Diploma in Nursing Care Assistant: Details, Scope, Jobs & Salary

Do you want to pursue a course related to the field of nursing after 12th standard? If yes, this article will be of help to you. In this article, I’ve provided details about Diploma in Nursing Care Assistant (DNCA) course. The article covers topics like course details, eligibility criteria, admission process, career prospects and salary.

 

Here is a quick overview of DNCA (Diploma in Nursing Care Assistant) course –

Name of the courseDNCA (Diploma in Nursing Care Assistant)
Duration2 years
Type of courseDiploma (Paramedical)
FieldNursing care/Nursing
FeesAround 25-45K INR

DNCA: Basic details

DNCA is a paramedical course. It is a Diploma Certificate course! This course is enough to help one acquire key nursing assistant/aide skills and knowledge. After completing the course, one will be able to land entry level nursing assistant/aide jobs at hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

 

Who is a nursing care assistant? What are his/her tasks? What’s it like to become a NCA? You’ll find answers to these questions in the coming paragraphs.

 

Nursing care assistants are allied healthcare professionals. They are not as qualified as registered nurses (RNs).

 

Nursing care assistants are also known as nurse aides. They work alongside or under the supervision of qualified nurses (RNs) and Doctors.

 

In short, they work in tandem with Doctors and RNs. They usually are parts of the nursing teams serving at hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

 

Nursing care assistants’ main tasks include –

  • Carrying out tasks/instructions provided by Doctors or nurses (RNs)
  • Serving meals to patients
  • Taking care of patient hygiene (bathing them, cleaning their rooms, groom them etc)
  • Arranging equipment and accessories in patients’ rooms
  • Recording patients’ body stats (pulse, weight, blood pressure etc)
  • Administering medications
  • Communicating with patients and their family members
  • Taking patients for tests and treatment processes

 

To thrive in this profession, one must possess qualities and traits like –

  • Caring attitude towards patients
  • Good communication skills
  • Technical known-how
  • Nursing knowledge
  • Stamina and willingness to work for long hours (sometimes at odd timings)
  • Patience

 

Let us check out the course details now –

 

Diploma in Nursing Care Assistant: Course details

It is a paramedical course. DNCA is a Diploma certificate course. After completing the course, one won’t become a registered nurse. One will be able to work under nurses and Doctors.

 

Course duration

Generally the course is 2 years long. However, course duration may vary slightly from one paramedical institute to another.

 

Eligibility criteria

Minimum educational qualification required is – passed 12th standard with PCB subjects. Eligibility criteria may vary slightly from one institute to another. Some paramedical institutes are also known to accept 10th passed candidates.

You may also check – MLT courses in India

Please note that reputed institutes only allow DNCA admission for 12th passed candidates. So if you come across an institute that accepts 10th passed candidates for DNCA admission, please ensure that you check the institute’s reputation and accreditation status.

 

Diploma in Nursing Care Assistant Admission process

Depending upon the institute, it could be direct admission process of merit based admission process.

DNCA syllabus

Here are some of the important subjects covered in DNCA syllabus –

  • Basics of nursing
  • First aid
  • Paediatric nursing
  • Epidemiology
  • Family health care nursing
  • Community health care nursing
  • Human anatomy
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Microbiology
  • Personal hygiene
  • Ward management
  • Ward hygiene & safety
  • Communication skills

 

Nursing care assistant scope & jobs

Diverse job opportunities exist in front of nursing care assistants. Government and private sector job opportunities are available in front of them.

 

Nursing care assistants/aides are usually hired by hospitals (Government and private), clinics, nursing homes, CHCs (Community Health Centres) and NGOs. Under such work setups, they function under the supervision and guidance of registered nurses and Doctors.

 

Also read:

Nursing Courses

Diploma in Physiotherapy

 

Nursing care assistants may also serve in home care setups.

 

Salary

Starting salary depends on factors like job location, profile of the employer and employee skills. Depending upon the above mentioned factors, starting salary of nursing care assistants could be anywhere between 6-8K Rupees per month.

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Arun Kallarackal
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