Indian Nursing Council has not proposed treating BSc Nursing degree at par with an MBBS

By: Umme Kulsum
June 9 2023

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Context
An image of a notification purportedly issued by the Indian Nursing Council is doing the rounds on social media. The notification claims that nurses in India would now be recognized as “nursing officers”, a Bachelor of Science (Nursing), or B.Sc Nursing, degree will be equivalent to an MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) degree, and that nurses will be considered as junior doctors. One Facebook post carried the image of the notification with a caption that read: “Wow, Indian Nursing Council has moved a step ahead to consider BSc Nursing candidates as Nursing Officers and to consider them equal to MBBS and to consider them as Junior Doctors. Congratulations to all the Indian Nursing Students and Registered Nurses. Where the system works.” Many other Facebook and Twitter users also shared the image showing the notification allegedly issued by the council.

In Fact
The notification going viral as an official announcement from Indian Nursing Council includes text in at least three different fonts and in different sizes indicating that the document could have been digitally edited or manipulated. The date has been written in a different format, unlike the usual date stamp on notifications issued by the nursing There are also typographical errors that are not usually present in council-issued notifications. The official notifications released by the council contain a consistent font throughout the page. The council also uses a peculiar format to denote the serial number of the notification; for instance, an official notification on the council’s website from July 31, 2021, bears the serial number ‘F.NO. 1-5/GB-CIR/2021-IN.’ The council’s format is distinctly different from the ‘Notification 6 of 2023’ format mentioned in the viral notification.

The Indian Nursing Council is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health constituted by the Indian government. The council's official website does not mention any notification or announcements making the B.Sc Nursing degree at par with an MBBS. 

On June 8, 2023, the Indian Nursing Council also released a statement clarifying that the viral notification circulating with its letterhead and labeled ‘Notification - 6 of 2023 dated June 5, 2023,’ is “fake and fabricated.” The statement issued by the council further said that the notification has "fake signatures" and that the council had never considered any of the proposals mentioned in the notification. The council added that it is contemplating taking steps to identify the persons responsible for disseminating the fake notification.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also shared a tweet on June 8, 2023, calling the viral notification fake.

The Verdict
The Indian Nursing Council has debunked the viral notification as fake in a circular issued on June 8, 2023. The council has not issued any notice to recognize nurses as “nursing officers’ or “junior doctors”. The claim that the B.Sc Nursing degree will be treated at par with an MBBS is also false.