PCL Nursing (Proficiency Certificate Level)

Introduction

Over the past few years, the Proficiency Certificate Level Nursing program has been one of the most sought-after nursing programs in Nepal. It is a practical course designed to produce educated and skilled middle-level health professionals. The various subjects integrated in the curriculum enable the graduates to work in the overall development of the nation. The program is developed in a way that graduates can easily adapt in the continuously changing work environment, preparing them to work in the various healths setting under different circumstances.

PCL(Proficiency Certificate Level) is a professional level education that can be studied after the completion of SLC (now called SEE) in Nepal. The course is very popular among the ladies or say in girls. The main reason for being the course more common and popular is due to the job that a student can get soon after the completion of the SEE. The course duration is 3 years and once we complete the course we can soon apply for the job in the hospital and in a different health-related field. In the country like our where the rate of unemployment is increasing day by day this type of vocational courses and the training that make assure to get the job or start our own business are very necessary and are emerging rapidly. Student who completed this course can get the employment opportunity in the government hospital after passing the loksewa.

The nursing course has the high scope not only in Nepal but also in abroad. Many developed countries are seeking for the staff nurse to provide the job opportunity in their country. The demand for the nurses is rapidly increasing all over the world and the earning is also satisfactory in this field.

The PCL Nursing program strives to:

• Provide students with the conceptual knowledge and practical skills to cure, care sick and injured people
• Develop communication skills in order to communicated with the patients efficiently
• Enable students to promote and preserve health
• Equip students with the leadership quality so that they can plan and enhance the health care sector without any hassle
• Encourage them to work in team to solve any problem related to health
• Be able to create awareness in the communities regarding preserving health
• Develop strong base for the higher studies

Requirements for admission and eligibility to study PCL nursing in various universities of Nepal:

These days you need to complete a proper admission procedure to get the admission in any field. Similarly to get admission in the field of medical or nursing you need to complete your schooling i.e. SLC or SEE with at least second division marks. If we talk about the recent result system then you have to score at least B grade to apply for the admission for the PCL nursing in any institution or university in Nepal. As there are a different institution and the university that offers the PCL nursing courses in Nepal and the requirement of the admission is almost same in all the university, either it is TU, PU, KU, CTEVT, or any other if available.

In different institutions, the time of taking admission is a bit in different time so everyone gets chance to apply in either one or the other institution if they don’t get the admission in one they wish to join. To get the admission you have to pass the entrance exam that is taken by the university before getting the admission. To make you more confident and make you able to sit in the entrance exam there are many institutions that helps in preparing the entrance examination for the PCL level nursing and other nursing courses as well. You can find many such institutes in Kathmandu valley and in other cities. This entrance course last for 3 months after SEE or SLC where the student can take a preparation class and mock exam to see their ability and face the actual exam of nursing to get the admission. While talking about the requirement of the admission in the course it purely depends on your entrance exam and in your SLC/SEE grade and this is same for all the university who take admission for the PCL level nursing student.

The admission for the course is taken in the month of Shrawan or Bhadra depending on the college or the university that you want to study.

Tribhuvan University affiliated PCL nursing college take the entrance exam and the admission in the month of Bhadra. As we have discussed already the selection process is completely based on entrance basis, whereas the eligibility for the course is determined by the marks of SLC where it has to be at least 50%.

CTEVT Affiliated PCL Nursing; CTEVT Affiliated college takes the admission in the month of Bhadra. In the CTEVT PCL nursing course, the eligibility for applying this course is 45% or more in SLC/SEE. Well, the selection of the student completely depends on the entrance basis. This institute also provides scholarships for the deserving student. The scholarship entrance in the month of Shrawan.

BP Koirala Institute of Health Science BPKIHS; Like other institutes, this BPKIHS which is situated in Dharan also has its own context for the admission. The admission is taken by this institute in the month of Shrawan. The eligibility for appearing in the entrance exam of BPKIHS is 45% and above in SEE. The selection process is 100% on the basis of entrance score.

KU and PU university: Like in TU, CTEVT and other institutes, Kathmandu University and Purbanchal University also have the similar admission procedure. They also take the entrance on the basis of the eligibility of the student and the courses are run. Well in all the institute the selection of the student is completely based on the entrance exam.

CTEVT-Eligibility Criteria:

The candidate applying for the admission to the PCL Nursing program

1. Should have successfully completed the SLC or SEE
2. Should have obtained minimum GPA 2 with at least ‘C-Grade’ in Mathematics, Science and English.
3. Should have obtained at least 45% with Compulsory Mathematics, Science and English.
4. Should pass the entrance examination held by the institution followed by the personal interview

TU- Eligibility Criteria:

1. Should have successfully completed the SLC or SEE
2. Should have obtained at least 50% with Compulsory Mathematics, Science and English.
3. Should pass the entrance examination held by the institution followed by the personal interview

KU- Eligibility Criteria

1. Should have successfully completed the SLC or SEE
2. Should have secured at least Grade-C
3. Should pass the entrance examination held by the institution followed by the personal interview

Documents Checklist:

1. Copy of academic certificate of SEE or SLC
2. Copy of character certificate
3. 2 recent passport size photographs
4. Complete and signed application form along with an application fee

Duration of Course

The degree is awarded after three years of studying nursing at the recognized institution. It is an annual system program comprising approximately three-hundred and fifteen lecture days excluding the days taken for annual examination. Generally the program starts in September and admission form is opened in June/July.

Cost of the study:

Cost for the PCL nursing course in Nepal in the different institute: Like in every field of education, the scholarship is available for the deserving student in CTEVT. To get the scholarship you need to appear in the scholarship exam and has to pass in it.

40 seats are available at the Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences. The total cost of the program is NRs. 3,98,000 which is further divided into three parts. Students needs to pay NRs. 1,90,000 during  the time of admission. In the second year, they have to pay NRs. 102,000 likewise they need to deposit NRs. 106,000 in the final year.

Colleges affiliated to CTEVT are not allowed to charge more than NRs. 4, 75000. It covers practical fee, tuition fee, registration fee, examination fee, etc.

Other institutes so far do not provide the scholarship. The different institute has a different price or say fee structure for the same course. Here we have listed the price for the different course:

PCL Nursing (Staff Nurse):

Total Cost: Rs. 3,96,360 CTEVT

The Himal Institute of Health Science, Parsa Total Cost:Rs.5,65,000/

Shraddha Institute of Health Science, Bhaktapur Total Cost: Rs. 5,00,000/-

Chakrabarty Havi Education Academy, Bhaktapur Total Cost: Rs. 5,14,000/-

Om Health Campus, Kathmandu: Total Cost: Rs. 5,10,000/-

Vinayak College of Health Science, Battisputali Total Cost:Rs 5,10,000/

People Multiple College Institute, Itahari : Total Cost:Rs 5,13,000/-

Aaha Hospital Pvt. Ltd., Chitwan : Total Cost:Rs 6,00,000/-

College of Medical Science, Chitwan : Total Cost:Rs 6,00,000/-

Green Tara College of Health Science, Lalitpur Total Cost:Rs 4,90,000/-

Seti-Mahakali Nursing Campus, Kanchanpur Total Cost:Rs 4,95,000/-

Bheri Nursing College, Nepalgunj : Total Cost:Rs 4,95,000/-

Kaalika Medical and Technical, Pokhara : Total Cost:Rs 5,15,000/-

National Medical College Nursing Campus, Parsa Total Cost:Rs 6,35,000/

Unique Education Academy, Saptari : Total Cost:Rs 4,94,000/-

Maya Devi Technical College, Rupandehi : Total Cost:Rs 5,79,000/-

Padma Nursing Home School of Nursing, Pokhara Total Cost:Rs 6,50,000/-

Nepalgunj Nursing Campus, Nepalgunj : Total Cost:Rs 4,50,000/-

Madan Bhandari Memorial Academy, Morang Total Cost: Rs. 3,57,000/-

Gunraj Pathak Memorial Nursing College, Baluwatar, Kathmandu Total Cost:Rs 4,90,000/-

Sushma Memorial College, Kathmandu : Total Cost:Rs. 5,20,000/-

Scholarship available for staff nurse:

In every field, there is a scholarship available for the deserving student. The scholarship is provided to those who deserve it. There is an entrance exam for the scholarship. Similarly, if we can become a topper in the college or university then also a certain amount of scholarship is provided by the college. Duration of the course:

You know that the PCL nursing course can be studied soon after SLC or sometime after plus 2. The course duration of this course is not more than 3 years. You can study PCL nursing for 3 years after SLC and then become a staff nurse once you get the license from the Nepal Nursing Council. As the time period of this course is short and it is job oriented many girls are attracted to this course in the past years.

Career prospects in Nepal

With the increasing number of health sectors in Nepal, the demand of skilled health professional is skyrocketing. Graduates with this degree can work as advanced-practice nurses, registered nurse and nurse. Staff Nurse earns from Rs. 15,000 to 25,000 per month. Graduates with this degree are capable of working in the various health settings from local to national to international. The typical employers of the staff nurse include private and government hospitals, community hospitals and private clinics. If students are willing to work in the government sector they need to take a Loksewa exam. Graduates even have the option to work as an instructor.

One of the most demanding courses in the medical field for the girls is PCL nursing. These days many girls are attracted to this course as the demand of the nurses are increasing in Nepal and as well as in the abroad. As of now, you can see job security in the field of nursing. As the hospital and other health centres is opening day by day the demand of the nurse (that is who has completed either staff nurse or BSc nurse) are increasing. You can pursue your career soon after the completion of the course in Nepal as a staff nurse and in future can be a senior nurse and also teach to other junior students of nursing and other medical sectors.

Career Prospect in Abroad

In most of the countries, PCL graduates are not viewed as a professional. Moreover, most of the foreign universities do not grant validation to this program. Students with PCL Nursing need to complete 3 years long Bachelor of Nursing program if they are willing to work as a registered nurse in a foreign country.

However, If you are planning to go abroad after completing your study as a staff nurse then there are many options and many opportunities available for you. You can go to developed countries as a student of bachelor or BN nurse or sometimes you can also apply directly for the job placement after the completion of the course in Nepal. The staff nurse can get the job in the hospital and in the healthcare centre in abroad. So there is an equal opportunity of upgrading your career both in Nepal and as well as in the abroad.

Salary range of nurse in Nepal VS abroad:

Once you complete the course of nursing that is staff nurse and soon you get your nursing license you can start your first job as a staff nurse in the hospital. As there are many governments as well as the private hospital there are many job opportunity available. Different hospital has a different range of salary as of the startup for the nurses. With the basic salary, there are certain allowances that are given to the nurse. The range of salary for the fresh staff nurse starts from Rs. 11,250 to Rs. 33,350. The range includes from a private sector to the government sector.

Similarly, there are many more opportunities for the job in abroad like Australia, Canada, USA, Norway and many more. Well, every country has its own range of the salary in the medical field. A registered nurse in Australia can earn up to $61000 per year. Similarly, other countries also have the highest paying for the nurses once we complete the process of registration in that particular country.

Things to consider before joining the course:

Other career paths after completion of the course:

Further study options

After successfully completing the PCL program, you can apply for the registration at the Nepal Nursing. As a registered health professional, students should serve in the health sector for a year before being eligible to join the Bachelor of Nursing program.