International nurses body pens health minister on upgrading program

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) through its Chief Executive Officer David Benton has written a letter to Malawi Minister of Health Catherine Gotani Hara registering its disappointment on the obstructions their counter parts are meeting with on the intended upgrading program of nurse-midwife technicians (NMTs) to Registered Nurse diploma.

In a letter dated January 14 which Nyasa Times is in possession, said the innovative and positive step taken forward by President Joyce Banda is recommended but they are extremely disappointed to hear that this agreement has now been vetoed by the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi (NMCM)

“The Council, as we understand matters, has determined that the adaptation program for NMTs is of insufficient duration to upgrade to level of registered nurse (diploma). This is surprising to us given
the upgrading of the 2 year enrolled nurse (EN) in the United Kingdom is achieved within 15 months.

“In the United Kingdom EN program was only a two year program and we believe that the current NMTs have already completed three years training. As, health needs have changed models of adaptation are
common throughout the world in achieving the required competencies needed for safe and effective practice.

“We believe the proposal of one year theory and one year internship although perhaps overly long is worthy of support and should be implemented immediately. In discussion with the NONM we understand that many of the NMTs have lost interest in nursing, that they are disgruntled and demotivated because they feel rejected and not recognized for their hard efforts,” reads part of the letter.

Benton recognized the fact that nurses work under very difficult conditions, many times without supervision and therefore we are not surprised to hear that some are resigning and abandoning the
profession for totally different professions.

“Given the significant need for human resources in health in your country this is a shameful waste of potential health providers and every effort should be taken to immediately rectify the issue,” he
said

ICN requested the ministry to deal with this matter immediately top revent any further erosion of the nursing profession.

“We therefore request government should introduce an E-Learning program so that an increasing number of NMTs can enroll for upgrading without disrupting their provision of services for long periods. An excellent example of this  in the African continent is in Kenya where with support of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) the upgrading for almost all  its lower cadre nurses has been
accomplished through E-Learning  successfully.

“The Regulatory Framework of the Nurses and Midwives Council should be updated immediately. These updates would include facilitating nurses and midwives working to their maximum scope of practice and the need for a nurse/midwife appointed chair, who understands the challenges being faced by the nurses and midwives and is capable of managing these issues knowledgeably and effectively,” reads part of the letter.

He therefore said ICN has extensive experience and expertise in developing and revising regulatory frameworks and is willing to assist in any way we can to support this important work.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of 135 national nurses associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide.  Operated by nurses and leading nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality nursing care for all and sound health policies globally.