EIGHT in ten of the first batch of nursing students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic have been snapped up by public hospitals even before they received their Diploma in Health Sciences (Nursing) on Tuesday morning.

Of the 147 graduates, 118 or 80 per cent of them have found jobs as staff nurses in various hospitals and clinics. Fourteen were males.

This pioneer batch of nursing students were trained using the latest technology in nursing care.

These include Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), which are packed with details of drugs and diseases and allow easy access to the Internet.

They also benefited from state-of-the-art facilities, such as the $1.4 million Patient Simulation Centre, located at the polytechnic.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic is the second institute to offer nursing diploma; the first was Nanyang Polytechnic.

A total of about 4,500 students will be graduating from Ngee Ann Polytechnic this year.