Functions of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria
Every professional body in Nigeria has a governing body that oversees and regulates its practice in the country. The Nursing and Midwifery practice is governed and regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
Short information about the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) is the governing body that oversees all the activities and groups of midwives and nurses in Nigeria. Just like most of the professional body in Nigeria, the history of the NMCN can be traced back to the colonial era. Nursing was one of the first five professions to be recognized and accepted in the colonial era.
The Midwives Board was founded in 1930 based on the Midwives Ordinances which was enacted to oversee the training and practice of Midwifery in Nigeria. In August 1947, the Registration of Nurses Ordinance was passed and the Nursing Council of Nigeria was created to control and regulate nursing training and practice in Nigeria.
In 1979, the Midwives Board and the Nursing Council of Nigeria were merged together under the enabling decree 89 of 1979. In 2004, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria was made a government parastatal.
NMCN is one of the most prominent statutory professional regulating body in Nigeria. The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has one of the largest scope and professional personnel to control, regulate, and supervise. The council is the administrative, corporate and legal body charged by the Federal Government of Nigeria with specific functions to carry out in order to ensure the delivery of effective and safe Nursing and Midwifery practice and care to the public. These functions are stated below.
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Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria Functions
The main goals of the Nursing and Midwifery Council are to guarantee a high quality of Nursing and Midwifery training in Nigeria, maintain a high standard of professional practice and enforce discipline within the Nursing and Midwifery professional. These goals are achieved by specific laid out functions carried out by the council. These functions are as follows:
- Make a register/directory of all nursing and midwifery students at the beginning of their training.
- Formulate and review different curricula used in the training of all the categories of Nurses and Midwives on a regular basis.
- Collaborate and work in partnership with other recognized bodies (e.g. World Health Organisation, National Universities Commission, UNICEF etc.) that are interested in the conducting of various programmes for the Basic and Post Basic training of Nurses and Midwives.
- Give accreditation to all clinical practice and training institutions that trains every category of Nurses and Midwives in Nigeria.
- Issuance of professional certificates to all groups of Nurses and Midwives at the end of their training.
- Conduct professional examinations for all the categories of Midwives and Nurses in Nigeria.
- Formulate and keep registers of all qualified personnel in the Nursing and Midwifery professional practice in Nigeria.
- Organise the registration interviews for all Nurses and Midwives trained outside of Nigeria who are interested in practicing in Nigeria.
- Issuance and updating of professional practicing licenses to all groups of qualified Midwives and Nurses in Nigeria. The certificates are updated every three years.
- They revoke or restore certificate/licenses of Nurses and Midwives when applicable.
- Establish and maintain the standards of competency and knowledge in the Nursing and Midwifery training and practice in Nigeria.
- Conduct compulsory continuous professional and educational development programmes for all categories of Nurses and Midwives.
- Carry out researches in important areas of the Nursing and Midwifery practice.
- Ensure discipline within the profession through the Nurses and Midwives Tribunal.
- Prosecution of illegal practicing and training institutions.
- Control and regulate every aspect of Nursing and Midwifery practice in Nigeria.
Those are the functions of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria. The head of the Nursing and Midwifery Council is the secretary general registrar and the headquarters is located in Abuja. Hope you have this information we provided very useful.
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Source: Legit.ng
