Shillong: Woodland Institute of Nursing (WIN) on Thursday held its first convocation ceremony at Laitkor, Shillong for nurses who completed their courses for the 2020-2021 academic session.
Certificates were presented to all the successful candidates during the ceremony. It may be mentioned that at least 116 students graduated from the institute, of which 35 were from B.Sc Nursing, 54 from Post Basic B.Sc Nursing and 27 from GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery).
Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh graced the occasion as chief guest, while NEHU Dean Prof. N Saha graced the event as the guest of honour.
Dr. Werlock Kharshiing, Managing Director of Woodland Institute of Nursing (WIN), said, “It is a great day for the institute as it is organizing the first convocation ceremony to honour students who have graduated from this institute.”
Woodland Hospital located in Dhanketi, Shillong, was built in 1991. Dr. Kharshiing said, “At that time it was very difficult to get nursing staff and had to recruit nurses mostly from South India and Manipur. There were only a few nurses from Meghalaya.”
This prompted Dr. Kharshiing to set up a nursing school so that the people of the state can take up nursing as a profession.
The nursing school started functioning from a rented building at Cleve Colony in 2006. There was a basic course in GNM general nursing with an intake of 30 students. In 2009, the institute was shifted to Laitkor where a college as well as a hostel was built in a spacious 12-acre land.
“Till today, 1,800 students have passed out from this institute. Many students who passed out are now working outside Meghalaya like Guwahati, Kolkata and other places,” mentioned Dr Kharshiing.
The managing director of WIN also highlighted that it is unfortunate the state does not have an adequate number of doctors.
“Govt as well private sectors are facing a paucity of doctors. Assam has 11 medical colleges, Tripura has 3, Arunachal Pradesh has 1, Mizoram has 1, so does Nagaland and Manipur. Meghalaya is the only state with no medical college,” mentioned Dr. Kharshiing.
Dr. Kharshiing suggested that the government should start a medical college in the existing infrastructure at Pasteur Hills. “The shortage is acute in rural areas as most doctors are concentrated in cities,” he said.
The Health Minister said that the state government is now planning a medical college in Shillong and Tura. She also advised the nurses who have graduated from the institute to work dedicatedly to improve the health system in the state.
“The government will design a policy for posting and transfers of nurses,” Lyngdoh said.
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Lyngdoh lauded the founders of this institute for their contribution towards the health sector in the state and also hailed their effort in grooming the state’s youth. She also said that Meghalaya needs nurses and care-givers who are committed to serve the people of the state.
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