Colleges Offering Nursing Courses Told To Toe The Line

ALOR GAJAH, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry warned colleges which offer nursing courses to follow the student intake criteria to the letter.
Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said currently, there were colleges that did not follow the criteria, hiring unqualified tutors and not meeting the tutor-student ratio.
"This will affect the quality of nurses churned out," he told reporters after witnessing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the ministry and Kolej Teknologi Islam Antarabangsa Melaka at Kuala Sungai Baru, near here.
Dr Abdul Latiff said nursing colleges must have all the facilities like laboratories that met the standards of the Malaysian Accreditation Board and the Malaysian Nursing Board.
"The nursing course differs slightly from other courses. They have to do practical training as well that is linked to what they learn. They are professionals. They need wide exposure and not just theories," he said.
He also said that the government was concerned about the nursing career, and it had taken a new approach in treating the profession such as raising the salary grade from U40 to U54 for those with a first degree.
Nurses who fulfilled all the conditions would be given the opportunity to become a hospital director, he said.