Nursing School in Nepal

I finished nursing school recently enough that it's still very fresh in my mind, so I was curious about how the Nepali nursing school system works. First, I traveled to Dhulikel to visit Rabina, a second-year nursing student at a university there. Then I met with Arju, who is a third-year nursing student at a college in Kathmandu. Both Rabina and Arju had to compete with thousands of prospective students for one of about thirty spots in their classes. (I thought getting into nursing school in the U.S. was hard!)

At first I was surprised to learn that the nursing curriculum in Nepal is almost the same as in the U.S., but after talking with Rabina and Arju some differences became clear. For instance, I asked Rabina about a door labeled "Nutrition Lab" and learned that Nepali nursing students take cooking lessons as part of their nutrition class! And I spent my community health rotation working in downtown Seattle, but Arju spent a month in a rural area of Nepal, teaching villagers about immunizations and family planning.

One thing all nursing students seem to have in common: we spend a lot of time building up clinical hours in the hospital. Rabina had just finished a day working in the emergency room before meeting me, and she took me on a tour of the hospital. It seemed like Rabina knew everyone, from nurses to other students to the cafeteria workers! Both Rabina and Arju impressed me with their poise and confidence and they're going to make wonderful nurses. Thanks to both of them for spending their precious spare time with me amidst their studies!

Sara from Nepal