The tenth anniversary of the Amrita College of Nursing was celebrated at the Health Sciences campus on November 1, 2012. The college was inaugurated on November 1, 2002 by Shri. Shatrughan Sinha, the then Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare.
Beginning with 50 students in the BSc (Nursing) program ten years ago, the Amrita College of Nursing has now come a long way. Today it is recognized as a major institution of nursing from where over 400 nurses have graduated, and 360 nursing students are currently enrolled. The college currently offers not only BSc (Nursing) but also MSc (Nursing) and Post-Basic BSc (Nursing) programs.
The celebrations began with the ceremonial lamp being lit by Br. Anaghamrita Chaitanya. Prof. C. P. Unnikrishnan, Technical Director, Sree Sankara School of Dance, Kalady was also in attendance, as a guest of honor.
Sharing his feelings as a teacher, Prof. C. P. Unnikrishnan stated that the duty of a teacher is to lend a helping hand to the student. “Once the student has gripped the hand of the teacher, it is not difficult to bring the students to the teacher’s side,” he said.
Dr. Krishnamurthy, Registrar, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham also attended the celebrations as a distinguished guest. “Nursing students of Amrita are held in great regard all over the world. We get feedback from hospitals and nursing homes that Amrita nurses are a class apart, because of their commitment and devotion. The credit goes to their mentors who train them to work in this manner,” he stated.
Others who spoke included Dr. Prathapan Nair, Principal, Amrita School of Medicine; Dr. K. N. Unni, Principal, Amrita School of Dentistry; Drs. Sanjeev Singh and S. K. Ramachandran Nair, Senior Medical Administrators, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences; and Dr. Umadethan, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Amrita School of Medicine.
During the event, several extended activities and services of the Amrita College of Nursing were inaugurated. These were duly announced by Prof. K. T. Moly, Principal, Amrita College of Nursing.
A newsletter was released, a program to integrate nursing services and education was begun, a new database for students and nursing faculty was instituted, community health services in Wayanad were initiated, an intercollegiate quiz and competition for designing a nursing logo was announced, blood and eye donations were pledged by students, short-term courses in nursing were launched, services were extended to old-age homes, the first alumni meet was scheduled and a one-day workshop for faculty on the topic Research Skills in Nursing and Faculty – Filling the Gaps was announced.
Together, these new initiatives numbered ten, as if to mark the ten-year milestone of the college.
Both the newsletter and the database were unveiled during the official function. The database titled ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Source will offer over 800 titles in full text, 500+ videos and over 15,000 full text nursing dissertations.
The nursing students paid tribute to the pioneers who had set a tradition of high-quality nursing training in the Amrita College of Nursing, by singing a song. A skit was performed, that served to enhance general awareness about nursing services and their importance for society.
November 2, 2012
College of Nursing, Kochi
