive change in the society. Other than building a diverse workforce and creating a larger and richer pool of talent and experience, it will only help to increase efficiency and productivity, achieve higher patient satisfaction, lower attrition rate, and ensure better response to difficult workplace situations.
Our responsibility towards our nurses should fall beyond the ambit of our workplace and involves additional efforts that ensure comfort, safety, mental and emotional wellness, and financial security.
In conclusion, the future of nursing is extraordinary and will be written by players who show the courage to take the changing trends in their stride and appoint experienced nurses to leadership roles; to strengthen our healthcare system, develop policies and procedures that promote patient safety and quality of care, and create a culture of health.