Fifteen MBBS 2nd-year students have been suspended indefinitely for making an Instagram reel, which went viral, showing nurses in a bad light.
Nursing associations protest against students who posted derogatory video. (Supplied)
The Karnataka Institute of Medical Science (KIMS) in Hubballi has formed a seven-member committee to probe the making and circulation of an Instagram reel that allegedly demeaned nurses and nursing.
Fifteen second-year male MBBS students were earlier suspended from the institute, pending inquiry. They were also asked to tender a written as well as a video apology for hurting the sentiments of the nursing community.
The probe panel formed on Wednesday, 9 August, also has a students’ representative.
Screengrab of the reel video made by 2nd-year MBBS students of KIMS Hubballi.
The reel that went viral on social media on Tuesday, was a Kannada song, translated into English as “Don’t believe in nurses”. It was planned as part of a skit to be performed during the college’s annual day celebrations.
However, a screening committee, comprising senior KIMS students, that selected performances for the annual day event, rejected the skit saying it was objectionable.
“Though the screening committee had rejected the skit stating it was objectionable and hence cannot be performed before an audience, the students made a video of it and posted it on social media along with the song,” Sanjay Peerapur, president of the Karnataka Nurses’ Association, Hubballi, and also the principal of KLE Society Institute of Nursing Sciences, told South First.
The students had used equipment such as wheelchairs and hospital beds and even performed in the new special ward, and in front of the KIMS Administrative Block, the reel revealed.
Taking umbrage of the reel, the college’s nursing students took the video to the notice of the top management. Nurses’ associations, too, joined the protest.
The KIMS management conducted an inquiry and demanded an apology from the students responsible for the reel.
The students explained that the video was fictional, and intended only for entertainment. It was not created with the intention of demeaning women or nurses or the nursing community, they said.
However, the management rejected the explanation and demanded a written apology and a video apology.
“Though the students concerned tendered a written and video apology, they made the Instagram account on which the reel was posted, private. The students changed the profile option so that only their friends could access and watch the videos. They also disabled the earlier open comment section,” Peerapur said.
The seven-member committee, including three senior nursing staff, three senior doctors from KIMS Hubballi, and one student representative, would meet on 11 August to decide on action against the suspended students.
May 17, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 16, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024
May 14, 2024
