Employability skills for ANM nurses: A path to livelihood and growth

Bhubaneswar: In an attempt to address the challenges encountered in the urban home healthcare and nursing sector, OrangeCross Home health Pvt. Ltd., in collaboration with the Odisha Skill Development Authority, is continuing its three months’ training program for upskilling ANM (Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery) nurses here.

The ANM or the Auxiliary Nursing Midwifery course is a 2-year diploma course after Class 12, which focuses on the training of nurses as community health workers. The program lays emphasis on basic nursing training. Candidates pursuing the ANM program are expected to have knowledge of the basic concepts of nursing as well as being able to provide first aid and primary medical care to the patient generally in rural settings. The ANM nurses with a science background at the +2 level can further continue to study for a GNM degree. Of late, the duties of the ANM nurses in urban areas are being reviewed for upgradation of skills to stay in tune with current developments in nursing. Although the prospects of employability for B.Sc. and GNM nurses are much higher both, in Government and private hospitals, upskilling the ANM nurses in areas like Geriatric care, home nursing, Advanced GDA do provide opportunities for higher employability and salary in various healthcare segments.

 

While the Government ANM colleges are able to provide quality training to the nurses, the problems faced by the private ANM nursing training system are manifold. The theoretical and practical training are yet to match the standards required in the industry. The lack of infrastructure, proper teachers and a general lack of monitoring and proper implementation of the courses has been seen in many of the private ANM colleges. These issues result in a poorly trained workforce with low employability, respect, confidence and wage demand. The apathy towards the entire system is something that needs to be attended to urgently and sincerely. This calls for development of a culture of progress and upliftment through proper delivery of training. Afterall education and healthcare are the basic measures of wellbeing and foundation for any society.

 

In this context, it is important to note that the profile of an ANM nurse is typically that of a 20–22-year-old female candidate from lower-income groups of rural background lacking financial stability. In an attempt to partly address the issue of employability for these rural nurses and simultaneously address the challenges encountered in the urban home healthcare and nursing sector, OrangeCross Home health Pvt. Ltd. has been upskilling the ANM nurses in partnership with the Odisha Skill Development Authority. OrangeCross strongly believe that providing “industry required” knowledge and skills is the single most important factor between employability and fallback to their previous lives of dependence. This training is required to ensure that the sector realizes its full potential along with uplifting the nurses.

 

With the above background in mind, OrangeCross implements a three months’ training program for upskilling ANM nurses in Bhubaneswar. The training is provided by its team of doctors, senior nurses, paramedical trainers and industry practitioners. The course is a combination of theory, laboratory training, medical equipment training and hospital training.

 

OrangeCross has tied up with several hospitals in Bhubaneswar where the nurses are deployed for OJT (On the job training). To begin with, OrangeCross seeks applications from ANM Nurses from remote areas of Odisha followed by pre-screening and an interview process to select a batch of 25 to 30 trainees. A fully equipped accommodation with food is provided to the candidates free of charge. The entire facility including the training is sponsored by the Odisha Skill Development Authority, Govt. of Odisha, and managed and run by OrangeCross.

 

In the last two years, OrangeCross has conducted training of three batches sponsored by the company and 5 batches by OSDA. A total of 180 nurses have been trained. The candidates are provided with uniforms, study material and internet bandwidth. The program is a combination of classroom and online classes (in view of the COVID-19 pandemic). Attendance management, periodic reviews, tests and individual documentation are maintained as per the guidelines. The course covers general nursing, specialized nursing, equipment handling, palliative & geriatric care, etc. Special training for soft skills is imparted so that the nurses are well equipped to handle the stress of their career. The training is of very high quality and is endorsed by several doctors, hospitals and nursing supervisors.

Transformation of asha, semi-skilled nurse to an employable confident nurse is the single biggest value addition of the OrangeCross endeavor. OrangeCross intends to impact the lives of many such nurses every year through such training programs.

 

OrangeCross is pioneering Home Health Care in Odisha by providing high-end-post hospitalization care to patients at home. It uses technology to connect patients and their relatives with doctors and nurses on a single platform. It has also launched ‘Griha Seva’ app which lets users book slots and order onetime online ordering of nursing services at home.

For more details about its services, visit www.orangecross.in