NMCN Nigeria Biometric Capture of Student Nurses 2022/2023

The Nursing and Midfwifery Council of Nigeria has released a list details about the Biometric exercise of students in the School of Nursing and Midwifery Nationwide. Below is the content of the circular:

BIOMETRIC DATA CAPTURING OF STUDENTS IN NURSING / MIDWIFERY TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

Sequel to the previous Circular Ref. No. N&MCN/SG/RO/CIR/24/VOL.5/49 of 25th October, 2022 notifying you of the Council’s intention to commence biometric capturing of all eligible students in the nursing / midwifery training institutions in the country and to provide details of the exercise in due course.

Please be informed that Council is set to embark on the nationwide trial biometric capturing exercise in the six geopolitical zone of the country. The exercise will involve capturing of all student Nurses & Midwives that have indexed by the Council.

Similarly, the individual student’s biometrics shall also serve as a requirement for eligibility to write any of the Councill’s Professional Examinations.

The Council hereby, solicits with you to accord the learn your maximum cooperation and ensure that all the students are on ground during the exercise as there shall be no time to repeat the exercise once it is concluded in your institution.

Details of the exercise are as follows:

There exercise has been scheduled to take place concurrently from Monday 12th to Friday 16th December, 2022 at the training institutions in the following zones and States:

ZONE / STATE

1.      North central – Abuja / Benue

2.      North East – Adamawa / Bauchi / Borno

3.      North West – Kaduna / Sokoto / Kano

4.      South East – Enugu / Imo

5.      South South – Edo / Rivers / Calabar

6.      South West – Lagos / Ondo / Oyo

Please, Head of Institutions in the aforementioned States should take note and bring the content of this Circular to the notice of all concerned stakeholders and students especially the those who are eligible for the next professional examinations in 2023.

Any further development on this subject will be conveyed to you in due course.

Thank you for your cooperation with the Council in promoting and maintaining excellence in nursing education and practice in Nigeria in line with global best practices.

Signed:

Faruk Umar Abubakar Ph.D. RN, FWACN

Secretary, General / Registrar 

College of Nursing Sciences,  Iyienu Mission Hospital Matriculates 152 Students

Management of  College of Nursing Sciences,  Iyienu Mission Hospital (CONSIMH) Ogidi, Anambra State has decried the rate of ‘brain drain’ among Nigeria nurses, revealing that over 7000 nurses have relocated from the county in search of greener pastures.

The concerns were raised during the 42nd  matriculation/capping ceremony of 152 students comprising of the 2021 set of students nurses and 2022 set of  students midwives  at College of Nursing Sciences, Iyienu Mission Hospital,Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State.

Presenting a paper titled, ‘brain drain amongst Nigerian nurses and its  implications,’ the guest speaker, Dr. Chikaodili Ihediebube-Splendor, a senior lecturer, Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, said  brain drain was a threat to the sustainability of the healthcare industry in Nigeria.

She described brain drain as the movement of relatively well educated persons/professionals from developing countries to developed countries, saying that in the healthcare sector, nurses inclusive, have been migrating in search of greener pastures.

“Constant migration of trained healthcare professionals erodes the healthcare delivery, leaving the healthcare of the citizens of the developing countries, Nigeria inclusive in jeopardy. Hence, getting adequate specialists care from trained healthcare personnel becomes a mirage.

“During the national nurse leaders’ summit held between September 27 and 30, at Lagos, the secretary general/registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Dr Faruk Abubakar, reported that over 7000 nurses have relocated from Nigeria in search of greener pastures.

“A newspaper of October 4 reported that there are only 35,000 doctors practicing in Nigeria out of 80,000 doctors registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria as at 2021.

“Within a space of 100 days- June 10 and September 20, it was reported that at least 353 Nigerian-trained doctors were registered with Britain’s General Medical Council as medical practitioners in the United Kingdom,” cited Dr Ihediebube-Splendor.

According to the provost, CONSIMH, Ogidi, Mrs Ngozi Nduka,   the major cause of brain drain for healthcare workers, bankers and other professionals include unstable political and economic environment, understaffing, devaluation of naira, supremacy in healthcare sector.

“Poor working conditions, poor salaries coupled with the hyperinflation experienced in Nigeria. Today a dollar is equivalent to almost N1000 unlike in the 1970s when a dollar is equivalent to one naira or less. Then, nobody was thinking of leaving the country for greener pastures,” Mrs Nduka said.

Mrs Nduka advised Nigerian government to strengthen the economy to be at par with the economy of UK or America, urging authorities of both the private and public health facilities to increase the salaries of nurses up to international standards.

Mrs Nduka congratulated the 152 matriculating students and their parents/guardians for successfully pulling through the Preliminary Training Session (PTS) examination.

She enjoined the tutors, academic and non-academic staff, to continue giving the students unabated and steady coaching, monitoring and mentoring, saying that anything on the contrary may mean a disservice to the nursing profession.

“This College has maintained a lead in the results of the final professional qualifying examinations of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, making a 100 percent pass in the last results released in May,” said Mrs Nduka.

However, the provost, Iyienu Mission Hospital and  the hospital administrator, Rev Canon Okwuchukwu Tochukwu and  secretary, Nonso Anene eulogized the Anglican Bishop on the Niger, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo and his wife Dr. Elsie for ensuring that Vision 2030 would be achieved in their health institutions.

“Our Lord Bishop’s Vision 2030 for education and healthcare services is that IMH will metamorphose into a teaching hospital and the schools or college therein which now offer Higher National Diploma programmes will become degree awarding programmes probably affiliated to University on the Niger.”

The chairman of the occasion, Mr Chukwuagozie Eze, advised their wards to be focused in their studies and shun any form of vices during their academic pursuit.

Credit: The Sun Newspaper

Seek Greener Pastures Abroad – GRNMA to Unemployed Nurses

The President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo has urged unemployed nurses to travel abroad if they are presented with the opportunity of working outside the shores of Ghana.

She explained that, after school, one cannot be idle at home, therefore, if by chance they are privileged to travel, work and earn some income for themselves, why not, they should make hay, while the sun shines.

“The only thing we can do is advice our members, now there is opportunity abroad, and you need to go and top up your skills and work there so that you can earn money for yourself, then go there; or if you have support in this country from your family that you can upgrade yourself, go back to school and upgrade yourself, take advantage of this,” Mrs. Ofori-Ampofo recommended.

The President who also has over 15 years’ experience said, she understands that those who have already moved is based on experience and that might be a hindrance for them, however, that should not prevent them from upgrading themselves and taking up chances of moving abroad to work and earn money; because if they stay at home, the skills they have acquired would be forgotten.

Her comments come after Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced a freeze on public sector employment in the 2023 budget presented to parliament on Thursday, November, 25, 2022.

The President of GRNMA, was speaking to Alfred Ocansey on 3FM’s Sunrise Morning Show, on Monday, 28th November, 2022.

Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo added that employment in the private sector is sometimes difficult.

 ‘‘They try to get employment in the private sectors, but sometimes it is difficult for them because employers think that, when they employ such nurses and the government of Ghana gives them permanent employment, they will leave, so they block them off. It is only in some few cases that the private health facilities employ them, but the fact is that the majority of them are home doing nothing”. She lamented

Another issue she pointed out was that, a series of engagements with stakeholders to employ the unemployed nurses have proved futile as the stakeholders (ministry of health, the ministry of finance) constantly say they are working on the issuance of financial clearance, yet, there has been no resolution to that.

Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo prayed that explanations would be given on what the government means on freeze of public sector employment and that, they hope they are excluded from it because; there are lots of nurses to be employed who are also capable of providing good services to the people of Ghana.

Source: 3news.com

Recalled From Rest: Nigerian Hospitals Recruiting Retired Nurses amid shortage

Faced with a shortage of nurses, Nigerian hospitals are recruiting retired nurses on contract to bolster their work-force. LARA ADEJORO writes

Mrs Turaki has always loved a career in nursing but her passion for the profession is now under strain. The burdens are heavy and many: a shortage of staff, poor working conditions, inadequate equipment and a heavy workload. Most of these are the spin-offs from the massive emigration of medical workers to foreign countries.

In the 15 years, Turaki, who declined to give her first name, has been a nurse, short-staffing has only gotten worse at the tertiary hospital where she works in Bauchi State. Seven of her nursing friends at the hospital have left the shores of the country for greener pastures.

“I’m not enjoying the job again,” she told The PUNCH. “This was not what I thought before joining the profession. I thought it’s meant to get better but things are getting worse; no equipment, no good remuneration.”

Turaki now runs longer shifts and attends to more patients. Normally, she is meant to care for four patients, or at most 10. When she arrives at work, she has to decide which of the 50 patients on the queue needs urgent care or minor surgeries.

“In a day, I attend to at least 20 patients and if I’m on the triaging table, I must attend to about 50 patients daily. I will triage them one after the other to know the department to refer them to. I have to go through their folders and check if they are new cases or they are emergency cases,” she added.

For minor surgeries, between 10 and 15 patients, she has to attend to them one after the other, working hand in hand with the doctors.

“In my clinic, we work from 8 am to 4 pm but if you’re on call, once you close by 4 pm, you remain on duty from that 4 pm till 8 am the next day,” she said.

As a result of the gruelling workload and lack of working tools, Turaki thinks the world is on her shoulders. Her emotions run high, especially when the human cost of the poor state of healthcare delivery adds up. Many times, she breaks down in tears.

“There was a patient who required an emergency tracheotomy but the equipment was not available. We referred the patient to another hospital in Jos, which was the closest but before getting there, he died. The patient’s relatives called to say he died,” Turaki said.

Essential but undervalued

For all her troubles, her pay, she noted, is not worth it. At Grade Level 13, she earns N210,000 monthly. “I’m on CONHESS 12, which is GL 13 in the civil service. Our colleagues that have travelled abroad earn up to N1 million,” she said.

Just like Turaki, Mrs Ameh (real name withheld to avoid reprimand) feels overwhelmed and undervalued. “I enjoy my nursing job but I am overwhelmed. We are only two nurses in the clinic; we get burnt out because we attend to more than 20 patients, sometimes 70 patients a day. This is what we face every day. The work that should have been done by four people is being done by two people,” Ameh, who works in one of the tertiary hospitals in Ondo State said.

Asked whether she is considering leaving the country for where she believes her services will be highly rewarded, she said “yes,” without hesitation.

“If I see the opportunity, I won’t wait, I will go; the work is overwhelming. Today, we attended to more than 30 patients. So, if I have the means to go, I will go. I think about it every day.”

Thousands of nurses like Turaki and Ameh are frustrated on the job due to the increasingly difficult working conditions. At least 57,000 of their colleagues, according to the President of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Michael Nnachi, left the country between 2017 and 2022 to earn better pay.

More nurses leaving

Despite the World Health Organisation code of practice, which states that member states should discourage active recruitment of health professionals from developing countries facing critical shortages of health workers, the latest data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council shows that there is a big rise in the number of Nigerian-trained nurses who join the register. And a majority of them are young.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council noted that almost half the international joiners last year were aged 30 or under, and a similar number were in their 40s. Only five per cent were 41 and above, compared to 14 per cent of United Kingdom joiners.

The NMC, which is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK said many are settling in and around London. However, NMC data does show professionals moving to all corners of the UK and England.

According to the NMC data, 7,256 trained nurses in Nigeria relocated to the UK between March 2021 and March 2022. Stakeholders fear the worst is yet to come as more nurses may leave in droves if no urgent action is taken.

One to 1,660

Nnachi confirmed that the migration of nurses to other countries leaves the burden of care on the few available medical workers. With an estimated population of over 200 million, there is one nurse per 1,660 people in Nigeria, according to Nnachi.

He said, “The concern is that care has to be qualitative but as nurses are leaving, there is such an increase in the workload that if I tell you that it is one nurse to 60 or 80 patients, it might be modest. But if you’re looking at the statistics and population of Nigeria, it is one nurse to 1,660 patients. So, where will the quality care come from?”

Retired nurses to the rescue

To save the situation, hospital managements in Nigeria have decided to call back retired nurses. Some of them believe that retired nurses still have much to offer at 59 or older. Though some hospitals denied resorting to such a scheme, the recruited nurses are talking in anger. After a fulfilling nursing career that spanned 35 years, Abimbola Johnson (not real name) took a bow from Lagos State’s employ in 2019.

Johnson retired as an Assistant Director of Nursing Services in one of the general hospitals in Lagos. The civil service rule in Nigeria mandates civil servants to retire either after serving for 35 years or attaining the age of 60. The former was the basis for Johnson’s retirement as she was 58 years old at that time. But her retirement phase was short-lived and she found herself back at work two years later.

Johnson, who is now 61, said she was recruited again as staff shortage hit the critical workforce and the pressure on hospitals escalated. Johnson, who is currently working in the health service as a contract worker, said her grade level was stepped down by a rank.

She told our correspondent that many of her colleagues are also back to work, all in a bid to salvage the health sector from collapse.

“I have seen colleagues that have renewed their contract up to four times, some of them have even passed age 65. We see them and we know ourselves. Even in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-araba, we have some of our good old hands that are retired and are back there as contract nurses because of the mass exodus of nurses.

“You find out that the majority of us who are retired due to length of service are back to work, especially with the massive exodus of nurses to other countries, bad state of the economy and dull business environment,” the 61-year-old nurse said.

The veteran nurse said she would have felt uncomfortable staying at home when she still had something to offer. “The ability is still there to work. Why would I stay indoors when I still have something to offer, especially when I belong to the class of nurses passionate about the profession?

“My two-year contract ends this December but if I wish to continue, all I have to do is re-apply and renew my contract for another two years,” she said.

Another retired nurse, who wished to remain anonymous, said even though she is contributing her quota to healthcare delivery in the country, she is saddened by the overstretched health system and the paltry salary despite the demands of the job.

The nurse retired this year at age 59 as a GL 16 officer but she was recruited almost immediately as a contract nurse on GL 15.

“Even as a retired nurse, when I begin to look at my gratuity, I am not happy. I look at my counterparts that work with Shell and NNPC; I know what their gratuities are. The government needs to review the salary of nurses and that is one of the reasons young nurses are leaving the country,’’ she said.

Even with the recycling, thousands of positions remain unfilled across the country and service quality has yet to improve. Turaki and her colleagues may have to endure the drudgery for as long as they can.

“We should declare an emergency in the healthcare sector. The workload is enormous and we are overstretched in taking care of patients,” the Chairman of NANNM, Lagos State Council, Olurotimi Awojide, said as he explained how the shortage of nurses undermines the quality of patient care and causes fatigue and burnout.

“It is meant to be one nurse to four patients but because of our peculiarity in Nigeria, we still accepted one nurse to eight patients but now, you will see one nurse to 15 patients. This is not allowing us to provide the expected professional care to the patients.

“Nurses are graduating and leaving immediately after their final year exams because the working conditions are not encouraging. More nurses will still leave; it’s a very serious situation. Almost everybody is planning to go abroad,” he lamented.

A nursing advocate, Bunmi Lawal said though nurses constitute the largest healthcare workforce, little attention is paid to addressing the push factors.

“We know that in the Federal Capital Territory, more than five nurses leave for the US, UK and Saudi Arabia weekly. Our hazard allowance is nothing to write home about despite battling COVID-19, Lassa fever and other deadly diseases.

“You have a situation where one nurse will run the night shift in some of our general hospitals. In hospitals like the National Hospital, Abuja, two nurses run the night shift, no matter the workload. We are left with fewer hands, and the quality of care is poor.

“The government needs to address the issue of remuneration and specialty in the profession, and improve the equipment in the hospitals. Some hospitals still take delivery on the floor,’’ she noted.

Despite all they face, nurses seem to get no recognition as society perceives them to be inferior to doctors. In September, a leaked memo from the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta showed that over seven staff collapsed during surgeries in one month due to exhaustion.

The memo written and signed by the Theatre Manager, A.G Fagoyinbo, and dated August 29, 2022, was titled ‘Request to reduce the number of elective surgeries: Two patients per specialty per day.’

“The situation is such that only one peri-operative nurse works in the suite instead of three peri-operative nurses, same with other surgical staff (members). The excess workload has resulted in serious burn-out and extreme tiredness,” the memo read in part.

While denying that the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, recycles retired nurses to tackle brain drain, the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee Chair, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, told our correspondent it is time to employ more nurses.

His counterpart at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Prof Adetokunbo Fabamwo, said medical directors are also in pain as the brain drain digs deeper into the nursing profession.

“We are already down to about 30 per cent since about one year now that it got worse,” he said.

“At the state government level, stakeholders have examined the issues and decided to expand the capacity of the School of Nursing in Igando to produce more nurses,” Fabamwo said, as he confirmed the plan to call back retired nurses.

“Some of them are still young and not up to 60 years and some who are 60 are still capable of working. In the last month or two, we have six applications from retired nurses who want to join us,’’ he explained.

He added that the hospital had sought the consent of its governing board in recruiting single qualified nurses for specific areas. Such nurses will be required to acquire their second qualification within two years of recruitment.

“For instance, you can have a registered midwife and they will work in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department; you can have a registered psychiatrist nurse and they can work in the psychiatry department,” Fabamwo clarified further.

LASUTH has also decided to employ ward assistants to take up the non-nursing responsibilities—laying the bed, bathing the patients and lifting them from the bed.

The nursing and midwifery leader, Nnachi, however, insists the conditions of service must be improved to stem the tide of brain drain.

“Motivation has to do with giving you what you deserve. The nurses should have a peculiar allowance because they are suffering. There is nothing wrong if there is an investment in nursing and opportunities for postgraduate programmes. The government can give incentives for postgraduate studies in specialty areas and we need to be recognised and encouraged,” he said.

According to WHO, nurses play a critical role in health promotion, disease prevention, and delivering primary and community care.

“Achieving health for all will depend on there being sufficient numbers of well-trained and educated, regulated and well-supported nurses and midwives, who receive pay and recognition commensurate with the services and quality of care that they provide.

“Investing in nurses and midwives is good value for money. The report of the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth concluded that investments in education and job creation in the health and social sectors result in a triple return of improved health outcomes, global health security, and inclusive economic growth,” the UN body said.

FG mum

When contacted on the telephone, Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, requested that a text message be sent to him on the matter.

He has yet to respond to the text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

Also, efforts to reach the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, proved abortive as he could not be reached on the phone.

Source: https://punchng.com/recalled-from-rest-nigerian-hospitals-recruiting-retired-nurses-amid-shortage/

UNIMED University Ondo Decries Scarcity of Graduate Nurses

UNIMED

Following the brain drain issue in the Nigerian health sector, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Services, Ondo, Ondo State, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, has lamented the insufficiency of graduate nurses across the country.

He noted that many of the trained nurses had left the country for greener pastures in another country.

The don stated this during the second induction of professional nurses who recently graduated from the university. No fewer than 71 of the graduates were inducted into the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

He was represented at the occasion by the deputy VC academics, Prof. Roseangela Nwuba.

The VC said, “Well-trained nurses left the country for greener pastures abroad which makes the need for appropriate nursing care reduced across the nation”,

Welcoming the inductees, Secretary-Generaleral and Registrar of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Dr Faruk Umar Abubakar lauded the university for working excellently in grooming young nurses, urging the institution to keep the flag flying.

A senior lecturer at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti , Dr Cecilia Bello, said that nurses must continue to recognise the importance of their collaboration with other members of the healthcare team to sustain teamwork in ensuring the best outcomes for patients.

Bello, who is also the guest speaker at the occasion said, “Members of healthcare must take advantage of the variety of knowledge, skills, and abilities available among disciplines, and embrace the attitude that promotes teamwork the for best patient health outcomes.”

 Bauchi State Announces Automatic Employment for Nurses, Midwives

Students offering medical and health courses in Bauchi State will henceforth enjoy automatic employment after graduation in the state.

Gov. Bala Mohammed announced on Thursday in Bauchi while inaugurating two newly constructed primary healthcare centres in Gidan Dubu and Fadamamada communities in the Bauchi metropolis.

He said that the two health facilities were constructed with development partners like UNICEF, European Union (EU) and USAID.

“As a measure to maintain the major optimum requirements to the healthcare profession in the state, this administration has reintroduced the pre-service scheme where students offering medical and health courses are given automatic employment.

“That is our health students, the midwives and the nurses that are in our tertiary institutions,” he said.

According to him, the government placed a high premium on healthcare delivery as it believed in the saying that ‘health is wealth and a healthy society is a productive society.”

He said, for this reason, his administration had been trying to address the challenges of the health sector, especially in the areas of service delivery, infrastructure and human resource development.

“Consequently, since the inception of this administration, we have been able to construct four general hospitals where there were none as well as 15 primary healthcare centres.

“We have also renovated and equipped 10 secondary and 10 primary health facilities across the state.

“These are in addition to the 107 and 204 primary and secondary health facilities, renovated and upgraded through the support of EU, UNICEF and NSHIP projects respectively,” he said.

Mohammed assured the people of the state that all developmental projects started by this administration would be completed within the remaining life span of his administration.

Also, the Bauchi state Commissioner for Health, Mr Sabiu Gwalabe, lauded the governor for the high priority given to the health sector in the state.

He added that within the past three years of the present administration, laudable projects and programmes had been initiated and accomplished.

The commissioner called on the benefiting communities to appreciate the present government for making their decade-long dreams a reality.

Mr Oluseyi Olusehinde, Health Specialist from UNICEF, said that the organization had been enjoying the partnership with the Bauchi State Government.

He said “in addition to the contribution you are making yearly to this PHC MoU, we are glad to say that every year, you are adding new structures, new primary healthcare centres to the number of primary healthcare centres in Bauchi State.

“We are also grateful to say that by the beginning of your administration, there were some wards in Bauchi without PHC centres but as of now, we are glad to say that you have covered all those wards.

The state government, on Nov. 17, allocated N30.5 billion to the state Ministry of Health out of the N202 billion 2023 budget presented by the governor to the state House of Assembly for approval.

SOurce: PM News

How Fraduster Duped Girl of N157,000 over Fake Ijebu Ode Nursing School

Becky Osiele, a Lagos resident, has narrated how she was defrauded of more than N157,000 after enrolling in a fake School of Nursing.

Osiele told FIJ that she came across the fake Facebook page in October, when it called on all prospective students to apply to the School of Nursing, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

She also said the page directed her to one Faith Adebayo, who claimed to be working at the school’s administration department.

After reaching out to Adebayo, who later introduced herself as the school’s registrar, Osiele said she was sent an account number with an instruction to deposit her registration and admission fees into it.

“I checked online for the School of Nursing in Ogun State. Someone already told me that she had visited the school and had heard that their admission was done online. So, I saw a post online and contacted the registrar, Dr Faith Adebayo,” Osiele said.

“I called and she told me that the form purchase was about closing. She however later sent the form to me.

“She also sent an account number to me and I deposited N157,000 into it using a POS. I was even convinced I was doing the right thing when I saw that the account name was ‘Nursing Midwifery Council’.

“After I paid for the application form, she sent an admission letter and told me to pay the acceptance fee. I also paid part of the school fees as instructed.”

Osiele told FIJ that she eventually found out that she had been defrauded when she met the school’s actual staff.

She said it was the officials who confirmed to her that Adebayo was not a known staff member of the institution.

“There is a staff member of the school who goes to work from here (Lagos). It was that person who told me that the admission process was not done online, and that I had to visit the school. I visited the school today and they don’t even know any Faith Adebayo,” Osiele told FIJ on Tuesday.

A source, who knew about the incident but asked not to be named, told FIJ that two other people had in the past fallen victim to the same kind of fraud.

When FIJ contacted Adenike Richards, Principal, School of Nursing, Ijebu-Ode, she confirmed that admissions payments into the school were not made online.

“Admission into the School of Nursing has ended a while ago. The whole admission process ended in August and the new students have already assumed the session. So, all those online forms are fake,” Richards said.

“We are not selling admission forms presently. The sale of forms ended in June and the process was concluded in August. There’s no payment of fees online or in the school. Whoever needs to make a payment will need to go to the ministry first. The ministry will then give directives.”

Source: Fij.ng

Over 600 Nurses, Doctors Resigned from UCH Ibadan in 12 Months

The University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan says more than 600 of its clinical workers have resigned their appointments.

Jesse Otegbayo, UCH’s chief medical director (CMD), said this on Monday at a media briefing to mark the 65th founder’s day of the hospital.

The professor said the situation, which he attributed to health workers relocating abroad, has taken a toll on the operations of the hospital.

He said between 2020 and October 2021, more than 600 health workers left the hospital.

“Every week, I receive about 15 resignation letters; there are more nurses than doctors and pharmacists,” he said.

“The movement of health workers will continue for a while, I must confess, but the consequences are not going to be good for Nigeria because, in the next five years, we will feel full impact.”

He, however, said the federal ministry of health had already instituted committees to look into the retention of health workers.

In 2015, Danladi Kifasi, the then head of service of the federation, said an embargo had been placed on all federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to checkmate “indiscriminate employments and promotions” that had bloated the payroll.

Since then, various stakeholders, including the house of representatives, have urged the federal government to lift the embargo and implement strategies to increase labour productivity.

Otegbayo said the committee of CMDs of tertiary hospitals had also made suggestions on this to different committees, including asking that the government ensures full replacement of staff members that have left.

He said the challenges faced by UCH in providing training, research, and healthcare services also included the high cost of diesel, poor power supply, bureaucratic bottlenecks in replacing staff, negative perception, and high expectations from the public.

The prolonged ASUU strike which lasted eight months has also halted the training of critical staff in the hospital.

CONCERN OVER DOCTORS LEAVING THE COUNTRY

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had also expressed concern over the recent trend of medical doctors leaving the country.

The medical body said there may be a need to hire doctors from foreign countries in the future.

In an effort to curb the trend, the United Kingdom had said it would look into supporting the Nigerian government to prevent brain drain in the country’s health sector.

Catriona Laing, British high commissioner to Nigeria, said the commitment was necessary following a recent spike in visa applications from Nigerians.

“We have a labour shortage in the UK at the moment. But we have to balance that because we do not also want to be responsible for a massive brain drain from Nigeria because you also need talented people,” Laing said.

“So, the health sector is an example where there are a lot of Nigerian medics, both nurses and doctors, in the national health service.”

New Zealand Nursing Registration for UK Nurses

Good day and welcome to my blog where I am going to talk about the New Zealand Nursing registration for UK, US, Ireland Nurses who wish to migrate to Australia. Since Australia changed her Nursing registration process, getting registered as a Nurse in Australia is no longer a in walk in the park hence the easiest way is to first register as a Nurse in New Zealand then endorse it to Australia.

New Zealand Nursing Registration Requirements

  1. You must have a Bachelor degree in Nursing , Nurses who have diplomas are not qualified. However, there have been few cases where those with diploma in Nursing and degree in any health related fields are accepted and issued RN licenses. You may want to speak to CGFNS New Zealand and New Zealand Nursing Board before you proceed in case you fall into this category.
  2. You must have at least two years post registration experience in health related settings. The experience can be from Nigeria, Kenya, UK, USA or any country.
  3. Registration and working as a Nurse in UK, USA, Ireland or Singapore. About six month of working in any of the above listed countries should be good.

Step-by-Step Guide to New Zealand Nursing Registration for UK Nurses

Step 1: Create an account with New Zealand CGFNS. Read more about the process of creating CGFNS account How To Create CGFNS Account For New Zealand Nursing Board

Step 2: After all the needed documents have been received and validated by CGFNS, a report will be issued and a copy will be sent to you for review. Make sure you go through the report and be sure all the information therein is accurate, you can then give CGFNS the approval to issue your final report.

Step 3: CGFNS will pass your document directly to New Zealand Nursing Board and you will be contacted by New Zealand Nursing Board to create an account where you will be able to monitor the progress of your application. Once you create your application, you need to pay the application fees of NZ$485.

Step 4: Create an account with Fit2work for Criminal Background check. To create an account go to https://www.fit2work.com.au/PreEmployment/GeneralBasicDetails?id=NCNZ and then complete the form. You will need to complete criminal check for only the country you have lived in for 12 months in the last 7 years and make the payment of around AUD$149.

Step 5: Your criminal background check result will be sent directly to New Zealand Nursing board once it is ready and a copy will be sent to you.

Step 6: Once all your document is complete with the New Zealand Nursing Board, your case manager will contact you and invite you to complete an application for your annual practicing certificate called APC. However, if you have any outstanding requirement or more information is needed, your case manager will ask you to provide such information before your application can be approved for registration.

Step 7: Once you are clear to register for your annual practice certificate, then you can proceed to complete your application form and make the application form payment. Your license will be issued and you can then proceed to endorse it to Australia.

How to Endorse New Zealand Nursing License To Australia License.

List of Nursing Boards Accepting ERES CES Report

The following Boards of Nursing accepts ERES CES report for Nursing registration:

New Mexico Board of Nursing

Oregon State Board of Nursing

Ohio Board of Nursing

Texas Board of Nursing

Washington Board of Nursing

Florida Board of nursing

Illinois Board of Nursing

Northern Mariana Islands Board of Nursing

Nebraska Board of Nursing

Arizona State Board of Nursing

Alabama Board of Nursing

Board of Vocational Nursing & Psychiatric Technicians (California)

Colorado State Nursing Board