Nursing which is a profession that
involves the physical mental and
psychological care of patients has
seen dramatic changes in terms of
training and practice.
The training
of nurses has shifted from a
certificate based practical training
to a university degree based on
scientific principles aimed at
producing scientific polyvalent
nurses skilled in the different
aspects of nursing that are ready to
take on the challenge of improving
the overall health of the human
race.

Nursing training in Nigeria has seen
a great but incomplete
improvement as nurses are now at
par with any field in medicine in
terms of knowledge, skill,
competence and educational
background, this has come to bare
which the shift of nursing education
to the university. This shift has led
to production of better nurses
equipped with the theoretical
knowledge to improve the health
needs of the nation.

Of all the different professions
within the health care system the
nurse happens to be the one
closest to the patient for example
take a medical team consisting of
pharmacist, lab scientist, doctors,
radiologist, psychologist and
nurses all of which provide input
based on their expertise and
knowledge but they all depend on
the nurse for final execution of their
advices and input. This has led to
the need for the nurse to be
competent enough to take on such
a task which can only be achieved
through strong theoretical and
practical knowledge based training
for nurses.

Theoretically nursing training is
adequate as can be attested by
NUC in its various accreditation of
departments of nursing across the
nation but practically a whole lot
more needs to be done because the
nature of university training for
nurses leaves little room for clinical
experiences which is the soul of
nursing practice, as a measure to
correct this deficit progressive
governments around the world
developed an internship program
for various categories of health care
professionals as is practices by
pharmacist, radiographers, doctors
and lab scientist but not nurses
why?

The importance of internship to the
training of nurses cannot be
overstressed as this is the group of
professionals that are closest to the
patient 24 hours a day, providing
the patient with the most basic of
healthcare needs and determining
how the other professionals
influence the treatment of patients
hence the need for the nurse to be
practically competent to meet this
enormous responsibility, this can be
achieved through the internship
program where fresh graduates are
given a year to acquire practical
clinical skills and to learn to apply
the theoretical concepts learned in
school under the supervision of
experienced hands which would be
to the benefit of the patients.

Internship for nurses has become
an issue the federal government
has neglected and politicized with
no obvious reason other than some
other professionals who see nurses
as a threat to them feel it would
place nurses at par with them and
would make nurses begin to
demand for their rights. Also the
nursing bodies i.e. the nursing and
midwifery council of Nigeria
[NMCN] and the national
association of Nigerian nurses and
midwives [NANNM] seem not to be
doing enough to push the drive for
the commencement of full
internship for graduate nurses, this
has left graduate nurses out in the
cold in the struggle for the
commencement of internship.

Another reason for the non
implementation of the internship
program for graduate nurses is the
monopoly in administration of
healthcare delivery in Nigeria by
medical doctors of which even the
poor child who missed his
immunization due to non
availability of vaccine can attest to
the fact that they are doing a bad
job, this set of professional do not
want anything that would threaten
their monopoly of the system,
internship for graduate nurses is
seen as one of such threats as
nurses would now be competent
professionals and not zombies
taking orders either good or bad.
For the healthcare delivery system
of Nigeria to achieve its full
potentials a total overhaul of the
system should the carried out and
competence rather than tradition
should be used in appointing health
administrators, also all health
professionals should be given a
leveled playing ground and allowed
to display their full potentials and
achieve the zenith of their career.

And also the report of the
committee set up by the
government on harmony in the
healthcare sector needs to be
revisited and implemented.


http://www.nursingworldnigeria.com/2013/05/internship-the-nurses-stolen-birthright

1forall , CrazyMan , seun, lalasticlala

Move to health section....

Complete piece of crap. Nigerian nurses and their unprofessional way at saying things.

So, one year of internship will make you a threat to the doctor and make you get as competent as he is, even make you to stop receiving orders from him?
Shame to you people.
No wonder other health fields go for internship except you

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Complete piece of crap. Nigerian nurses and their unprofessional way at saying things.

So, one year of internship will make you a threat to the doctor and make you get as competent as he is, even make you to stop receiving orders from him?
Shame to you people.
No wonder other health fields go for internship except you

You sound so uneducated.
Is that the only thing you can pick from the writeup.?

You are not uncomfortable that these sets of professionals are churned out from the universities into the labour markets without the required internship training mapped out in their curriculum. An internship training program that has been approved but is waiting for implementation by FG. This is where they will gain the required experience under supervision of competent and experienced nurses.
Your only grouse is their being a threat to the doctor's ego. Who are you to make such statement at the detriment of the lives of patients under their care.

You are berating nurses about their unprofessionalism in your post and at the same time writing discouraging comments that will mar their ascent to a great professional height as is obtainable anywhere in the world.
What a hypocritical country we are in.

TheArchangel:
You sound so uneducated.
Is that the only thing you can pick from the writeup.?

You are not uncomfortable that these sets of professionals are churned out from the universities into the labour markets without the required internship training mapped out in their curriculum. An internship training program that has been approved but is waiting for implementation by FG. This is where they will gain the required experience under supervision of competent and experienced nurses.
Your only grouse is their being a threat to the doctor's ego. Who are you to make such statement at the detriment of the lives of patients under their care.

You are berating nurses about their unprofessionalism in your post and at the same time writing discouraging comments that will mar their ascent to a great professional height as is obtainable anywhere in the world.
What a hypocritical country we are in.

The same piece of crap all over again.
On what basis can a NURSE EVER be a threat to the doctor? One year of internship?

InyinyaAgbaOku:

The same piece of crap all over again.
On what basis can a NURSE EVER be a threat to the doctor? One year of internship?

You are not professionally and institutionally matured for this thread.

TheArchangel:
You are not professionally and institutionally matured for this thread.

Rubbish.
Even experienced nurses are not threats to doctors not to talk of a graduate nurse doing internship.
Is that one year going to make you reach your career zenith like you said? Do graduate doctors get to their zenith after housemanship?
Of course, i was getting interested till you mentioned that doctor part. Was it necessary comparing doctors and nurses? You made the essay look like cowives debacle.

It's only in Nigeria that Nurses are in unspoken competition with doctors. . Can tyre and engine compete at who is better ?

InyinyaAgbaOku:

Rubbish.
Even experienced nurses are not threats to doctors not to talk of a graduate nurse doing internship.
Is that one year going to make you reach your career zenith like you said? Do graduate doctors get to their zenith after housemanship?
Of course, i was getting interested till you mentioned that doctor part. Was it necessary comparing doctors and nurses? You made the essay look like cowives debacle.

What is your beef with nurses? You started the doctor comparison and alluding on the threat to their ego when you first commented. We are talking about how nurses will be able to render competent services to the populace after graduating and you are involving things that has nothing to do with the subject of discourse.
Graduate nurses needs the internship to be competent and be well rounded in their profession as other medical professionals ranging from the doctor, pharmacist, Med lab Scientists, radiographers, Physiotherapist etc also engages in the same internship too. This is what is embedded in their curriculum . So why are this other set of professionals not exhibiting the same type of ridiculous utterances as you? Why are they minding their businesses and facing their professional fronts while you resort to cajoling and ridiculing nurses from getting what is rightfully theirs? The growth of every core profession in Nigerian health sector revolves around the internship as skills including survival and decision making skills are acquired during this period while being supervised by competent hands.

Honestly, I am not seeing your bone of contention here.
@ Idupaul, nurses are not in any competition with any professional in the hospital. We are fighting for our rights, others has fought for theirs and seems to be making headway. We are not relenting, we are soaring now and anybody or professional that hinders the implementation of government instituted policies concerning nurses will be pushed aside. We want international best practices to be observed in our various hospitals and that can't be achieved with cranky nurses who are not well placed and remunerated. We need more graduates who are competent in handling the 24 hour round the clock nursing services we offer in our health institutions.

TheArchangel:
What is your beef with nurses? You started the doctor comparison and alluding on the threat to their ego when you first commented. We are talking about how nurses will be able to render competent services to the populace after graduating and you are involving things that has nothing to do with the subject of discourse.
Graduate nurses needs the internship to be competent and be well rounded in their profession as other medical professionals ranging from the doctor, pharmacist, Med lab Scientists, radiographers, Physiotherapist etc also engages in the same internship too. This is what is embedded in their curriculum . So why are this other set of professionals not exhibiting the same type of ridiculous utterances as you? Why are they minding their businesses and facing their professional fronts while you resort to cajoling and ridiculing nurses from getting what is rightfully theirs? The growth of every core profession in Nigerian health sector revolves around the internship as skills including survival and decision making skills are acquired during this period while being supervised by competent hands.

Honestly, I am not seeing your bone of contention here.
@ Idupaul, nurses are not in any competition with any professional in the hospital. We are fighting for our rights, others has fought for theirs and seems to be making headway. We are not relenting, we are soaring now and anybody or professional that hinders the implementation of government instituted policies concerning nurses will be pushed aside. We want international best practices to be observed in our various hospitals and that can't be achieved with cranky nurses who are not well placed and remunerated. We need more graduates who are competent in handling the 24 hour round the clock nursing services we offer in our health institutions.

Nonsense.
you are the one that introduced the concept of threats to doctors here and the ego stuff.
Is that how others fought fought for theirs?
Of course i agree you should go for internship but my grouse started when you felt doctors don't want u to get to your zenith whatever and become a threat to them.
How come you guys didn't get it when other health sciences got?

InyinyaAgbaOku:


Nonsense.
you are the one that introduced the concept of threats to doctors here and the ego stuff.
Is that how others fought fought for theirs?
Of course i agree you should go for internship but my grouse started when you felt doctors don't want u to get to your zenith whatever and become a threat to them.
How come you guys didn't get it when other health sciences got?

It has been approved but waiting for implementation. Who is hindering the implementation is our major grouse

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Complete piece of crap. Nigerian nurses and their unprofessional way at saying things.
So, one year of internship will make you a threat to the doctor and make you get as competent as he is, even make you to stop receiving orders from him?
Shame to you people.
No wonder other health fields go for internship except you

Go through your post again with the ' threat'.