GNM Courses: Eligibility, Fees, Career Scope, Salary and More
Recently it has been observed that the interest in nursing courses or GNM courses has increased. Students and those wanting to have a career in the nursing industry are browsing the web to learn about the details of the course.
There’s a lot of confusion about the eligibility criteria and the career opportunities after completing the course, mainly because a lot has changed over the years in the nursing industry and in terms of requirements to pursue a career in the nursing industry.
Along with the GNM courses, there are a few more courses such as the AMN courses, B.Sc. in nursing, and many other such courses that can be of immense help for those planning to have a career as a nurse.
So, students who look forward to having a career in the nursing industry must be considering knowing about the courses first and then go through the details before deciding which course to go after.
This article will guide the interested students about the details of the GNM courses. By details, I mean the syllabus, the eligibility criteria, and duration of the course, career scope, fees, and more.
But before jumping right into the topics let’s try and learn a bit about what GNM courses really and how can they help the students aspiring to become a nurse or those trying to have a career in the nursing industry.
What is GNM?
Let’s start with the full form. GNM stands for General Nursing and Midwifery. GNM is one of the many roles related to the nursing industry, and the GNM professionals (usually nurses) are trained professionals who understand the practices that need to be followed to care for an injured patient.
It is a clinical nursing practice and unlike ANM both male and female candidates can have a career as a GNM practitioner. The aspirants planning to have a career as a GNM practitioner will have to be a GNM course graduate.
So, it seems without the GNM course a person cannot have a career as a GNM practitioner. So, it’s important to understand what GNM courses are really about and what are the details, features, eligibility, etc this course.
What are GNM Courses?
The GNM or General Nursing and Midwifery is a diploma program for those who wish to lead their professional career as nursing professionals. The duration of the course is 3 years and 6 months and in this period of time, the students get to learn about the nursing practices.
They get the proper training to care for sick and injured patients until they recover completely. Throughout the course, they are guided about several techniques that shall be used in different cases of injuries and sickness.
In the first 3 years of the course, the students will get to learn about the practices involved in clinical nursing while the remaining 6 months is the actual practice where the students will be practically examining and taking care of patients.
It is a great opportunity for those who aspire to work in the healthcare sector. It is one of the shortest courses that will help the students land a job in the health care industry. The course not only guides the students about the nursing practices but the students are also taught to assist surgeons while performing surgery.
They learn to monitor the patients and care for the patients as per the procedures. The common practices involve giving medicines to the patient on time, changing saline and blood, checking blood pressure, checking if the machines are working properly, and ensuring that the patients are not in any kind of discomfort.
The basis of this course is to help the students seeking jobs in the health care industry as nurses or ward boys. They’re provided with proper training and knowledge around fundamentals of nursing, anatomy, biology, and first aid.
As it has already been mentioned that the first 3 years are classroom training programs where the students will have to attend classes and undergo the regular training procedure. The remaining 6 months are purely set aside for practice through internships.
The internship happens to be mandatory for the students pursuing the GNM course. It will give them the needed exposure for practicing the skills and knowledge they’ve received in the 3 years of training.
Practice is important especially when it comes to the health care industry as it deals with the lives of patients it is essential for the professionals to practices their skills under the supervision of seniors. It will help them perform in a better way when they actually turn nurses.
These were some of the lesser-known facts about the GNM course and there are some more interesting details that you’ll find further in the article. The least you can derive from the details till now is that this is a course worth taking that allows you to initiate a career in the health care industry in a very short span of time.
Career as a Nursing Professional
The health care industry is evolving daily and it is also expanding at the same time. India definitely has plenty of employment opportunities for healthcare workers. Just that one has to be qualified enough to be able to serve in the health care field.
The responsibilities of a nurse include caring for the patients. Care doesn’t just mean looking after the needs of the patients but there are many other medical practices involved. While doctors examine the patient for a particular time period, the nurses stay with the patients constantly monitoring the health of the patient.
Any health care unit, hospital, or medical has many types of patients and the nurse is required to keep a check on each patient. Not just that, but timely changing the saline tubes, checking the blood pressure of the patient, and more are some of the common practices of the nurses. Nursing is a very noble profession and it is one of the most dedicated services towards people in pain.
GNM course is made available for all the students above the age of 18 and those who have qualified the +2 in the science stream from a recognized board. Therefore the students who have completed their +2 in sciences and are interested in having a career in the health care industry may then choose to pursue the GNM courses.
Further, we will learn about the syllabus, eligibility criteria, and many details of that kind for the students to have more clarity about the course and they can make a decision in a better way.
What Qualities is a Nursing Professional Supposed to Have?
It is a known fact that nursing professionals are supposed to treat patients with utmost compassion and empathy. There are many other qualities that a nurse is supposed to have and some of them are:
- Composure
The job of a nursing profession involves dealing with desperate people seeking help and advice all the time, the nurses are supposed to keep their composure and deal with them patiently in a calm manner.
- Compassion
They shall show compassion towards the pain and suffering of the patients. This will actually make them realize the purpose of their jobs and they’ll do it in a much-dedicated manner.
- Responding Quickly
Like it is mentioned that health care units like medicals and hospitals have many patients and the nurses might need to rush from one patient to another constantly. Therefore the nursing professionals are supposed to have qualities like responding to the situations immediately.
- Communication Skills
Communication skills are one of the very important qualities of nursing professionals. They must know how to communicate with patients, listen to them and understand their pain or suffering before acting. Communication helps in understanding patients in a better way and knowing where exactly they’re suffering.
These are some of the very qualities that a nursing professional is required to have. These qualities might sound normal in theory but in a place where people are suffering at different levels, these little qualities can be very helpful.
Who Can Take the GNM Course?
There is a good number of requirements for students to be able to pursue this course, and some of them are:
- The student applying for the GNM course shall be older than 17 however the age shall not exceed 35 for one to be able to apply for the nursing course.
- Even the students with the equivalent of 12th such as diploma and ITI are not considered.
- The student shall have to go through the proper 10+2 format in science with biology, physics, and chemistry as their primary subjects.
- It’s not mandatory for students to have a +2 science background rather the students from the arts stream may also apply for the GNM courses.
- Different colleges might have different requirements in terms of marks but the students are advised to maintain at least 55% throughout their academic career.
- Like it has already been mentioned that there are other courses for nursing such as B.Sc. in nursing and ANM courses and therefore the registered nurses who have completed their ANM course are also eligible for the course.
These were pretty much all the criteria that you’ll have to qualify to get admission to the GNM course.
Also Read: Courses After 10th: Ultimate Guide to Career After 10th
There is a dedicated council for nurses and upon completion of the course, the nursing professionals may then register themselves there. The professionals can only be called a “Nurse” once they have completed their 6 months of practice through an internship which is basically mandatory. The Indian Nursing Council is responsible for setting up the requirements for the courses.
There is a difference in the admission procedure of GNM courses and it varies from college to college. As some colleges have different requirement than the other. Some colleges may even conduct entrance exams for the selection of students as a part of the admission procedure.
There are colleges that offer the same courses in 2 formats that are part-time and full-time GNM courses.
The training is not limited to injured or sick patients alone but also towards the mothers during the time of pregnancy. The students are provided a special training module to guide them about the care and practices needed while caring for pregnant women.
Syllabus of GNM Courses
The syllabus of the course has been very nicely structured to help the students learn from the very basics of nursing to the extreme professional skills involved in it. All the modules have been distributed evenly for a period of 3 years such that the students will learn all the nursing practices uniformly over the period of 3 years.
Here are the subjects involved in each year and their distribution:
Subjects in 1st Year
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Microbiology
- Fundamentals of Nursing
- First Aid
- Biology
- Sociology and Behavior science
- Nutrition
- Personal and environment Hygiene
Subjects in 2nd Year
- Medical-Surgical Nursing
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatric Nursing
Subjects in 3rd Year
- Midwifery and Gynecological Nursing
- Advanced Community Health Nursing
- Pediatrics Nursing
These are the subjects that are included in the course and will be taught to the students pursuing the course. After completing all the mentioned modules in a period of 3 years, the students then become eligible for doing the internship for 6 months.
Through the internship program, the students get to learn about the practical and professional aspects of nursing.
Course Fee of GNM Courses
Our country is loaded with institutes offering GNM courses and therefore it is hard to come up with a particular number. Different colleges charge different admission fees and more and hence it is difficult to say a particular number.
The course fee for GNM courses may still be anywhere in between the range of INR 45,000 to INR 2 lakh.
Career Scope After GNM Courses
Upon completion of the course, the students get exposure to many employment opportunities. Like it has already been mentioned, the health care sector is evolving and expanding. This is one of the very reasons there is a good need for professionals who have been through formal training to care for sick and injured patients.
That’s exactly where GNM kicks in. It is one of the best courses where the students are guided about every little aspect of the roles and responsibilities of a nurse. So, the students who have completed the GNM course and the internship program as well can apply for the position of nurse at health care facilities.
The GNM professional may look forward to following job roles while looking for employment opportunities:
- Clinical Nurse in a hospital
- Legal nurse consultant by a health care establishment
- Tutor or teacher at a nursing institute
- Forensic nurse by government hospitals or organization’
- Midwife nurse by pregnant women
These were some of the positions of responsibility the GNM professionals can look forward to while searching for employment opportunities.
Salary of GNM Professionals
Like it has already been mentioned that the GNM professionals have a very responsible job to do. Constantly looking after and monitoring different types of patients with different sufferings. Along with that, they’ll have to perform the necessary practices like changing saline bottles, checking the blood pressure, and more.
For a person handling that kind of responsibility, the payouts are also quite fair. The professional who has completed the GNM course is given a starting salary that ranges anywhere between 2.5 Lakh to 3.5 Lakh. This salary then further increases with experience.
Conclusion
In simple words, the GNM is one of the best courses for students who are looking forward to having a career in the health care industry. The course allows students who have completed their higher secondary education or +2 in any stream. It further provides the students with the necessary knowledge as per a well-constructed syllabus for a period of 3 years.
Upon successful completion of 3 years of training and learning the practice of taking care of patients, the students are then asked to do an internship which is mandatory. Once the internship is completed the students may refer to themselves as nurses and even get themselves registered in the state nurses council.
Further, they may prefer to pursue higher degrees such as a B.Sc. in Nursing or any of the other degrees available. They may consider going for a job either full-time or even part-time and usually they can find vacancies in hospitals, orphanages, old age homes, and more.
There is a good number of career opportunities for students once they complete the course and the offered salaries are also quite good. So for those who are aspiring to have a career in the health care sector right after your +2, will definitely find the courses useful.
Go through the details of the courses that include career opportunities, eligibility criteria, salary, and more and see if it fits your requirement then you surely go for the course. These were some very important details that any aspiring student shall be aware of in order to make the best use of the opportunity and learn the skill.
These courses will definitely upskill the students and help them find career opportunities in many other organizations, there are in fact vacancies in the government sectors for students with GNM qualification.
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