UGONSA WRITES NCSBN, REQUEST NCLEX CENTER IN NIGERIA

  

Jay Douglas, MSM, RN, CSAC, FRE.

The President,

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN),

111 East Wacker Drive, Suite 2900,

Chicago, IL 60601-4277.

 

ATTENTION:

Phyllis Polk Johnson, DNP, RN, FNP-BC,

President-Elect,

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN),

111 East Wacker Drive, Suite 2900,

Chicago, IL 60601-4277.

 

A REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL COUNCIL LICENSURE EXAMINATION (NCLEX) CENTER IN NIGERIA.

 

The University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA), also known as the Graduate Nurses Association of Nigeria (GNAN), is a professional association of nurses in Nigeria with a minimum qualification of first degree in nursing science (B.N.Sc./B.S.N/ or B.Sc. Nursing), with a membership strength of over ten thousand (10,000) nurses.

2.      We write to inform you of the excruciating pain and heavy financial burden Nigerian nurses intending to migrate and practice in the U.S. endure in an attempt to write the NCLEX exam.

3.      The incessant devaluation of the Nigerian currency (naira), which makes it to exchange at about 720 naira to a dollar in the parallel market, has sent millions of Nigerians, including Nurses, into poverty as the average nurses' salary crashed from about $700 to $200 per month.

4.      Despite their high proficiency, those that intend to migrate to the U.S. are further stripped of the paltry savings they made from their meager income vide the requirement that they have to seek visas to travel to countries that have NCLEX centers such as India, United Kingdom, South Africa, and the Philippines. Because visa application is not a guaranteed process, most nurses that apply for a visitor visa to those countries with NCLEX centers are denied their application without a refund of the costly application fee. Those that manage to get a visa are further burdened by flight tickets to and fro the destination of the foreign test centers. The unlucky ones who could not pass the exam in the first sitting have to go through the excruciating process over again.

5.      A factsheet check from the NCLEX Quarterly Examination Statistics for the past five (5) years (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022) shows that nurses from Nigeria constitute the highest NCLEX exam takers in Africa with the highest cumulative pass rates in the entire African continent. The proficiency of Nigerian nurses has also been alluded to by Canada. Just recently, the Nova Scotia College of Nursing and the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta included Nigeria amongst the seven selected countries that meet Canadian standards and entry-to-practice competencies, with NCLEX passing as a prerequisite to full licensing. This means that among all the African countries, Nigerian nurses should be prioritized for the NCLEX exam with the citing of an NCLEX center in Nigeria to ease the sufferings of the West Africa Nurses.

6.      Citing an NCLEX test center in Nigeria will be an easy process since the country already has authorized Prometric and Pearson Vue Testing centers offering Computer Based Test (CBT) for the United Kingdom Nursing and Midwifery Council and on all IT international examinations for vendors like Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, CompTIA, Adobe, etc.

7.       As a critical stakeholder in the nursing profession in Nigeria, UGONSA is willing to offer any assistance to facilitate the process in terms of meeting with any government agency necessary to make the establishment of the NCLEX center possible. UGONSA is an association whose core value, among others, is to maintain excellence in nursing education and practice, improve the quality of nursing care rendered to clients and patients through research, and uphold the ethical tenets of nursing. Over the years, the association has helped prepare most of its members for writing NCLEX through its monthly scientific sessions organized in almost all the states in Nigeria. This undoubtedly contributed significantly to the good pass rates recorded by Nigerian nurses in NCLEX examinations over the years. The association therefore, considers it imperative to write to you for your consideration in establishing an NCLEX center in Nigeria in the spirit of equity and fairness.

8. For correspondence, please contact the association through her official email: gnan2ugonsa@gmail.com.

Please accept the assurances of our highest regards.

 

Signed:

                                                                             

Nurse Ojo Opeyemi                                                                       Nurse Philip O. Eteng

National President                                                                             National Secretary

 

 Cc:

Adrian Guerrero, CPM. (The Treasurer, NCSBN Board)

Susan VanBeuge, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP. (Area I Director, NCSBN Board)

Lori Scheidt, MBA-HCM. ( Area II Director, NCSBN Board)

Karen C. Lyon, PhD, MBA, APRN, NEA-BC. (Area III Director, NCSBN Board)

Karen E. B. Evans, MSN, RN-BC, SD-CLTC, CLC. (Area IV Director, NCSBN Board)

Lori Glenn, DNP, CNM,C-EFM, RN. (Director-at-large, NCSBN Board).   

Sue A. Tedford, MNSc, APRN. (Director-at-large, NCSBN Board)

Carol Timmings, RN, MEd. (Director-at-large, NCSBN Board)

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UGONSA WRITES HONOURABLE MINISTER OF HEALTH ON SELECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPER PLACEMENT FOR GRADUATE NURSES

 

The Honourable Minister for Health,

Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH),

Federal Secretariat Phase III, Ahmadu Bellow Way,

Central Business District Abuja,

P.M.B.083 Garki, Abuja

Nigeria.

 

Attention:

Director, Human Resources FMOH

 

Sir,

SELECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CIRCULAR ON ENHANCED ENTRY POINT FOR BACHELOR OF NURSING SCIENCE (B.N.Sc.) GRADUATES: AN APPEAL FOR YOUR INTERVENTION

The National Executive Council (NEC) of University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA), a professional association of nurses with a minimum first degree in Nursing (B.N.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing), conveys the fraternal greetings and the appreciation of her members to you and all your staff.

2.      It could be recalled that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (HCSF) in a Circular Ref. No. HCSF/SPSO/ODD/NCE/CND.100/S.8/72 (Please refer to Annexure A) conveyed the approval of Enhanced Entry Point for B.N.Sc/B.Sc. Nursing holders by the National Council on Establishment (NCE) at its 43^rd meeting held at Abuja, FCT, from 24^th to 28^th January, 2022. With the development, the entry point into the Nursing Officers’ cadre in the civil service for nurses with B.N.Sc/B.Sc. Nursing degree became Grade Level (GL) 10 (. i.e., CONHESS 09) effective from 28^th January, 2022.

3.      Kindly also recall that in an earlier Circular from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Ref.No.B.63279/S.7/II/T/273 dated 24^th April, 2002, (Please refer Annexure B) on “Adjustment of Salary Grade Level as a Result of Enhanced Entry Point (Base Grade level Adjustment) to a Cadre in the Civil Service"  unambiguously stated that "in order to stem the spate of agitation over adjustment of grades any time the base grade of any cadre in the Civil Service of the Federation is enhanced, Government has decided that adjustments should affect only the officers within the cadre whose positions fall below the new entry point; but such officers should retain the date of the adjustment as their date of seniority on the new grade, while serving officers who attained the new base grade and other grades above it by promotion or direct appointment will retain their original date of seniority on their respective grades”.

4.      The provision of the referenced circulars implies that while a fresh graduate of B.N.Sc/B.Sc. Nursing is appointed on GL10 (.i.e. CONHESS 09) post-NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) following the completion of an internship, those that are already in service but are still below the new entry point of CONHESS 09 should be adjusted to the new base grade effective from 28^th January 2022 (. i.e., the approval date by the NCE) to maintain their seniority over other graduate nurses that were newly employed into the service after the release of the circular.

5.      Some worrisome development in the implementation of the circular compelled us to bring the issue to your esteemed attention. While many heads of institutions and facilities bluntly refused to implement the new circular, others are selectively implementing it with no regard to the provisions of the referenced extant circulars. Some heads of facilities strangely assert that "B.N.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing" nurses who were employed before the effective date of the circular (.i.e., 28^th January, 2022) are not eligible for the adjustment to the new base grade because they are already in service, while others, argues that the adjustment will only affect "B.N.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing" nurses who show evidence of completion of an internship.

6.      While we advocate for the active participation of young graduates of B.N.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing degree in the internship programme, especially those that graduated after 2016/2017 when internship for nurses was approved; we make a strong case for those that had graduated years before the approval of the one-year internship programme for nurses in 2016. They were already out of the school system or employed and so were not eligible to participate in the internship and should not be denied their due promotion/upgrade because of an internship program that was non-existent for nurses at the time they left school or when they were employed.

7.      An example of a hospital that blatantly refused to implement the circular is the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State. This they displayed by refusing to implement the said circular for the new nursing officers they employed after the circular had been released (please refer to Annexure C I&II herewith attached). This is despite bringing the attention of its management to the extant circulars.

8.      Also, it may interest you to note with displeasure that the management of the under-listed health institutions/facilities and many more have decided to selectively implement the circular as it seems comfortable for them. This selective implementation ranges from either refusal to implement the circular at all or refusal to upgrade those nurses with B.N.Sc. degree holders who have completed their internship and NYSC schemes, and were employed before the effective date of the circular (28^th January, 2022) but are still below the new base grade (SGL10), to refusal to adjust nurses with B.N.Sc. degree who were employed before the approval of internship for nurses, and as such, could not participate in the scheme, but have completed one-year NYSC service as at the time of their employment but are still below the new base grade (SGL10).

These include:

        i.      Neuropsychiatirc Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State

      ii.      Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI), Ekiti State

    iii.      Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    iv.      University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

      v.      Specialist Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State

    vi.      Fedreal Medical Center, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

  vii.      University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada , Federal Capital Territory (FCT),

viii.      Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State

    ix.      University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State.

      x.      Federal Medical Center (FMC), Makurdi, Benue State,

    xi.      Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Surulere, Lagos State

  xii.      University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Enugu State. Etc.

 

PRAYERS:

We passionately request that you use your good office to intervene by

1.      Releasing a memo/circular to all heads of health institutions/facilities under your ministry which engages the services of nurses (B.N.Sc. nurses and Midwives) to commence full implementation of the circular as approved by NCE by placing eligible nurses on SGL.10 (CONHESS 9) without further delay or objection.

 

2.      Mandating heads of health institutions/facilities under your ministry to upgrade the "B.N.Sc./B.Sc.Nursing" degree holders who are still below GL 10 (.i.e., CONHESS 09) to the new base. This category of nurses were employed and had been in service before the approval of the internship scheme for nurses and so could not participate in the one internship programme, but have completed their one-year NYSC scheme before employment.

 

3.      Specifically mandating the management of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State, to commence full implementation of the Enhanced Entry Point Circular on all deserving nurses with "B.N.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing" degree and adjustment of the grade level of those already in service that are still below the newly approved entry grade of SGL 10.

 

Please, accept the assurances of our highest regards.

 

Signed:

                                                                                                           

Nurse Ojo Opeyemi                                                                       Nurse Philip O. Eteng

National President                                                                               National Secretary

 

 

 

Cc:

The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), Abuja,

Director of Nursing Services (DNS), Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja

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UGONSA 2023 NEW YEAR GOODWILL MESSAGE TO ALL GRADUATE NURSES IN NIGERIA

 

NEW YEAR GOODWILL MESSAGE TO ALL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE NURSES FOR THEIR COURAGE IN THE FACE OF PREVAILING SITUATIONS.

PREAMBLE

Dear Colleagues, the National leadership of the University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA), a.k.a, Graduates Nurses Association of Nigeria (GNAN), expressed her sincere gratitude to God Almighty for how far He has led us, and for all the successes we have achieved individually, as an association and indeed the Nursing Profession as a whole in the year 2022.

THE SITUATION

Taking a retrospective view of where we were as a profession a few years ago up to early this year, and where we are today, we have a course to say thank you to God for all you have done for us.

The situation of graduate nurses in Nigeria over the past few years was pitiable and that of regret for taking a university voyage in the first place, we were regarded as, and indeed placed as a second-class group of health professionals, we were the laughing stock in the healthcare sector even among our very colleagues who are without BNSc degree. We were so dispirited that hopes were fading, and the level of brain drain among health and medical workers especially nurses leading to the exodus migration of nurses to the western world for greener pastures was and is an expression of our situation. It was as if our voices were not heard despite celebrating “NURSES A VOICE TO LEAD”, The situation was best described by the Chief Medical Director of one of our Teaching Hospitals where he said, “three to four out of every letter he receives on daily basis was that of the resignation of appointment from mostly nurses” in his facility. Dear colleagues, in all these, we were resilient and demonstrated courage, keeping the faith alive in our struggles for a better nursing profession.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Professional colleagues, it’s no longer news that after a long period of struggles, professional patience and perseverance, a circular Ref. No. HCSF/SPSO/ODD/NCE/CND.l00/S.8/72 dated 27^th June 2022 was issued from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation conveying the approval of the National Council on Establishment (NCE) for Enhanced Entry Point for Nursing Officer Cadre (SGL10-17) from SGL 9 to SGL 10 upon completion of the one-year internship, and NYSC scheme, effective 28^th January 2022. The association in her usual way reacted promptly by issuing a follow-up letter with the circular and circulated it to almost all health facilities for urgent implementation of the circular.

The association in the year under review hosted its 20^th National Annual Profession Conference and Scientific Update at Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Capital, where there was a change of mantle of leadership to the current national leaders,

The year equally witnessed the implementation of the above circular in most federal health institutions where nurses with B.NSc degree post internship and NYSC were appointed into Nigerian civil service on SGL 10 (CONHESS 9) in parity with our counterpart in the healthcare sector, like Medical Laboratory Scientist, Pharmacist, Medical Radiographers, Physiotherapist etc, as against CONHESS 7 & 8 that was the case in the previous years. Above all, we are all alive to witness the actualization of our long struggle.

CHALLENGES AND FURTHER STRUGGLES

In spite of the above achievements, the association still believe that there is a lot more to fight for, these include:

          i.            The struggle for implementation of the cited circular in all federal, state and private institutions and facilities that engage the services of graduate nurses,

       ii.            Adjustment of SGL of nurses with B.NSc degrees who were already employed before the 28^th of January, 2022 without evidence of internship participation.

     iii.            Placement of newly employed nurses with B.NSc degrees without evidence of participation in internship scheme on the new base grade (SGL 10)

      iv.            Placement of nurse interns on SGL 9 as the case with other core healthcare professionals

        v.            Commencement of the struggle for call duty allowance for all B.NSc degree holders as the case with other core healthcare professionals

      vi.            Collaboration with our mother association to push for an increased percentage of shift allowance for graduate nurses.

Dear colleagues, as we acknowledged the fact that Rome was not built in a day, yet the above struggles speak to the issue that there is more to be done.

As we celebrate the new year, let us be thankful to God who has been so gracious towards us, and pray that the year 2023 and beyond shall lead us to a place of more accomplishment as an association and profession.

For all of you who have stood by the association and indeed the nursing profession all through the struggles and years, we salute your courage and pray that you continue to join hands together to enthrone the nursing profession of our dream. Most importantly, Let’s ensure that we translate the university degrees, knowledge and skills we acquired in our various institutions into qualitative client and patient care as they are the reason for our professional existence.

From all the National Leadership of UGONSA, we say HAPPY NEW YEAR to you; we wish all of you a Prosperous new year and years ahead as you continue to Make a Positive Change wherever you are.

UGONSA! MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE.

 

Signed

 

                                                                                                    

Nurse Ojo Opeyemi I.          

 National President                                                                            

 

 Nurse Philip O. Eteng

 National Secretary

 

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UGONSA CONGATULATES PROF. OMOLOLA IRINOYE (THE FIRST NURSE VC IN NIGERIA)

 

The Ag. Vice Chancellor,

Achievers University,

Owo,

Ondo state.

 

Ma,

FELICITATION LETTER TO PROF. OMOLOLA IRINOYE

Nurses under the aegis of University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA), the professional association of nurses with a minimum qualification of first degree in nursing, congratulate you on your recent appointment as acting Vice Chancellor, Achievers University Owo.

2.      UGONSA is not unaware of your rare contributions and unusual fervour to bring the nursing profession to an enviable status in the comity of health professions in Nigeria.

3.      Your zeal in uplifting the young ones and your unmatched record at helping the young nurses climb the ladder of success make you stand out among your contemporaries.

4.      Your appointment is not a reward for your past years of labour and hard work to build solid systems and enhance human capacity wherever you are, but a call to put more energy in profession building, for the reward of hard work is more work.

5.      The nursing profession in Nigeria is at a crossroad at this moment in our history and requires men and women of goodwill that put the profession higher above politics to make amend some policies that have the potential to stall professionalism in our profession, and your current appointment has given you more capacity and privilege to achieve this.  

6.      As you resume your new assignment, we pray the Almighty God be your fortress and grant you all the necessities needed for a successful endeavour that will take Achievers University to higher ground.

Please kindly accept our warmest congratulations!

Signed

 

                                                                                                    

Nurse Ojo Opeyemi I.                                                          Nurse Philip O. Eteng

   National President                                                                    National Secretary

 

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 ONLINE PAYMENT PLATFORM FOR UGONSA MONTHLY/WELFARE DUES

Zonal Presidents and Secretaries,

States Chairmen and Secretaries,

Units Chairmen and Secretaries,

All Members.

 

ONLINE PAYMENT PLATFORM FOR MONTHLY/WELFARE DUES IS NOW AVAILABLE

The national leadership of UGONSA is aware of the challenges faced by some State chapters, Units, individuals, and nurse interns who are ever ready and willing to pay their constitutional mandated monthly dues, to support the ongoing determination of the association to reposition the nursing profession on the path of greatness but are hindered by their various institutional policies, including the inability to enroll on IPPIS platform for "on-the-source" deduction, and limited functional capacity of the association in some States and Units.

To enable members who genuinely wish to make their #1,000 (one thousand naira) monthly dues payments to have the capacity to pay without hindrance,the association has developed an online platform for dues payments.

To enroll, go to the association's website, www.ugonsa.org, and click on the option Monthly Dues Payment; follow the link and fill in the required information to complete your subscription.

 Dues paid are redistributed to States and units from which the money was paid in the manner prescribed by the constitution. Enrollment is for nurses and nurse interns who are not being checked-off by their States or units. Those that are already being checked off monthly should continue to pay to their States or Units

 The Era of UGONSA by mouth (UGM) is gone. With this development, there is no more acceptable excuse for not paying monthly dues. 

UGONSA! MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE.

Thank you.

Signed:

Nurse Ojo, Opeyemi I.                                                         Nurse Philip O. Eteng

National President                                                                 National Secretary

 

 

 

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