There are indications that Nigerian-trained nurses working abroad may be forced to return to Nigeria because the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) has refused to issue a verification license to them.
Findings by InfomediaNG show that Nigerian nurses in the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia are facing the same verification issue.
Their employer abroad needs to verify their practising licenses to ascertain their qualification. When they are unable to verify their license, the potential employer will hold their employment application.
Saudi may eject Nigerian-trained nurses
One of them working in a medical facility in Saudi Arabia said some Nigerian nurses have been directed to leave the country because they could not be verified.
The depressed nurse says, “Could you believe a lot of Nurses were asked to exit Saudi Arabia because our Dataflow could not verify us from NMCN, I am one of them, I could not stop crying. I migrated just last year. I will be returning home next month, without a job at home. Meaning I will be starting all over all because of NMCN verification,” with the hashtags #NotoNMCNVerification and #NotoNMCNVerificationrule.
The Nursing Council in Nigeria had planned new guidelines and requirements for Nigerian-trained nurses applying for certificate verification with foreign nursing boards or councils to have a 2-year post-qualification experience before NMCN could issue verification of the certificate, which the House of Representatives described as unreasonable.
NMCN is a government agency that regulates nursing and midwives practitioners in Nigeria, they issue practising licence to qualified Nurses.
Mr. Faruk Umar Abubakar’s eight-year tenure as the Secretary-General and Registrar of the body elapses on October 4, 2024. He has been the head of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria since 2016.
College of Registered Nurse in Canadian Province halt applications from Nigerian nurses
InfomediaNG observes that some medical facilities in Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador province have begun applications from Nigerian-trained nurses because of the verification process.
In a message shared by one the affected Nurses, her potential employer says:
“We cannot log in into your account to verify licensure. We understand that NMC Nigeria is not issuing a verification of registration at present. We do require a verification of registration in order to assess your application, so we will hold your application until this process resumes and you are able to obtain your verification from NMC Nigeria.”
Texas Board of Nursing suspends applications from Nigeria
Similarly, the Texas Board of Nursing has suspended applications from Nigerian-trained nurses because of verification.
A message on its portal says:
“Until further notice, the Texas Board of Nursing has halted the application process for all Nigerian applicants whose Verification of Licensure from the Nigeria NMC is missing or expired. The Nigeria NMC has notified us that they have stopped sending verifications indefinitely. The Board of Nursing requires that Nigerian applicants have a current, unexpired verification of licensure from Nigeria NMC on file in order to move forward with their application for licensure.”
Background
The body has a special portal where Nurses and Midwives can apply for verification and certificate issued to them, which could take up to six months before issuance (instead of two weeks in the old guidelines). But on February 27, 2024, Nigeria’s House of Representatives directed the NMCN to suspend the issuance of certificate verification due to what the lawmakers described as dictatorial new guidelines by the council.
In the new guidelines, NMCN wants Nigerian-trained Nurses who seek foreign opportunities to have acquired not less than two years post-qualification experience from the date of issuance of their permanent practising licence.
The Lower Chamber says the 2-year post-qualification experience before verification of the certificate is not only arbitrary and fair but also unreasonable.
A member of the ruling All Progressive Congress from Akwa Ibom State, Hon. Patrick Umoh, who berated the new guidelines, said:
“Verification of certificates is to confirm and authenticate an already existing certificate issued by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, therefore the requirement for two years post-qualification experience before verification of certificate is unreasonable, arbitrary and unfair, as it may, among other things, restrict the freedom of nurses seeking education or additional skills and training in foreign universities.”
The Nursing Council which issued the new guidelines on February 7, 2024, had planned to commence implementation on March 1, 2024, before the federal lawmakers stepped in to stop further action on their new guidelines.
The new NMCN Guidelines and Requirements for Nurses to Practice Abroad
Some of the new guidelines of NMCN that the nurses see as draconian and could cage them include:
1) Applicants must possess a minimum of two years of post-qualification experience counted from the date of issuance of their permanent practising license. Applications with provisional licenses will be categorically rejected.
2) The Council will require a Letter of Good Standing from the Chief Executive Officer of the applicant’s workplace.
3) NMCN wants applicants to get a Letter of Good Standing from their last nursing training institution.
4) Responses to requests should be directed to the Registrar/CEO of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
5) Applicants must hold an active practising license with at least six months remaining before expiration.
6) A non-refundable fee per application must be paid through the NMCN portal for verification to Foreign Boards of Nursing. This fee covers the cost of courier services to the applicant’s training institution(s), place of work, and the respective Foreign Board.
7) During the application process, applicants are instructed to upload Certificates of Registration only; Notification of Registration will not be accepted.
8) The verification application process is expected to take a minimum of six (6) months as against the 2 weeks it initially took.
The implications of NMCN new guidelines
Any licensed nurse who is in Nigeria now cannot relocate abroad for work. So they can’t move from Nigeria to the UK, US, Saudi or anywhere around the world for new opportunities in nursing.
Any licensed nurse who trained in Nigeria but is already abroad cannot leave where they are for anywhere else because it is now impossible to re-verify them elsewhere they plan to move to. This means that they can’t move from the US to the UK or anywhere. They will be stuck where they are.
The failure of NMCN to issue verification within two weeks (as it used to be) and mandating them to have a mandatory 2-year post-qualification working experience means restricting the cross-border movement of Nigerian-trained nurses. This is a form of professional imprisonment and hostage.
It means the Nigerian government wants to continue with their habit of overworking and underpaying nurses in Nigeria.
The Nigerian nurses continue to lament over the new planned guidelines, while the House of Rep. has not spoken on the matter since the suspension of the new guidelines in February this year.