CHO is the most prestigious position that many medical students aspire to achieve. CHO targets rural areas, so people interested in pursuing a medical field covering rural areas should consider this notable position. In this article, we have outlined the full form of CHO and its career aspects.
What is CHO Full Form?
The full form of CHO in the medical field stands for Community Health Officer, and it is the title given to healthcare professionals who solve community health problems. The duty of CHO is to provide basic healthcare necessities to their respective communities. They can perform basic preventive care and rehabilitation and refer serious cases to higher authorities.
Why is CHO important?
CHO full form is a community health officer, and they solve day-to-day health issues of villagers. They are responsible for understanding and listing the issues a particular community is facing. They act as aides who present the community’s issues to the government authorities for the provision of adequate facilities.
They are posted in sub-center, primary health centers, and community health centers. They are mostly sent to communities affected by pandemics or some diseases such as Covid-19, diabetes, polio, etc. They work in communities where:
- There are limited financial resources.
- No proper transportation facility.
- Lack of infrastructure
- Language barriers
- Lack of healthcare facilities
- Help treat basic ailments
Duties of CHO
CHO plays a vital role in strengthening rural and urban communities with limited healthcare resources. They live in the communities and spend their time advocating for healthcare by going door-to-door. They also educate the affluent groups to create an impact within a community. While many CHOs are recruited by the government, some may act as volunteers. The duties of CHO include:
- Providing proper post-delivery advice to pregnant women.
- Give first aid to injured people.
- Guide people on health hazards and help them stay safe.
- Provide health screenings and important information at community events.
- Help people complete applications and basic paperwork to access healthcare.
- Pay a visit to the sick at their homes to help them.
- Deliver healthcare education and importance to children at schools.
What are the Skills of CHO?
People who have a penchant for serving humanity are most eligible to become CHO. They demonstrate empathy, persistence, courage, and respectfulness to help their community members. CHOs must have excellent communication, interpersonal, and advocacy skills to get their message across.
How to Become a Community Health Officer?
In India, the eligibility to become a CHO is to have a nursing degree (B.Sc. Nursing or Post B.Sc. Nursing) or General Nursing Midwifery (GWM) from accredited institutions. They also must have a valid nursing registration certificate from state nursing councils.
- The age limit of both male and female candidates must not be over 35 years.
- The aspirant must have at least two years of experience in the healthcare sector.
- If you fall under all these requirements, then you are eligible to sit for the CHO exam.
If you have done B.Sc. nursing, you can give CHO exam conducted by the state. After successfully passing the exam, you have to give a skills-based test and an interview. The examiners usually test the candidates on their knowledge about community health nursing, child health nursing, gynecology nursing, psychiatric nursing, etc.
After passing the interview, you will get six months of training. You will attend 3 hours of classes during the training. You will also get paid during the training. After completing training, you will be given a job in Health and Wellness Center (you can choose the center according to your wish).
Your salary will start from Rs. 25,000, along with an incentive of Rs. 15,000 for your excellent performance. The salary of CHO varies from state to state. According to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, if you do a job as a CHO for up to six years, your tenure will become permanent. You can also give a senior exam after completing six years. It is to be noted that a community health officer cannot run and own a clinic of their own.
Risk Factors Associated with Community Health
While the duties of CHO are interesting, there are certain risk factors associated with the role. These include:
- Providing basic literacy to uneducated people. It takes time and effort to help them understand that the healthcare provision will benefit them.
- Bridging the communication gap by communicating with them in their language. The language barrier is the number one reason for the lack of outpatient follow-up. Hence, the CHOs are selected on the basis of their language proficiency in the particular community.
- Many patients may not have family support, so CHOs can do home visits to help them recover.
Conclusion
The CHO full form is community health officer, and it is the best field for humanitarian healthcare providers. It helps primitive communities get access to basic healthcare facilities and the latest health provisions.
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