The Hindu Business Line : HCDC sets up healthcare training centre in Kolkata

HEALTHED Career Development Centre (HCDC), promoted by a New Jersey-based NRI, with a tie-up arrangement with Judith Miller (nursing) of the US, has launched its first training centre in the city to train Indian healthcare professionals for " prosperous" nursing careers in the US.

The centre will serve the needs of aspiring candidates from West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Sikkim and the North Eastern States. Full and part-time training programmes will be conducted to enhance the skills of the students to pass the "CGFNS, IELTS and NCLEX-RN examinations and orient them for nursing practices in the US."

Formally inaugurating the centre, a spokesman of HCDC said there is a shortage of qualified, trained and experienced nurses throughout the world, more so in the US. According to the Department of Labor (USA), the country needs more than a million new nurses in 2010 and about 1,50,000 nurses every year. Entry-level registered nurses in the US typically get between $40,000 and $55, 000 per annum, while specialists may make more depending upon their specialty.

However, nurses aspiring to work in the US must go through a `Visa Screen,' which is administered by the Commission of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CEFNS). Visa Screen includes testing knowledge and English language proficiency. Successful candidates receive Visa Screen certificates, facilitating them to get work-related visa.

The spokesman said, although the standard of examinations is tough, with proper guidance it is possible for the vast majority of Indian nurses to pass the examinations and qualify. During the last few years, several modern coaching institutions have been set up in different parts of the country. However, till now, no such facility has been established in Kolkata. HCDC plans to introduce international standard training facilities in diverse healthcare areas like nuclear medicine technology, medicinal imaging technology, occupational and physical therapy.