New Delhi: New Delhi: The shortage of nurses in the US has brought a boom in the profession in India, with nursing schools coming up at every nook and corner of major metros and big hospitals grooming their nurses for working in American hospitals.

Not a single day passes without placement agencies and even big hospitals putting up ads luring nurses to work in America and how it can change their fortunes.

"India is at the threshold of yet another boom in international placement. Earlier it was it professionals, now it is nurses. International placement has come of age with this opening of first major migration route to the US for skilled professionals since the collapse of it wave," says Dr D K Baluja, medical superintendent, Jaipur Golden Hospital. "As of today, by conservative estimates alone, there is a shortfall of about one lakh nurses in the US. Other countries like UK, Canada and Australia are likewise affected. According to US Government projections, by the year 2008, another 450,000 nurses may be needed to meet the demand," says Mr Ravi Mittal, director operations, Mepco, a manpower recruitment organisation.

"To cash in on the demand, around 15 new nursing schools are coming up in the NCR region alone. Big hospitals too have started training their nurses and placement agencies have fast come up in major metros and especially South India," says Mr Mittal.

"In the US, most youngsters today are not willing to take up such a stressful profession and rather prefer accounting or management jobs. As a result, the shortage has been building up since last 10-15 years," says Mr Mittal.

The average nurse age in American hospitals today is 46 years, which means there would be serious crisis in next 15 years.

However, getting to the US is not just hop-step and go. These nurses need to pass a major bottleneck of the CGFNS certification exam. Thereafter, it takes a technical process of documentation, processing, visas, placing in appropriate positions and ensuring that they get all the benefits, says Dr Baluja.

It is for this purpose that placement agencies are fast coming up and even leading hospitals have opened up counselling centres for training the nurses for the CGFNS certification exam, he says.

The commission on graduates of foreign origin, which conducts these exams earlier did not have a centre in India and the Indian nurses who wanted to go to America had to sit for the exam in Bangkok.

"However, the Americans have now recognised India as a potential source for nurses and the exam would now be conducted at Bangalore," says Dr Baluja.

"Out of our first batch of 20 trained nurses which appeared for the exam, 10 have qualified," says Mr Mittal, noting "We plan to send around 200 nurses this year to the US." Going by the numbers it is very small and all the placement agents together cannot fulfil the demand, he notes.

However, the boom in health placement is here to stay and the trend will pick up in India in next two-three years, says Dr Baluja.

The healthcare industry is the new blue chip item and the trend is here to stay, he says.