Reactions have trailed the directive by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria mandating nurses to have two years minimum post-qualification work experience from the date of issuance of permanent practicing licence before their certificates can be verified by foreign nursing boards/councils.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has revealed that Nigerian nurses who apply with provisional licenses to foreign nursing boards/councils will outrightly be rejected.
This revelation was made on a circular titled, Revised guidelines for the verification of certificate(s) posted on the X handle of the NMCN.
According to the post, nurses must have a minimum of 2 years post-qualification work experience from the date of issuance of permanent practicing licence before their certificates can be verified by foreign nursing boards/councils.
According to the post, the council disclosed that nurses who apply with provisional licenses will outrightly be rejected.
It also disclosed that all applicants who seek to relocate must have an active practicing license with a minimum of six months to the expiration date.
The revised guidelines, effective from March 1, 2024, aim to streamline the process and enhance the standards of nursing education and practice in alignment with global best practices. Ki i
The verification application process is expected to take a minimum of six (6) months as against the 2 weeks it initially took.
However, the directive have elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians especially X users.
An X user @ DTechNurse said “It absolutely wrong to attach Nigerian nurses verification condition to Chief Executive Officer which are always Medical Doctors.Nurses now await the approval of a Medical doctor before they can make progress in their career. This decision has to be reversed.”
Another user @AlongeElijah described the move as an infringement on human rights. He wrote, “Nonsense!!! This is denial of human right and it shall be informed to @ICNurses @WHO @UNHumanRights. Haven been verified by different nursing body around the world. There has never been an occasion where regulating bodies asked for work experience or mandated years of service.”
@ Odinnitaf opined that the association is supposed to testify to the good standing id it’s employees, “YOU are the Nursing council, you don’t need an employers testament of good standing to issue verification. You are the one to verify the applicants good standing to the international nursing board. It’s totally an Unnecessary step”.
@TheNigerianDoctor who described the move as a cruel decision wrote, “Nigerian Doctors will not be silent.
Our nursing brothers and sisters deserve better. This is a cruel position for NMCN to take. The economy is hurting everyone.You should not hold ur own members hostage”
