The ongoing agitation by the  nurses in private hospitals needs to be noted and
responded by the doctor community in Kerala. Who can deny the important role
 played by nurses in hospitals, their  strain of work and  sacrifices on personal life.
They deserve a reasonable salary and service benefits.
 However, there is another side to it. Almost every profession in our State has
deteriorated in skills, standards, attitude and quality of work. But this deterioration
is more alarming and unfortunate in the nursing profession. Many of them trained in nursing schools and colleges outside Kerala are miserable in their skills and standards of work. Those trained in Kerala are also fast gravitating into this level.
The Nursing Teachers do not have ay role or involvement in  nursing services of the hospitals where they are supposedly training students.  Several years back in  Medical College Hospital, Trivandrum
my  friend as the Principal and myself as  a senior Clinical  Head of the Department, made some  sincere efforts to  involve nursing college  teachers and students in the patient care programmes.
Despite  good interpersonal and interdepartmental relationships it  did not succeed much. There seems a  superiority complex among the nursing college faculty and students towards service nurses.
There may be better co-ordination and interaction among the educational and hospital service sectorof nursing in some institutions; but in large majority they are  divergent sectors

Doctors' organizations  should not choose to ignore the  plight of nurses with low salary
and their legitimate claim. The matter needs support from all right-thinking doctors and hospital owners

 At the same time a system has to evolve to upgrade the skills,  standards and attitude of nursing staff in  all hospitals. UNA and INA should take up this also along with Nursing outfits in Medical Education, Health Services .
Dr. K.A.Kumar
Former Director of Medical Education
Trivandrum-9447035533