The Higher Education Review

What started by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja in 1914 is one of the largest transnational conglomerates in the world today. Employing more than 127, 000 employees, the group’s activities span across 100 countries, with direct presence in 38 countries. A philanthropic by nature, Late P. D. Hinduja believed that health and education are the fundamental rights of each individual. For turning his dream of serving the humanity, his daughter-in-law, Lalita Girdhar Hinduja dedicated nearly three decades of her life to nurturing the P. D. Hinduja Hospital, which was established by Late P.D. Hinduja. Taking a step forward, she went on to lay the foundation of Hinduja School of Nursing at the Hinduja Hospital campus at Mahim in 1981.

"Being the only Nursing college in the state of Maharashtra with A grade in NAAC as an independent institution, P. D. Hinduja College of Nursing is blooming strength by strength and has earned substantial recognition and appreciation from different stakeholders of education"

Initially started with two batches of students for Diploma in General Nursing & Midwifery (GNM), comprehending the growing demand of students, later the School of Nursing had to shift to the present campus at Andheri, which encompasses state-of-the-art facilities. However, marking the silver jubilee celebration, in the year 2006, the School of Nursing was upgraded to College of Nursing, upholding its pledge of preparing highly competent nursing professionals dedicated to patient care. "Our institute prides on a rich heritage of over 36 years with more than 735 graduates and 108 postgraduates in India and abroad," says Prof. Dr. Jaya Kuruvilla, Principal, P. D. Hinduja College of Nursing. Currently retaining a student base of 136 the institute offers an array of courses, viz. BSc. Nursing, M.Sc. Nursing with specializations in Medical-Surgical

Nursing, Community Health Nursing, Obstetrics & Gynecology and so on, along with PhD program and Lactation Practitioner course.

Prof. Kuruvilla pinpoints, "A diploma program in Wound Management and Residency program of Nurse Practitioners in Critical Care Nursing will be commencing from this academic year". Being the only Nursing college in the state of Maharashtra with A grade in NAAC as an independent institution, P. D. Hinduja College of Nursing is blooming strength by strength and has earned substantial recognition and appreciation from different stakeholders of education. "The admission to college is totally governed by DMER of Maharashtra State and approved by Pravesh Niyanthran Samity," shares Prof. Kuruvilla.

Learning by Doing
For providing the best education to the students, the institute has included an experienced and extremely proficient team of faculty members, who are always motivated to keep themselves updated with the trends in education sector. "The institute has established Research Society, Intellectual Property Rights Cell (IPR Cell) and Incubation Centre. Our faculty members are very active when it comes to participating and presenting studies in ongoing research programs, in the mid-annualand& Annual Research Conferences of the Department of Research, Hinduja Hospital and in AVISHKAR, the University Level Research convention," claims Prof. Kuruvilla. Where on the one side, the faculty members make sure that the students are enlightened with sound knowledge acumen, the institute in the other side has collaborated with different organizations for rendering hands-on experiences.

The major tie-ups that the institute boasts of are with Medela for conducting Lactation Nurse Practitioner Program, with Medtronics for sharing the simulated lab facility for student's teaching and learning, with BD Ultrafine for arranging skill development programs along with other training programs which are conducted in collaboration with industry such as Disaster Management, Breastfeeding week, Mental Health week, to name a few. "Our students start visiting institutions and industries of significance right from 1st-year onwards till 4th-year. Further, the

educational tour of 10 days to various organizations of their respective interest soundly strengthens their practical training," opines Prof. Kuruvilla. The institute has strategically created structured programs such as "Voyage from Bench to Bed", Competence Assurance Program, Integrated Clinical Practice of three months, Preceptorship which confirms the students’ skills development.

"Today, the organizations demand their employees to be job-ready from the day one. On this account, we arrange ample soft skill development and management development programs for our students," shares Prof. Kuruvilla. Hinduja College of Nursing students are handed over license duly on time from Maharashtra Nursing Council before joining the workforce. "The institute has an active Alumni Association with a Website where students of every batch can get connected. Our past PG students are holding key positions in eminent hospitals like Breach Candy Hospital, Leelavati Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Mulund and many more,” adds Prof. Kuruvila.

Achieving 90 percent placement rate over the years, reputed recruiters from the arena of health care annually visit the Institute in search future talents in healthcare sector. Going beyond the conventional approaches of nursing education, P. D. Hinduja College of Nursing has set goals to be ranked among top 5 institutions of Nursing Education Nationally and to evolve as the Centre of Excellence in Nursing Education in the coming years.

Dr. Jaya Kuruvilla
Having an extensive 46 years of experience, Dr. Jaya Kuruvilla is presently holding the position of Principal/Professor in P.D. Hinduja National Hospital & MRC, College of nursing. She has completed B.Sc. Nursing and M.Sc. Nursing from Dr. MGR Medical University, College of Nursing CMCH Vellore and Doctorate from IBAM, Kolkata. She was awarded as "Best Principal Award" from International Institute of Education and Management -2011 and Health Excellence Award IBAM-2014 and is the author of the book “ Essentials of Critical Care Nursing”.