1073 prospective midwives complete online licensing examination

One thousand and seventy three candidates have completed the online licensing examination for the Post Nurse Assistant Clinical and Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAC/NAP) Midwifery course organised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council inaugurated the Post NAC/NAP diploma in Midwifery in May, 2018.

The programme was initiated by the Council in collaboration with the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and other stakeholders including the Ministry of Health.

The licensing examination was, therefore, the first to be conducted since the programme was introduced and saw 1,073 candidates from 22 Nursing and Midwifery training schools offering the course in thirteen (13) examination centres across the country.

‘Examination was smooth”

In an interview the Registrar of the NMC after the examination, Mr Felix Nyante said the candidates, after passing the licensing examination will be registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as Registered Midwives.

He said prior to the conduct of the examination, the Council embarked on a five-day sensitization programme in all schools offering Post NAC/NAP Midwifery training schools across the nation to educate and create awareness on the online licensing examination for prospective Post NAC/NAP Midwifery candidates.

A mock online examination, Mr Nyante said was also conducted to prepare them for the main examination.

“The examination from the onset had been smooth with no record of misconduct. We took our time to talk to the candidates and take them through the examination rules,” he said.

Disparity in professional status

According to him, the NAC/NAP diploma in midwifery would help to address the disparity in professional status between this cadre of practitioners and the direct diploma midwives.

“The programme will provide for equitable and appropriate placement of midwives in varied healthcare roles as in the case of those who do the diploma in midwifery” he added.

The Registrar also disclosed that, trainees of this programme will be awarded a diploma by the University of Cape Coast after an 8-week top-up programme and also sit for the Council’s licensing examination after which they will undertake the 1-year mandatory national service.

He said that the Council, UCC and other stakeholders would regularly review and update the curricula in order to ensure its continued relevance to the country’s needs in midwifery services.

He disclosed that since the introduction of the online licensing examination in September last year, the Council had conducted the online examination for the Registered Mental Health Nursing, Post Basic and Post NAC/NAP Midwifery candidates.

Mr Nyante noted that the Registered Community Nursing candidates would sit for the online examination in August/September this year followed by the other programmes next year.