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Feature Article

Beginning of a New Era: Sri Lanka Nurses Council

Accreditation for the Nursing Degree Programme,

University of Ruhuna

Dr. Bimba Wickramarachchi, Ms. Eranthi Weeratunga

Nursing encompasses autonomous and The council has the responsibility of advising
collaborative care of individuals of all ages, the government with regard to the standards
families, groups, and communities, sick or and regulations for recruitment of the nurses,
well, and in all settings. To provide the improvements in education and
professional and quality services to the society, professional practice of nurses, and registration
the nursing profession requires a regulatory of nurses. However, the proper functioning of
body to maintain professional standards. the council of nurses came to a reality many
Nursing Councils are formed to regulate years after passing the acts of the SLNC in
nursing education and practices in many 1980. The first Nurses council was established
countries across the globe. Such councils have in the year 2012 where Committee members
greatly contributed to set standards of nursing were appointed for a five-year period. Today,
practice and education, and makes regulations accreditation must be obtained from the
for the nursing profession. council for nursing degree programs for their
graduates to practice nursing locally and
In the history, establishment of the first nursing internationally. The first council ran five years
council goes back to the year 1858. Ethel until it was dissolved in 2017. During that five-
Gordon Fenwick (1857-1947), a British nurse, year period, the council did a significant work
played a major role in developing nursing as a to make rules and regulations to register nurses
health profession. She contributed to create a and to maintain standards of nursing practice in
nationally recognized certificate for nurses and the country.
to register nurses to improve patient care, and
protect nurses from being exploited through The Nursing degree program of the University
low salary payment and poor working Ruhuna, Galle was started in the year 2008 at
conditions. Subsequently, she contributed to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna,
create a premier foundation, the International Galle. A faculty of Allied Health Sciences
Council of Nurses (ICN) to which many (FAHS) was established at the University of
nursing councils across the world are now Ruhuna in 2017, and a department of nursing
affiliated to this foundation. Currently, ICN is was formally established at the FAHS. All
the world’s largest international organization activities of the nursing degree program of the
for nurses and more than 130 nurses’ University of Ruhuna have now been
associations representing more than 20 million conducted at the department of Nursing at the
nurses worldwide are closely working with the FAHS. Considering the importance of having
organization. SLNC registration for Nursing degree
programme of the University of Ruhuna, the
The Sri Lanka Nurses Council (SLNC) has a accreditation process of the Nursing degree
short history. An act was passed by the program of the University Ruhuna to get SLNC
parliament in 1980s to establish the council registration was started in 2014.
(The Sri Lanka Nurses Council Act, No. 19 of
1988).

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