SCHOOL CAREER COUNSELLING
Introduction :
Students are usually more inclined towards Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) courses in Uttar Pradesh, leading to low preference among students and vacant seats in institutes. To address this, Uttar Pradesh State Medical Faculty (UPSMF) initiated career counselling sessions and engagement activities to highlight opportunities and celebrate top professionals in these fields. Orientation sessions were also conducted across institutes to raise awareness about Nursing Profession and Mission Niramaya among current students
Objectives :
- Campaigning about nursing profession.
- Increase in application for Nursing admission
Causes Identified :
- Low awareness/recognition for Nursing amongst inter college students & parents.
- Nursing Private college owners not understanding the need of having linkage with nearby higher secondary schools to improve admissions
- School students are increasingly drawn to coaching centers for engineering and MBBS, overlooking nursing as a viable option
Intervention Models Analyzed :
| Model | One to one: individual counselors | Low effectiveness-Time consuming, costly |
|---|---|---|
| Mode2 | One in Many: UP Nursing Council to run awareness programs | Low effectiveness-Time consuming, costly |
| Mode3 | Many to many: Inter college and nursing college principals to students | Moderately effectiveness- Fast, economical |
Stakeholders :
- Primary & Direct: Students of Class 11 & 12th Pincipals & Teachers of Govt & Private inter Colleges
- Indirect: Parents of Students, Private Schools & Nursing Institutes Associations
- Exclusions: Society in large
Limitations :
- Limited dedicated funds & human resources for School Counseling
Partners: Jhpiego
Approach & Broad Steps Designed :
- UPSMF's approach to counseling students in Uttar Pradesh targeted both government and private schools.
- Divided school community in 3 parts State government aided schools, unaided private schools (including CBSE, ICSE & international boards), Central government schools (Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya)
- Met Education Department of State govt., Div. commissioner of KV and Navodaya sangathan and private school association active in the state explained the concept of school counseling for nursing and obtained from them school name, location (block & district), unique code of school, number of students (especially in science stream in class 9, 10, 11 & 12), principal name, principal contact number and geo-location of the school.
- Basis the data in step 3, mapped geo-location of the schools (with students in science stream and principal name) with geo-locations of all the nursing colleges of the state.
- After mapping is completed, created a simple mapping information template which was shared with the institutes.
- In parallel, developed collateral/ material which were used by nursing institutes when going to schools, For e.g. material & storyline used by nursing institutes were different in Govt. schools (more on possibility of government jobs) than that in CBSE, ICSE schools (more on possibility of nursing jobs abroad.
- Prepared guidelines detailing the purpose and instructions for school counseling in English and local language.
- Once all the material was ready, then shared the content with the nursing institute’s principal and planned a training program for them. During the training program explained them the relevance of having a relationship with schools and step by step instructions to be followed by nursing institutes (how and when to use which tool) A formal letter was issued by education department of the state to the respective schools for permitting the career counseling by nursing institutes in their schools, if need be.
- Conducted small group meetings at the respective nursing colleges, with 20-25 college owners for them to understand the relevance of having relationships with the school community for growth of their businesses. Identified a single point of contact (SPOC) and gave his number for them to contact in case they get stuck.
- Developed a simple Google form to nursing institutes to update once they complete any school counseling activity. This helped in tracking and monitoring the numbers.
Outcome :
- Mapped 17,000 schools with 500+ nursing institutes.
- More than 3,50,000 inter college students reached in 2,000+ sessions by Nursing Colleges in 3 months.
- Applications to BSc nursing increased 2.5 times in year one and subsequently increased 10 times in year two of intervention.
- In the academic year 2022–23, a total of 36923 seats were allotted, out of these, 34198 students enrolled, resulting in an enrolment rate of 92% after career counseling for the Diploma in Nursing program. In the academic year 2023–24, the number of seats allotted were increased slightly to 37348. From this, 35110 students enrolled achieving an improved enrolment rate of 94%.
- Parents and community sensitization for nursing career indirectly happening.
Challenges & Key Learning :
- Relevance of Partnerships: Partnerships with Private School association & National independent school alliance (NISA), Nursing Institute Owners Association.
- Best time for School Counseling; month of April & Sept.
- Health Cadre: Considering gaps in understanding and attitude towards career in healthcare and the need of the same in the country, a policy needs to be developed for a health cadre on lines similar to National Cadet Corps at school level
- Continuity of counseling in schools should continue for students to opt nursing as a career.
