The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) has reportedly halted the issuance of verification certificates to nurses and midwives.
NMCN’s action is already having a global impact; nursing regulatory bodies in the United States, Canada, and Australia have suspended the processing of Nigerian nurse applications due to a lack of required verification documents.
For instance, the Texas Board of Nursing and the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador are suspending applications from Nigerian nurses due to an inability to verify their licensure.
The Texas Board of Nursing in the United States has announced that it will no longer process applications from Nigerian nurses whose Verification of Licensure is missing or expired.
In a viral photo that appears to be sent to a Nigerian student, the Texas Board stated that there is no waiver or alternative to this requirement, effectively halting the licensure process for Nigerian applicants.
The board said, “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.
“There is no waiver for the Nigerian verification, nor is there any alternative to having the verification sent to us. The Board hopes to inform all applicants when this situation changes. While the Board is sympathetic to any inconvenience or frustration related to our requirements for licensure verification, Board staff must take the requisite care and time to adequately review each submission for the BON to fulfill its mission of protection and promotion of the welfare of the people of Texas.”
Similarly, the College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada has stated that they are unable to proceed with applications from Nigerian nurses due to the NMCN’s halt on verifications.
The college, however, told a Nigerian applicant that applications would be held until the verification process resumes.
“We cannot log in to your account to verify licensure. We understand that NMC Nigeria is not issuing verifications 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,” it stated.
The suspension has also affected individual Nigerian nurses, with reports emerging of job offers being rescinded due to the inability to verify their licensing.
The suspension of verification certificates by the NMCN has raised concerns that Nigerian nurses will be unable to verify their licensure, potentially jeopardizing patient safety.
An anonymous nurse told Sahara Reporters, “I know a man who had a job offer in Alberta, they took their offer back because he couldn’t verify his license that he is truly a nurse (due to the portal closure).”
“What it even means is you cannot verify that a nurse is not a quack in Nigeria as we speak. If you go on the UK NMC website, you can type in a nurse’s name and you will immediately see if they are registered or not, that’s verification in one word. If I need to work in Australia, I need to verify with the Australia board that I am a nurse, I just log in to my NMC page and download the verification document. Simple. But Nigeria is now using the closure to restrict people from seeking employment or grant or work.”
