New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) She looked at herself in the
mirror. Hair neatly tied, kohl-lined eyes and some lipgloss to complete
the look. Satisfied, she sprayed on some mild deodorant. Her trainer,
who also happened to have groomed a number of beauty queens, smiled in
approval.
If you thought Mini Thomas, the girl in front of the
mirror, was an aspiring model, an air hostess or even a beauty queen,
you couldn't be more incorrect. She is a nurse in one of India's leading
hospitals and this was part of her induction programme.
Like in
hotels, hospitals are conducting grooming lessons and personality
development classes for their nursing staff. Looking presentable and
behaving courteously, along with good services, has never before
attained such heights in the hospital sector in India.
"Patients
who visit a hospital obviously don't come in the best of their moods. On
top of that, if a nurse is not smartly turned out or doesn't have her
manners right, he will be even more put off. When they pay for good
services, one mismatch can bring the whole experience down," Col. Binu
Sharma, vice president, nursing services, Columbia Asia Hospitals, told
IANS.
Columbia Asia, which has six hospitals across the country,
with 1,300 nurses, has classroom presentations and practical sessions on
grooming for its nursing staff.
"The classroom presentation
brings to focus about the importance of personal hygiene; so your
uniform must be clean and ironed, your shoes polished, you have to be
careful about mouth or body odour, your skin must be moisturised and
hair neatly tied," Sharma elaborated.
They have roped in image enhancer and consultant for models and beauty queens, Rita Gangwani, to give valuable tips to nurses.
"Most
of our nurses come from simple, humble backgrounds, and have no idea
about make-up or things like waxing, threading. The trainer therefore
teaches them all that, and even advises them on which brands to use,"
she said.
Although male nurses comprise just 20 percent of the
staff, they are also taught the basics of grooming, like shaving
regularly and keeping their moustache short.
But it's not just
cosmetic makeovers. Like in Columbia Asia, the Apollo group also takes
grooming lessons for their nursing staff.
"Soft skill training
for the nursing staff is an important part of our induction programme.
And it goes beyond greet, smile, say thank you. We also teach our nurses
how to be polite, yet firm with patients; how to handle difficult
patients and service enquiry and so on," Usha Banerjee, group director -
nursing, Apollo Hospitals group, told IANS.
Sharma said: "We
have a one-day module on how to handle different customers, telephone
etiquette, manners; and have a refresher programme after six months."
The art of communication, Banerjee stressed, is something that is of utmost importance in the health and hospital industry.
"The
nursing schools that most nurses attend don't prepare them in these
soft skills. We once tied up with Pria Warrick, who is a former beauty
queen and has a finishing school, to train our nurses. It helped," she
said.
Apollo also did away with the traditional white uniform of
nurses - which children associate with fear, Banerjee said - and now
have them in soft pink. They also did away with the nurse caps.
Similarly the Max group has an elaborate one-month induction programme for its nursing staff.
"Our
focus is more on on-the-job learning. Until 2009, we were more into
theoretical learning of what to do and what not, but now that's changed.
After a seven-day classroom session on soft skills, the nurse learns
the rest practically," Col. Saravjeet Kaur, director, nursing, Max group
of hospitals, told IANS.
"For instance, it's not enough to say
that smile to all patients. If a person is in the last stage of cancer,
it will be stupid if she keeps smiling. On the other hand, if she
doesn't smile at a child who is just admitted, that also generates a
negative vibe. It's all situational."
Max also has a list of do's
and don'ts for its nursing staff. For instance, women are told not to
wear heavy make-up, loud perfume, chunky jewellery and so on.
"Ultimately,
I tell my nurses to behave with the patients as they would expect their
family members, or themselves, to be treated. That takes care of
everything," Kaur said.
(Azera Parveen Rahman can be contacted at azera.rahman@gmail.com)