By Adeyinka Adeniran
A Professor of Nursing and Dean, Faculty of Nursing, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Professor Prisca Adejumo has assured that the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) is taking steps to regulate the practice of auxiliary nurses in private clinics among other healthcare service providers in the country.
This is as she enjoined patients and individuals to take responsibility by questioning suspected or unprofessional nurses whenever they seek medical care in any facility, particularly private clinics.
She gave the charge in an interview shortly after she presented 41 graduands from her faculty for induction into the Nursing profession.
The set, christened “Fortis Class of 2025,”, comprising 34 females and seven males are the first batch of graduands since the programme became a full fledge faculty in the College. Four of the graduands bagged first class degree.
The Acting Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Mr Ndagi Alhassan who was represented by the Director/Head of Registration of the Council, Mr Gambo Umar administered the oath of allegiance and presented the provisional license to the new graduands.
Speaking, Professor Adejumo said the council has representatives in every state who monitor healthcare facilities to ensure that practicing nurses have evidence of licensure and practice.
She emphasized that the council is doing its best to ensure that professionals carry licenses and that patients have the right to ask questions about their care.
She said, “If you see a professional, you know. Even without interacting with him or her. By the way you dress, by the way you appear, the way you speak, definitely I have a high sense of identification of who a professional is from who is not a professional.
“The truth is that the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has representatives in every state who are laden with the responsibility of actually visiting different hospitals and different facilities where healthcare is provided to make sure that nurses who are practicing have evidence of licensure, evidence of practice.
“There’s a current license that anybody who is a practicing nurse in Nigeria should hold. If those people that’s Nursing and Medical Council of Nigeria have given the responsibility to, if they go about ensuring that they monitor, you discover that they find out quirks, people who are not nurses. I don’t use the word quirk nurses because it’s either you are a nurse or you are not a nurse.
“So, quirks matter will not arise if these individuals who have been given the responsibility of monitoring and evaluation are going about their businesses and ensuring that anyone who does not have a current professional license to practice is taken at large and reported.
“They are doing a lot in that regard, and for every one of us as individuals in the populace, it’s also important that they are enlightened. They are given awareness so that they know if you go anywhere, you have the rights as a patient. You know, in our environment, people don’t know what they are being given.
“They just know that, oh, I was sick, I had three injections. What is the name of the injection? They don’t know it. You can ask your healthcare provider and ask them, what is that injection you are giving me? It is your right to know.
“And if anybody says, why are you asking me? Don’t ask me a foolish question. You know that’s not a professional because a professional has been trained to be able to respond to the needs of the patient he or she is looking after. And they will give you appropriate answer to your questions. So, if you ask questions, you get answers.”
On the issue of brain drain, Professor Adejumo noted that immigration or emigration is a personal right of individuals and that the council cannot bond nurses to stay in the country. However, she suggested that the government should focus on factors that push nurses out of the country, such as security, working environment, and remuneration.
Regarding disparity between nurses and other healthcare workers, Professor Adejumo encouraged nurses to focus on what makes them happy and to develop their entrepreneurial skills. “If you’re doing what you like to do, I’m a nurse. I like to be a nurse. I’m happy to be a nurse. If I come back another time, I’m still going to be a nurse,” she said.
Prof Adejumo, also highlighted the faculty’s plans to improve its infrastructure and increase its quota of students. She noted that the faculty had begun working on a new building that would fit its status and was looking forward to getting accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for more intake of students.
Speaking before admitting the graduands into the profession, the Acting Registrar, Ndagi noted that as professionals, they must be ready to take responsibility and be accountable for their actions in the discharge of their duties. He assured them of the Council’s support should the need arise in the pursuit of their professional career.
The induction held under the Chairmanship of the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale.
In his remarks at the ocassion, the VC emphasized the importance of accountability and professionalism in the nursing profession. He urged the inductees to always conduct themselves in a manner that reflects positively on the profession and their Alma Mater.
The Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital (UCH), Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, represented by Prof. Biola Okunlola, congratulated the inductees and welcomed them to the healthcare family. He emphasized the importance of empathy, kindness, and teamwork in the nursing profession.
The Provost of the College of Medicine, Prof Temidayo Ogundiran in his speech, described the induction ceremony as a defining chapter in the history of the institution.
Expressing pride and gratitude at the induction ceremony of the Fortis Class of 2025, the Provost said the historic occasion marks the first induction ceremony since the department became a faculty, noting that the event is a defining chapter in the institution’s history.
He congratulated the 41 nursing graduates on completing their Bachelor of Nursing Science degree and being ushered into the noble profession of nursing. He praised their resilience, integrity, and vision, noting that they are trailblazers and pioneers of the newly inaugurated faculty.
