It was one more step towards a lifetime of service for students of the General Nursing and Midwifery Course of the School of Nursing, Command Hospital (Air Force), Bangalore, as 17 cadets were commissioned into the Military Nursing Service at a function here on Wednesday.
Cadets of the 35th batch of the school completed three and a half years' training and will now go on to get basic military training in their new postings.
Speaking on the occasion, Air Marshal D. Ganguly, Director-General, Medical Services (Air), said the nursing officers should always remember the motto ‘service with a smile'. “They play a very important role. If they do not perform, we lose a patient. When patients and their families come in for treatment, they are not in the right frame of mind. So nursing officers must be compassionate,” he said. He said that this was an era of specialisation and there were many nurses who had specialised in certain areas.
Addressing the issue of attrition in the field, he said the nursing officers would leave after they got married. To tackle the problem, spouse postings were introduced, he added.
It was a special day for Lieutenant Shivangi Chettri when she was awarded the Commandant, Command Hospital (Air Force), Bangalore gold medal and the Air Force Station, Jalahalli Rolling Trophy for securing the first position. She was also adjudged the Best Outgoing Student Nurse of the batch and awarded with the Headquarters Training Command Rolling Trophy.
On the other hand, Kavitha B, a native of Kerala, is the third member of her joint family to become part of the armed forces. She said the practical exposure provided at the Nursing School has prepared her for the worse of situations.
