In Abuja, nurses from the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives protested against new certification rules by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).
As learned by Beyond Boders, the protest which happened at the NMCN office, had
nurses unhappy with the rules, which they said, restricted their career options. They want the council to focus on their welfare, pay, staffing shortages, and rights.
The NMCN recently issued new guidelines for verifying nurses’ certificates after their website’s verification portal was offline since December 2023.
According to the new guidelines, nurses applying for verification must have at least two years of experience after getting their permanent practicing license.
They also need a letter of good standing from their workplace and training institution. The verification process will take at least six months and requires an active practicing license.
The nurses’ protest involved singing and holding placards with messages like “Address unemployment among nurses, address quakery, address nurses welfare, and “#No to verification rules. Stop frustrating the Nigerian nurses, we are going through a lot already, Protect nurses, protect healthcare, NMCN, we say no to the verification rules, NMCN, don’t reduce nurses.”
They are urging the NMCN to reconsider the new rules, which are set to start on March 1, 2024.
More details to follow…
