Coimbatore government medical college to establish separate nursing college this year
Dr M Raveendran, the dean of the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, said the request includes 100 seats — 60 for BSc Nursing and 40 for Post Basic BSc Nursing, which is available for those who have completed a Diploma in Nursing at the medical college.
Dr Raveendran said, "There has not been any newly established government nursing colleges in Tamil Nadu in the last four years. We have been requesting the government to establish a nursing college at Coimbatore ESI as we have the requisite infrastructure. We expect it to commence this year. Currently, we are managing 100 MBBS and five MD seats at the ESI Medical College."
He said they have a building ready to house the nursing college. "A separate block, which was previously abandoned, was renovated before the Covid-19 pandemic after I took charge as dean. This block helped us accommodate a large number of patients during the pandemic. Once we receive approval for nursing studies, the entire block can be utilised for that purpose. Additionally, we have the necessary faculty in place. When the government allocates seats, it will ensure a minimum level of faculty strength," Dr Raveendran added.
Sources said the campus encompasses 38 acres, including the hospital and the college, which operates with a capacity of 510 beds. Recently, officials from the health department visited the medical college hospital to assess the infrastructure facilities required to support the nursing college.
Unlike regular government hospitals, the ESI Hospital offers only limited services such as emergency care for 48 hours and vaccination. The Government Medical College and ESI Hospital became the first ESI hospital in the country to establish an autopsy facility on its premises. The forensic medicine department began conducting postmortems here on July 22, 2022.
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