The Council has taken its sensitization drive on the Digitization of the Patient and Family Care Study to the Nursing Training College in Pantang.


The sensitization drive forms part of series of public education programmes on Digitizing the Patient and Family Care Study.


The Council had earlier visited the Nurses Training College in Ankaful where students and Staff were sensitized on the new development.


Addressing the staff and students at a durbar, the Registrar said nursing and midwifery students, especially Candidates for the Registered Mental Health Nursing programme needed to be familiar with the agenda of the Council and contribute towards the realization of the same.


Mr. Nyante indicated that the visit was necessary to allay the fears of the Candidates and erase any doubts surrounding the digitization of the Patient and Family Care Study. He gave the assurance that steps had been taken to make the process smooth.


He urged students to utilize the free courses for trainees uploaded on the NMC Mobile App. He also cautioned students against the use of fake documents in applying for admission into any tertiary institution.
He disclosed that he and his team will also visit the College of Health Sciences in Yendi to engage the Staff and students on the same agenda.

Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister for Health has commended the Netherlands government through NUFFIC, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and international consultancy firm CINOP for their contribution towards the successful implementation of the NICHE/GHA/261 project.


Hon. Agyeman-Manu noted that the project which was initiated in 2016 was to improve the organizational capacity of the Nursing and Midwifery Council to conduct efficient, effective as well as credible licensing examinations for Nurse Assistants, Nurses and Midwives in Ghana.


“I am proud to say that, since that time, the Council has progressed up to this stage where the online licensing examination system has been rolled out for all the nursing and midwifery programmes in Ghana”, he added.
He made these remarks in his keynote address at the close-out conference of the project held at the Council’s Head Office in Accra.


He mentioned that Ghana’s stringent nursing and midwifery regulatory systems continue to earn global applause and it was evident that neighbouring countries had sent delegates to understudy the operations of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana.


Touching on the way forward, he said the government will continue to invest in the health sector and recruit more health professionals in addition to the one hundred thousand recruited in their first term of office.


He stressed “we will continuously upgrade our medical, nursing and midwifery curricula, and continue to train our young doctors, nurses, midwives and other health care professionals in a world-class fashion”

The Nursing and Midwifery Council today, Thursday, held a closeout and disseminating conference on the NICHE/GHA/261 Project (Online Licensing Examination) at the Council’s head office.

The NICHE/GHA/261 (Online Licensing Examination) for Nurse Assistants, Nurses and Midwives, is a Netherlands (NUFFIC) funded project with CINOP Global and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as consortium partners. The project was implemented by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The Council organized the closeout conference to celebrate with its partners and stakeholders, the achievements of the project. This four-year programme (2016- 2020), worth €1,067,250, improved the organizational capacity of the Nursing and Midwifery Council to conduct efficient, effective as well as credible licensing examinations for Nurse Assistants, Nurses and Midwives.

The ceremony was well attended by the project stakeholders as well as by international officials physically and virtually.


The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Ron Strikker underlined during his remarks that “as the main implementers of the NICHE/GHA/261 Project, it is in no doubt to say that the Council and its partners had done extremely well.

He said that in a context of a highly digitized world with an increasing use of the internet and social media, the use of ICT remains a critical tool in the training and practice of nursing and midwifery.

The Registrar of the Council joyously gave an overview of the project, outlining how the Council sought funding assistance from the Netherlands government through NUFFIC. He paid glowing tribute to Management and Staff of the Council, Project Partners and all those who contributed directly and indirectly towards the successful implementation of the project.

The closeout ceremony received glowing reviews. The Council gained profound acknowledgements and recognition from all its stakeholders.

The conference consisted of several panel discussions that were interactive, informative and encouraged lively participation. Through the various discussions, presentations and reports, it was evident that the project was a success and the attitudes towards the project work were generally positive.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has withdrawn the Licenses and Certificates of Registration of a fake ‘Nurse Assistant’ and ‘Midwife’ from its register of practitioners. Additionally, the Council has also removed the name of a Trainee Midwife from its register of Trainees.

The culprits are:
1.    Ms. Abigail Bobin            -    Midwife
2.    Ms. Esther Abuubey            -    Trainee Midwife
3.    Ms. Stephany Arthur Baidoo    -    Nurse Assistant       
The fake ‘Practitioners’ and ‘Trainee’ were apprehended by officers from the Intelligence and Disciplinary Department of the Council over impersonation and forged documents to gain admission into Nursing and Midwifery Training Institutions.

According to the Registrar, Mr. Felix Nyante, Ms. Abigail Bobin and Ms. Esther Abuubey used certificates belonging to others to gain admission into the Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Kpembe in the Northern region. However, through some intelligence gathered and with the assistance of the Principal of the Training College, the two were apprehended.
They were invited to the Council where they admitted in their written statements that they forged documents and used West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result slips belonging to some persons to gain admission.

In the case of Ms. Stephany Arthur Baidoo, she used someone’s WASSCE certificate and obtained a fake birth certificate to gain admission at the Nyaniba Health College.
She was however apprehended when she presented documents for change of name. she admitted in her written statement when invited by the Registrar to the Council of forging documents to gain admission.
The Registrar has warned that the Council would not protect any student or practitioner with fake certificates. He advised all prospective students to ensure that the results and documents they present for admission are genuine to avoid sanctions.

He appealed to Heads of Nursing & Midwifery Training Institutions and Health Facilities to assist the Council with information on suspected students and practitioners respectively to enable the Council to rid the system of quacks.
The Registrar has noted that several other suspected fake practitioners and students with issues of impersonation are currently being investigated and will make the outcome known to the general public when investigations are concluded.

At an operational visit to the Nursing and Midwifery Training School, Ashanti Mampong, the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Mr. Felix Nyante told Staff and Students that the rapid pace of technological revolution currently being experienced in the world demonstrates no signs of decline and has already significantly influenced nursing and midwifery training and practice.

Mr. Nyante added that technology is gaining popularity in nursing and midwifery training as a way to deliver instructions to nursing and midwifery students with diverse learning needs in academic and clinical settings.
Touching on some new trends in the training of students, the Registrar noted that “the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) indicates that a shift is taking place across nursing and midwifery education in which students are learning by creating rather than consuming content delivered by the Tutors.  

Technology exposes students to clinical scenarios they would not encounter in their practice and helps to bridge the gap between theory and practice. With technology, we can add reality to a scenario and make traditional care studies more realistic”
Stressing on some significant aspects of teaching and learning in the digital space, Mr. Nyante charged Tutors to use innovative methods of teaching that will engage students as active learners.
“Students can be made to work on problems and questions in small group discussions, link theory to practice, collaborate with and learn from peers, and take an active role in what and how they learn”, he added

The Registrar also urged the Principal and Tutors to at all times uphold the principles of academic leadership, create cohesive teams and empower their teams to offer efficient and effective training
Accompanied by some Senior Officials from the Council, the Registrar and members of the school’s Advisory Board toured some facilities in the school.

Mr. Felix Nyante during his visit to the Trauma and Specialist Hospital, Winneba noted that clinical leadership was critical to the development of the nursing and midwifery profession.

He added that clinical leaders should serve as role models with the expectation to motivate and groom the younger generation of practitioners into leadership.

He therefore urged the practitioners to at all times uphold the principles of clinical leadership, create cohesive teams and empower their teams to offer efficient healthcare delivery services.

As part of his visit, the Registrar toured some wards, interacted with Management and held a durbar with the Nursing and Midwifery Staff.

Mr. Felix Nyante has noted that the Council will not provide accreditation to nursing and midwifery training institutions who are not in good standing.
 
He said ‘’ the introduction of credentialing as part of the accreditation process by the Council will ensure that schools satisfy all regulatory standards.

‘’The credentialing will help determine the issues to be addressed in the institutions and promote the implementation of quality assurance mechanisms’’, he said.

The Registrar therefore urged the nursing and midwifery training institutions to have quality assurance systems in place in order to address deficiencies and improve upon their training and education.

Mr. Nyante made these known during an operational visit to the Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Cape-Cost as part of his tour in the region.

He used the opportunity to interact with Staff and Students on issues relating to regulation