The untold story of nurses

KOCHI: Nurses, who form the core of the healthcare system,  are a deprived lot for want of better pay and find it  difficult to meet their  financial burdens like educational loans. About 90 per cent of the nurses have taken educational loans for their studies and 60 per cent are facing the threat of bank action. United Nurses Association president Jasmine Shah said most of those who study nursing come from lower middle-class families with the hope of  getting a good job. “The salary for a  nurse is anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 which makes it hard to repay the loan that they have taken,” he said. As per the Kerala Nurses Minimum Wages Salary-2009, a nurse is entitled to get a basic salary  between Rs 8,000 and Rs 9,000. A student has to repay about Rs 12,000 a month to the bank from which he or she has taken the loan, Shah said.“With a meagre salary, it is impossible to repay the loan. Moreover, the  families have educated their children with high hopes which are shattered at the hands of the hospital authorities,” he said.   Moreover, the hospitals make graduation students work without salary for a year. “The graduating nurses work at these hospitals for experience certificates. But, the worst thing is that the hospitals withhold certificates once they complete the one-year period, thus forcing them to  work for a meagre salary,” he said.For Bsc Nursing, the average fees is Rs 7 lakh in Kerala and Rs 5 lakh in other states. For general nursing, the average fees is Rs 5 lakh in Kerala and  Rs 3 lakh in other states. But, the fees may vary from one college to another.  The working condition at the hospitals is also pathetic. “Many hospitals exploit nurses by forcing them to do 15-hour shifts without a single day off,” Shah said. Stating that those who are lining up to take the nursing courses were eyeing the bright future in other countries, he said that it was sad that the job prospects were  down now.  And, once they decide to get married, the first question they have to face from the prospective groom is about the amount that has to be repaid.