29 nursing officers commissioned

Lt Gen D P Vats congratulated the newly commissioned nursing officers and said that the responsibility of a nursing officer is both challenging and rewarding. They have the role of nursing the soldiers and civilians in the Armed Forces hospitals situated in all parts of the country in times of peace and war as well as abroad as part of UN missions. As MNS Officers they will get the dual opportunities of gaining professional excellence as well getting to see the length and breadth of this nation which has a proud cultural heritage. He emphasized on the need for nursing officers to develop communication skills and advised them to be empathetic and compassionate towards patients. He also stressed on the need for scaling new heights of technical and professional excellence,while upholding the patient care element of nursing.

According to Col Elizabeth John,Principal,College of Nursing,(CON) AFMC,this the only institution in the Armed Forces offering B.Sc (Nursing),P.B.BSc (Nursing),M.Sc (Nursing) and specialisation courses in Orthopaedic and Operation Theatre nursing. CON was established in 1964. The mission of the college is to prepare technically qualified and competent Nursing Officers,who will be able to function as nurse practitioners,nurse educationists and nurse managers in the tri service hospitals in Army,Navy and Air Force. Another unique feature of CON is that this is the only Nursing College in India whose entire faculty of the college have postgraduate qualifications. Till date 1,056 nursing graduates have passed out of this College,while 157 Nursing Officers have been granted the Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing degree. In addition to this 114 Nursing Officers have successfully completed the Operation Theatre nursing and 113 nursing officers have completed the Orthopaedic Nursing course.