New e-learning upskilling program in diabetes management for nurses

India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre is a collaboration between the Swedish Trade Commissioner’s Office with AIIMS New Delhi and AIIMS Jodhpur. It has launched ‘Skill For Scale,’ an e-learning initiative designed to empower nurses with hands-on practical knowledge and skills required to practice the latest patient care for managing non-communicable diseases.

This program will be certified by the AIIMS institute of Jodhpur and is endorsed by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). It will allow nurses from different parts of the country to register for free and learn at their own pace.

Nurses are the backbone of India’s healthcare system, and they play a very critical role in enabling patients to understand the disease and its various complications. In its first phase, the new program focuses specifically on diabetes management, prevention, and awareness using a  world-class comprehensive curriculum created from a diverse range of resources available within the NCD domain and following the NPCDCS guidelines.

This program’s content and modules are being created by the team of experts from AIIMS institute of Jodhpur and an advisory board with representation from AIIMS institute from Delhi, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), DGHS, Indian Nursing Council (INC), and AstraZeneca. These modules will enable nurses to provide standardized and quality counseling, care, and support services to the patients to prevent and manage diabetes. Subsequently, this training is to be extended to other areas of Non-communicable diseases in its subsequent phases like hypertension, cardiovascular, and oncology.

With a multi-phased approach, the new Skill for Scale program is currently aimed to upskill 5,000 nurses within this year alone by converting the current theoretical and practical modules into more accessible interactive e-learning techniques. Explaining the need for such an upskilling program, Dr. Sanjeev Misra said,  “NCD disease burden is increasing significantly in India and is already accounting for more than 60% of deaths in India. It is also estimated that 1 in 4 people have a risk of dying from an NCD before the age of 70. This burden of NCD is expected to increase further over the coming years. Still, the number of doctors with specializations available to treat these increasing numbers is very limited, making it critical to upskill the existing healthcare practitioners in managing non-communicable diseases. Through this initiative, we are trying to bridge the knowledge gap that exists at the point of care for patients. The curriculum of this program is carefully designed to enable nurses to deliver specialized care, essential support services, and standardized counseling for patients living with an increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases in India”. He is the director of the AIIMS institute of Jodhpur.

This e-learning mobile compatible program is current;y pegged at two levels – basic level and advanced level and could include training of about 20-24 hours that is to be completed at one’s own pace. One could complete the course in a span of 2 months, following which a completion certificate will be issued, and the student can avail of CME credits via Indian Nursing Council.

“Skill for Scale program is in line with our continuous efforts and commitments to address the growing burden of NCDs on our healthcare systems. At AstraZeneca, we stand by our global initiatives and industry collaborations, focusing on creating awareness and upskilling key stakeholders to make healthier choices. The government’s recognition of this program will go a long way to deliver accurate health information and ensure safe essential health services. We will continue to focus on upskilling the health workforce and bringing impactful solutions locally and globally,” said Dr. Anil Kukreja. He is the vice president of medical affairs and regulations of AstraZeneca India.

Swedish Trade Commissioner to India Cecilia Oskarsson commented, “ISHIC was created to address the healthcare challenges in the country through key pillars – technology, protocol & process, and capability building. We are deeply encouraged to see the support these programs have garnered from the government, key industry organizations, which is crucial to be able to implement such program at a national level and encourage wider use to be able to deliver benefits to the end patient and create an impact on the burden of healthcare. We will continue to evolve these programs to be able to bring about holistic benefit to patients in their journey of managing non-communicable diseases.”