National Telescope national telescope newspaper
The Abuja Chapter of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, on Monday, protested against the new verification certification guidelines released by the Nigeria and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
They condemned the new guidelines describing it as an attempt to hinder their freedom to pursue career opportunities.
They urged the council to address their welfare, salary scale, shortage of staff, and other rights.
It will be recalled that the NMCN in the revised guidelines on February 7, 2024, insisted that applicants for verification must have a minimum of two years post-qualification experience.
A circular on the guidelines released by the council read, “Eligible applicants must have a minimum of two years post qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practising licence. Any application with a provisional licence shall be rejected outright.
“The council shall request a letter of good standing from the chief executive officer of the applicant’s place(s) of work and the last nursing training institution attended and responses on these shall be addressed directly to the Registrar/CEO, NMCN. Please note that the council shall not accept such letter(s) through the applicant.”
It added that applicants must have active practising licences with a minimum of six months to the expiration date, and processing of verification applications would take a minimum of six months, stating that the implementation of the guidelines takes effect from March 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, the protesting nurses and midwives who stormed the NMCN Abuja office enjoined the council to discard the new policy.
They were spotted singing while wielding placards with various inscriptions on the placards read, “Address unemployment among nurses, address quackery, 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” among others.”
