The Kerala Nurse Phenomenon

I was interviewing a nurse for one of our centres in the south. His name indicated that he was from Kerala. He was working in Delhi at that time. I started talking in English. He responded but kept switching to Hindi. I was a little surprised. He was from Kerala. How was he so much at ease with Hindi?

Adaptability is possibly one of the best traits that nurses from Kerala have. They learn the local language, adapt to the local culture and assimilate into any place with ease. This endears them to patients around the country. Also, nursing is somehow in their blood. They do such a damned good job with it that it often unsettles the local nurses themselves!

Many patients have told me that the care provided by a nurse from Kerala is unmatched.

That is why hospitals from as far north as Delhi have taken to Kerala nurses in a big way. Generally South Indians are considered to be more conservative than others. However in the case of nurses from Kerala, this does not hold try at all. They are found all over the country and have adapted with such ease that it is difficult to imagine a hospital without some nurses from Kerala.



In the US, you have a similar situation - albeit with many nurses coming from the Philippines and close by.

What is it that makes Kerala nurses so good? Is it their adaptability? Is is their ability to grasp nursing concepts well? Or is it their inherent nature of being genuinely caring that makes them liked by patients so much? Is nursing in their genes?

I have no definitive answers!

But whatever it is, it works. And it works really well!

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