Nursing is a Noble Career with diverse specialities. As a nurse, you can decide to specialize in pediatrics, geriatrics, anaesthetics,oncology, midwifery, cardio thoracic, Nephrology,  accident and emergency Etc. Despite these specialities and expanded roles of a nurse, many nurses are doing amazingly great in other areas of life combined with their nursing careers. For instance, many are doing extraordinarily in Politics, Information Technology, academics, entrepreneur, Administration, entertainment industry and even in the clinical nursing practice. Without doubt, these unique nurses are worth appreciating as they are a great source of inspiration to us in the last one year.

Top 10 inspiring Nigerian Nurses in 2018.

10. Victor Taiwo BEGBAAJI
Category: Entertainment

Victor Taiwo whose stage name is THERAPY hails from Ile-Oluji in Ondo state Nigeria. He was born on December 29th, 1992 to the family of Mr and Mrs Begbaaji. He's the youngest of the three male children and the fourth of five children of the family. Victor is a professional nurse and upcoming hiphop artiste. He has worked in various hospitals and organizations after school as a registered nurse. He started singing from tender age but developed full interest in music when was in tertiary institution where he did a lot of free styles, recordings and stage performances during various events in the school. He will be dropping his first official single song tittled "ORI MI" later this month.

Victor Taiwo ( Therapy )

As an upcoming artiste, he's  also a member of various nursing organizations part of which are National Association of Nursing and midwifery council of Nigeria, Association of men in Nursing assembly of Nigeria. He's also a former President of National Association of Ile-Oluji/oke igbo students, SONAK charpter.

NURSING AND POLITICS: A SYNERGISTIC APPROACH TO LIBERATION BY PRINCE ALEGE OLUSEGUN EDMUND 

PREAMBLE
Nurses are increasingly being urged to become more politically aware and active. The relationships between political awareness, political activity and professionalism are explored, and it is argued that until nurses recognise and utilise the power engendered by their special and unique expertise they will not achieve professional development. It is particularly crucial that this fact is recognised by nurses and that political awareness is accepted as a legitimate curricular goal of nurse training.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
NURSING:  A classical definition of nursing by Virginia Henderson, a distinguished American Nursing Educator and writer readily comes in here. She defined nursing as: “The art and science of caring, aiming at assisting the individual sick or well in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he has the strength, will or knowledge. And to do this, in such a way as to help him gain independence rapidly as possible.

POLITICS: The art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy {Merriam-Webster Dic}.

SYNERGY: It is the creation of a whole that is greater than the simple of its sum. It is an Attic Greek word from synergos meaning working together.

APPROACH: Simply mean coming nearer to something that has been in far from reach
LIBERATION: The action or process of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, oppression or being released.


INTRODUCTION
Your liberty will not be freely given to you. You must be bold to liberate yourself. Lailah Gifty Akita
Politics is a stronghold worldwide as it affects every facet of our lives. Hardly can any serious policies would be enacted to make or mar people without politicking.
Human are also seen as political animal as we practice politics overly or covertly in our daily lives. No one can boldly say they don’t get involve in home, work, religious or secular politics.
It is however disheartening to note that politics practiced in Nursing is more of intuition. It has no basis for researches. We only hand over mediocrity to new generation. All we teach is ethics which is even taught out of context.
Politics is a multifaceted word.
What is the purpose of politics: it is to enable the members of a society to collectively achieve important human goals they cannot otherwise achieve individually. This is done through negotiation, debate, legislation and other political structures.
Those who had the stronghold of politics achieves better summatively than those who rant and whales for their rights.

We are all living witnesses to what happened during the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (our former President) when a bill was signed on a weekend to foster better living condition for the doctors in Nigeria. That is the essence of politics

WHY DO WE NEED POLITICS IN NURSING
To be part of law makers.
Decision makers
To dwell in the corridor of power.
To defend professional integrity.
To improve the welfare of members.
Improve and enforce international standard of practice.

I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! Patrick Henry


WHAT ARE THE STRATEGY FOR POLITICS IN NURSING
Mentorship
Curriculum development
Reorientation of members
Acting as advocates to subordinates.

Leaders are born but those that learn it must grow with a mentor.

The most important strategy is MENTORSHIP
The most painful question in nursing is “do we have mentors?”
Can we generate a critical mass of Nigerians in each academic discipline, who are imbued with the ideals and skills of mentorship, especially professionalism and altruism?

Are there differences between mentors, coach or rulers?

Which one exist in Nursing?
A distillate from the literature reviewed and the crucible of my experience:
A mentor is a skillful and impactful teacher, with updated knowledge in his/her field, and with a caring temperament, who is engaged in hands-on transfer of skills and professional guidance to a keen and resourceful student in a long-term altruistic professional relationship.

HOW MANY OF OUR LEADERS HAS UPDATED KNOWLEDGE
COACHING on the other hand is a related, but different, the term is “coaching”, also called “micromentoring”, which is a more focused experience to solve a defined problem (e.g., to pass an examination), within a limited time, and could involve payment of professional fees/
RULERS is a domineering power that most times do not add to people but enforces laws.

Prince Alege Olusegun

WHICH ONE DO WE PRACTICE IN NURSING?

Everything can be taken from a man but… the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Victor Frankl

HOW CAN YOU BECOME A PERFECT MENTOR
Consider these seven key qualities that I copied from Wikipedia that are said can help one to become an effective mentor.
Ability and willingness to communicate what you know. ...
Preparedness. ...
Approachability, availability, and the ability to listen. ...
Honesty with diplomacy. ...
Inquisitiveness. ...
Objectivity and fairness. ...
Compassion and genuineness

These personality attributes are important in the generic sense.
My experience is that, even with an abundance of the above qualities, if you do not have the professional specialist skills and knowledge, you would not be in a position to effectively mentor anyone in your particular discipline.
From the perspective of an academic or professional discipline, a mentor is primarily a more senior and experienced person, who has updated knowledge and skills, and is willing to impart them, freely, as a teacher, to a keen student; not a moralizing, nice, bland, easy- to- get-on –with senior who is ready to joke with you at any time.
According to Penny Loreto, “a good mentor is hard to find and most people don’t have mentors”
 In my experience, being a mentor is not something that an individual can boast about or demand to be called; rather, it is an honor bestowed by those who feel that you have been impactful in their professional lives.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS
Requirements for the mentor: a threshold level of professional competence, expertise and practical experience.
Then inculcate the ideals of emotional and social intelligence, a collegial attitude, ethical concerns and altruism
Let us examine the usefulness and characteristics of a mentor, from the perspectives of famous people who have been mentored:

PERSPECTIVE MENTORS HAS THE FOLLOWING QUOTES
1. “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey
2. “One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.” — John C. Maxwell
3. “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” — John Crosby
6. “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” — Steven Spielberg
7. “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
8.“You know, you do need mentors, but in the end, you really just need to believe in yourself.” — Diana Ross
9. “The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” — Benjamin Disraeli
10. “What I think the mentor gets is the great satisfaction of helping somebody along, helping somebody take advantage of an opportunity that maybe he or she did not have.” — Clint Eastwood
11. “We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” — Whoopi Goldberg
12. “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton
13. “In order to be a mentor OLUWATOSIN:
, and an effective one, one must care. You must care. You don’t have to know how many square miles are in Idaho, you don’t need to know what is the chemical makeup of chemistry, or of blood or water. Know what you know and care about the person, care about what you know and care about the person you’re sharing with.” — Maya Angelou

14. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” — The Bible
15. “Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way. A mentor.” — Denzel Washington
In addition to the above quotes, I’ll add mine as:
Without a mentor, you risk living in a blinkered world, i.e., with a narrow or limited outlook, Knowing only your own things, locked into your set attitudes, A local champion, intolerant and autocratic.

A 1995 study of mentoring techniques most commonly used in business (Aubrey & Cohen,1995) found that the five most commonly used techniques among mentors were:
Accompanying: making a commitment in a caring way, which involves taking part in the learning process side-by-side with the learner.
Sowing: mentors are often confronted with the difficulty of preparing the learner before he or she is ready to change. Sowing is necessary when you know that what you say may not be understood or even acceptable to learners at first but will make sense and have value to the mentee when the situation requires it.
Catalyzing: when change reaches a critical level of pressure, learning can escalate. Here the mentor chooses to plunge the learner right into change, provoking a different way of thinking, a change in identity or a re-ordering of values.
Showing: this is making something understandable, or using your own example to demonstrate a skill or activity. You show what you are talking about, you show by your own behavior.
Harvesting: here the mentor focuses on "picking the ripe fruit": it is usually used to create awareness of what was learned by experience and to draw conclusions. The key questions here are: "What have you learned?", "How useful is it?".
MY TAKE ABOUT MENTORSHIP TOWARDS ACHIEVING POLITICAL STABILITY ARE
These values, the search for truth, the rigor in their questions and in the demonstrations and disrespect for dogmas and for authority for the sake of authority,
Will contribute to make our citizens and our societies freer, more progressive, more capable of solving their problems.
Scientific rigor is a value that should penetrate our daily thoughts, our media, the discourse of our politicians, and our complete culture.
Hence, it is an instrument for changing minds in a way that fosters national development

HOW DO WE NOW MARRY THIS TOWARDS IMPROVING NURSING IN NIGERIA?
We must follow the path to political activism

Political activism is a critical skill nurses must learn to protect their practice and the nursing profession.
Individual can grow themselves in stages
Let me introduce us to this 5 stages of growth as it affect the politics

1.  Apathy. The apathetic nurse doesn’t belong to professional organizations, takes little or no interest in legislative politics as they relate to nursing and health care, and may not be a registered voter. Hence, get a voters card
If you have your PVC (permanent voters card) kindly raise up your hands

2. Buy-in. The nurse starts to recognize the importance of activism within professional nursing organizations but hasn’t taken an active role in these organizations. He or she starts to become interested in legislative politics related to critical nursing issues, but takes little or no political action. Nurses at this stage are likely to be registered voters.

3.  Self-interest. The nurse seeks involvement in professional organizations to further his or her career and seeks to develop and use political expertise to promote professional self-interest.
How many of us participated in the last unit NANNM election?

4.  Political sophistication. The nurse is active at the professional organizational level and may hold an organizational office at the local or state level. He or she has moved beyond self-interest and recognizes the need for activism on behalf of the public.
Who amongst us belong to any political party? I mean card carrying member?

5.  Leading the way. This is the final stage when a nurse serves in an elected or appointed position at the state or national level of a professional organization. To provide true leadership on broad healthcare interests within legislative politics, he or she may seek appointment to policymaking bodies. Some nurse-leaders seek election to political office.
First, shake off your apathy. Recognize the importance of political activism for nurses. Take an interest in politics—especially on issues related to nursing.
This statement is very important “Political activism skills are learned and exercised most effectively through the organized efforts of nurses working together through professional organizations.”
Can Nurses work together?

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The Nursing and Midwifery must as a matter of urgency develop a curriculum in line with teaching of leadership skills, mentoring and politics in schools of nursing.
The generic students benefits from these because it is a borrowed course for university education.

During Principals conference, the Nursing and midwifery council must ensure the teaching of leadership, mentoring and political relevance is part of what is thought.
Finally, we should learn to act as advocate to our younger Nurses.
We should be responsible for our roles and responsibility.

I will like to leave us with some quotes that will place us in the right state of mind to know we really needed liberation
Paulo Freire “leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people – they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress”.

Prince Alege Olusegun Edmund

07030121467
eddybol2000@yahoo.com or eddybol2000@gmail.com

Happy new year to you if you are reading this. It is a beautiful and brand new year, and each days of the year should be carefully treated with both caution and deliberation if we must achieve our goals after 365days.

I have always said Nursing is more of a constant job but not any more, nursing is evolutionary,  because nurses do the same thing everyday, forever: every day at work you care for a patient, you administer care, you sympathize and empathize with your patients. The act of nursing is constant, it never changes, it was so in the days of Nightingale, it will remain so after this generation. Nonetheless, the methods, process of care keeps evolving. Several units of nursing are getting birthed, different measures to keep nurses aligned with the profession.

It is a new year and everything should be new, a new mindset,  new goals,  new plan and possibly a new career plan.
Career plan is a practical and realistic strategy that helps you determine your skills and interest, it also helps you set career goals, put them into actions through various guidelines.
If you must achieve your goals as a health care provider this year,  you will need to have your career plan.

What do you need to do? 
First consider your interests and educational goals.
Do you intend being a mental health nurse?
Have you considered knowing the various schools in the country offering a post basic course on psychiatric nursing and possibly how much they cost?

To start with:
 1.  Set a SMART goals
 I know a lot of nurses would have a new year resolution which revolves around the job, ranging from team work,  to attitudes towards patients, to commitment to the work and success in career.

No matter what your goal is, you need it to be SMART
- Specific: Don't go about the wards in scrub with the mindset of you wanting to have several certifications this year, or you want to attend every conference that is tagged "nurses conference". You need to know what you want.

Ask yourself the following questions?
What do I need?
What do I need at the unit I work?
Knowing what you need will not only help you achieve your goals, it will also prevents you from confusion.

- Measurable: Can you measure what you want?
Can you make up your mind that you will attend conference worth #100,000 for this year. You can probably break down the money into smaller amount, which means you can attend 6 conferences with #100,000 depending on the theme and location.

- Achievable: This is mainly for young nurses, you intend having your own organization, promotion or honours as a nurse.
It is beautiful to have great desires no doubt, you need to know what you want and also find out if it is achievable.
If you need to have a ALS/BLS certificate before March this year,  it is very much achievable.
If you want a license in orthopedic nursing before the year runs out even though you have not purchased the form, that is so much unrealistic and unachievable.

- Realistic: How realistic are your goals?
Do you aim at working with an international organization?
Is it realistic this year?
What about in two years to come?
You desire to attend a particular boot camp for nurses in March this year and it is #55,000 for ticket, aside from accomodation and other expenses and you earn #30,000 monthly.
Setting a goal of getting the #55,000 in two months should be your plan.
If you spend #5000 on transport fare, pay your kids school fees and you are only left with #10,000 after your expenses, attending a conference that worths #55,000 might be unrealistic.

- Time bound: This is as important as every other point mentioned.
How much time do you have left?
How much time are you willing to commit to this goals?

 2. Commitment 
 It is easy to make rules, and break rules, but is always difficult to keep the rules. It is very much easy to enroll in courses whether online or physical, but it is more difficult to learn and commit time to the course.
You have to be committed this year.
If you intend been a better nurse to your patients, you want to be more passionate. You need commitment to do that.

 3. Short term goals
 Set short term goals, this makes the journey looks better and easier.

 4. Time management 

 The key to achieving your goals is time management. Do you intend enrolling in post basic courses this year?
You need to learn to manage your time effectively.

 5. Work on your team spirit
Truth be told, some nurses do not have a good team spirit. They love to do things alone, which is wrong and can put your patients at risk.
Nursing is a team work.


If you are not into team work with your patients, you are likely to lag behind in your career plan. A good team member realizes that you are writing an exam and does some things to help you feel relieved.
If you want to enjoy the benefits of good team spirit in 2019, then you need to be a good team member likewise.

 6. Self assessment
 Be determined to asess your goals either quarterly, bi monthly or bi annually.
 Self assessment helps you stay on the track, and also helps you discover yourself 

Summary is to make goals that can be achieved this year,  I believe in simple,  short and specific goals. They are the 3S behind my work. This year keep it simple, keep it short: not too much grammar or dreams, keep it specific.
I hope you got value?

Meet the founder of Nursing Job Opportunities, Nurse Abiodun Oluwatobi. In this interview he talks of what prompted him to embark on this nursing journey and how he created NJO, which is today the number one platform in Nigeria that helps nurses in their careers. 
Enjoy your read! 

FNA: Can we meet you?
Mr Abiodun: Abiodun Oluwatobi is my Name. I'm a registered Emergency Nurse cum American Heart Association Instructor



FNA: What school did you finish from?
Mr Abiodun: Did my general Nursing at Sacred Heart Hospital School of Nursing, Lantoro Abeokuta. And my specialised training at National Orthopedic Hospital Igbobi Lagos.

FNA: What prompted you to embark on this nursing journey?
Mr Abiodun: My Dad actually did encouraged me too. He was treated by a Male Nurse at  the hospital and he made some enquires on my behalf. Prior to my school admission I never knew they were Male Nurses, but I loved the idea sold to me then that I can easily become a doctor after the training. I'm glad I started the journey, so far it been rewarding.

FNA: This is encouraging, what has been the challenges you have faced so far in this journey?
Mr Abiodun: Challenges are must encounter in life. The important thing is for one to have the capacity to overcome and learn from them.

FNA: How do you cope with patients who try to address you as a medical doctor or patients who think you chose the wrong course?
Mr Abiodun: Have encountered many of them to mention a few.
Stereotype been a male Nurse, Poor remuneration, Quackery etc.
This is unavoidable most especially in developing environment. I let them know I'm a specialist in my profession not only by words but actions.

FNA: What is it like to be part of the American Heart Association?
Mr Abiodun: Been part of the instructor Network is mentally tasking as you have to be updated and learned. I need to mention also that it financially rewarding and not fixed. They are always room to learn more. I have been opportuned to meet other professionals instructors and travel beyond my comfort zone for training.

FNA: There are several opportunities that young nurses can participate in,  but some of them don't know them and for those who know it,  they don't know how to go about it
What is your take on this?
Mr Abiodun: Yes they're many opportunities, but location/exposure can be barrier sometimes.


FNA: What inspired you to create NJO?
Mr Abiodun: Many times I'm asked this question I think back to the day I created the 1at group. It was a vivid Sunday afternoon.
Truth is that I created it out of desperation for information and ensuring my colleagues would have assessed to them Asap. But only God can inspire one to that capacity.

FNA: When did you create NJO and how has the journey been so far?
Mr Abiodun: Dec 4th 2016. It has been two years. I would lie if i say it been good News all through, but I must say have learnt massively, gain amazing opportunities and the highlight of it is when Nurses share the Good News with me that they got a job or opportunities. We're the first of its kind for Nigerian Nurses and we birthed others. Many thinks to NJO Nurses.

FNA: Wow,  this is inspiring. What are the three lessons you will teach nurses who intend to go into entrepreneurship?
Mr Abiodun: 1. Start with what you have.
2. Start small.
3. Start Now!

FNA: If you have the opportunity to change anything in nursing?
What will it be?
Mr Abiodun: Change the fact that RNs will spend at least 3-5years to obtain BSN in Nigeria.

FNA: What is you take on the use of social media and nurses?
Mr Abiodun: I encourage many of my peers to harness social media opportunities. With a phone connected to the internet, you have the world at your fingertip. That the older generation didn't have.

FNA: What would you advise young nurses?
Mr Abiodun: I would advise my peers to;
1. Have multiple sources of income.
2. Invest heavily on themselves.
3. Make positive use of social media to harness there potentials.
4. Think outside the box.

FNA: Thank you sir for honoring this interview
We the team of FNA really appreciate you
Mr Abiodun: Thanks.

If you enjoyed your read drop a comment, watch out for more exciting interviews that will come your way in 2019.
You can also nominate your celebrity nurse to be inteviewed. 

Nursing and midwifery council of Nigeria,
Plot 713, cadastral Zone,
Life camp District,
Gwarimpa, Abuja.
7th December, 2018.

OPEN  LETTER TO THE REGISTRAR, NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL OF NIGERIA

Dear Sir,

It is with great pleasure that Fellow Nurses Africa writes you at this point in time when nursing profession in Nigeria needs urgent attention.
We reiterate our sincere congratulations on your achievements so far since you assume office as the registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria. Fellow Nurses Africa in particular, as well as all other progressive Nigerian nurses is very much proud of you for setting your sights high and making every effort for the development of nursing education and practice in Nigeria.
Fellow Nurses Africa believes that the present day Nigerian nursing profession is blessed with young, innovative, technologically and intellectually sound professionals with pools of idea that will bring solutions to the myriad of challenges currently slowing down the wheels of progress in the profession.
It is also our belief that an individual cannot help everyone at once, but he that cares can be a leader with listening ears and work with a lot of people to get things done. This fact prompted Fellow Nurses Africa to organize the first ever nursing essay contest tagged, “IF I WERE NMCN REGISTRAR”, to garner great innovations and ideas from brilliant and innovative nurses for the overall benefit of our dear profession.
As we pen down here our position regarding these ideas and innovations, we wish to state clearly that it is by no means an attempt to criticize or discredit you and your laudable ventures towards the promotion of nursing education and practice in Nigeria. We do believe that our thoughts reflected here will serve as a means of drawing attention of stakeholders in the profession to areas of focus for improvements so that we can maintain the nobility of our enviable profession.


   GREAT IDEAS THAT WILL LIBERATE THE NIGERIAN NURSING PROFESSION

NURSING CAREER PROGRESSION TO REFLECT ACADEMIC ADVANCEMENTS
Poor career progression in nursing without doubt has been a major setback to the nursing profession over the years. A situation in which there is no definite career path leads to brain drain in the profession. It is high time a nursing career progression is designed to reflect academic advancement. To achieve this, there would be the civil service advancement, which should give a nurse monetary increment as his years of service increases, and a professional career progression, which would give a nurse increased clinical role and leadership promotion with associated allowances as her knowledge and exposure advances from basic level to doctorate level. If this kind of model is adopted, a nurse who graduated from basic nursing school will have an urgent need to proceed to obtain his/her degree qualifications, or else, she will remain at the lowest cadre till retirement, even as she rises in civil service level. Also, a nurse with a degree qualification, with adequate years of experience, can rise to the position of assistant chief nursing officer but will be stalled at that point till retirement without further studies. Similarly, individuals with master’s degree in nursing specialties (nurse practitioner) can become a CNO which will make him/her a clinical, academic, research and administrative leader in such specialty. S/he will require a doctorate program in that same nursing specialty to become a consultant. A consultant, who is also a professor in nursing, will emerge the leader of the leaders.
This kind of career progression would provoke healthy intellectual competitiveness. The battle will give birth to several nurse theorists, clinicians, leaders and innovators whose works will develop the body of knowledge in nursing practice. The fertilization of ideas among such intellectually engaged nurses will produce different kinds of stars in public health, emergency nursing, maternal and child health, medico surgical nursing, leadership in health sector, health economics, health statistics, innovative client advocacy initiative, etc. Nursing will have the capacity to carve out a niche for themselves through science of caring which will automatically lead to professional “closure”, as what will be required to practice at any level cannot tolerate quackery and mediocrity. The quality of our service will automatically earn us respect and qualify us to be admitted into the society of professional elite.

CADRE/RANK PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION
It is sad that in cases where nurses migrate from one hospital to another, they hardly retain their former post. A CNO coming from a government teaching hospital will be employed as NOII in another state teaching hospital. Why does migration from one hospital to the other means starting all over again? The best approach to this is to start a unified annual ranking examination for all nurses in Nigeria, whether in private or government setting. The certificate issued to this effect by NMCN will be used as authentication to retain the post from the former hospital in new area of appointment within Nigeria. All over the world, Senior Registrars and Consultants retain their post wherever they go; hence, this belittling de-ranking issue should be looked into so as not to hinder our colleagues looking for better offers in other settings.

INTRODUCTION OF UNIFIED STANDARD PROCEDURE MANUAL
Unified standard nursing procedure manual should be introduced for uniformity of practice. This will be subjected to review at specified periods by education department of the NMCN through raised ideas from research work. Each nurse will be entitled to a copy at the issuance of their license.

PROMPT AND EFFICIENT PROCESS TO FAST TRACK LICENSE RENEWAL
License renewal has been one of the major challenges nurses are facing on a daily basis with thousands of nurses unable to renew their licenses for years after paying necessary fees and meeting the various requirements for license renewal. The licensing unit of the council should be strengthened with both human and capital resources to ensure that those who have met the requirements for nursing licenses get them within the space of one week. The necessary machines for the production of these licenses should always be in good working conditions and additional ones procured where necessary. The use of information technology should also be strongly embraced in achieving this.

MORE MEN IN NURSING, MORE PROGRESS
One of the setbacks to the nursing profession globally is the lack of men entering into the profession. Typically, 5 – 10% of nurses in a given country are men, including Nigeria. Nursing is often seen as women’s job since it has always been traditionally. In Britain, the Royal College of Nursing did not admit men until 1960. Recruiting men into the profession is a huge challenge and if this could be surmounted, it will bring more innovations, developments, progress and respect to the profession.
The NMCN should start encouraging the influx of more men into the profession. To start with, 40% of admission slots into the departments of nursing sciences can be given to males based on distinctions while the 60% would be for females, as a form of encouragement for the men. There should also be a form of scholarship for male students nurses in partnership with Men in Nursing Assembly of Nigeria. This will encourage the influx of more men into the profession and the more men we have, the more progressive the profession becomes.

INCLUSION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AS A CORE COURSE IN THE NURSING ACADEMIC CURRICULUM
Politics is power and nurses have been found wanting in this power play for too long. Nurses failed to participate in politics as a result of various factors, ranging from lack of interest and tight work schedule. Many even see politics as evil and a dirty game and this has profoundly affect the progress of the profession for a long time because we are not part of the decision and policy makers. Others determine the lots and progress of our profession for us. To solve this challenge, the NMCN should work directly with the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives to strengthen our internal politics. Political science should be included as a core course in nursing academic curriculum to produce politically sound nurse graduates that would be burning with political zeal after graduation from school. Students’ unionism in our universities should also be given full autonomy without interference.

ESTABLISHMENT OF LEAN ON ME CAMPAIGN
Lean on me campaign is going to be an indoor meeting with nurses alone in each state of the federation, in which the act of discriminating against one another will be politely discouraged while encouraging love, as a good asset we have missed. Through this campaign, nurses will be made to realize that we need each others' shoulder to lean on if we must progress and collectively achieve a common goal of greatness. It aims at forgiving one another no matter how hard it must have been, for hatred thrives better where forgiveness is deprived. Lean on me campaign will also serve as an avenue to plead with nursing leaders to stop correcting their subordinates openly, as this depicts their value as caregivers. This campaign is the best way to start, as this will expose the hazard of intimidation, how far it has wrecked us as professionals and individuals will see the reason to inculcate a loving heart towards their colleagues instead of hatred and discrimination.

AFFILIATION OF SCHOOLS OF NURSING TO UNIVERSITIES
Nursing education has become a nightmare. The ripple effects caused by the dichotomy between diploma and graduates nurses cannot be overemphasized; hence, the public is confused about who we are and what it meant to be a nurse. Nursing is not clear on what the appropriate education for entry to practice is, and how to recognize and reward individuals who have achieved a higher educational level. Today in Nigeria, nurses continue to graduate with diploma, Bachelor of Nursing Science certificates, yet the distinction between the nurses who have the different level of preparation is virtually nonexistent. In our opinion, the major source of dichotomy in nursing is diploma nursing, which is a product of “Schools of Nursing” education. NMCN should as a matter of urgency ensure that the council enacts a policy that mandates all schools of nursing to be affiliated to degree-awarding institutions within the space of five (5) years, else they be scrapped. This will make the profession become a fully respected profession indeed in the country and reduce mediocrity as well. To achieve this, NMCN need to work out a plan with universities offering nursing education to make a considerable number of registered nurses get admission to pursue their degree program and for other nurses who cannot go through a full time study, a temporary part-time program for the period of just 5years, opened for them, in which after the period elapses, the program is stopped.
Also, the era of “pen and paper” system of learning should be bid farewell in our nursing institutions. Having the appropriate technology infrastructure and up-to-date resources is also critical to successful learning. With the impetus to expand the use of technology, NMCN should ensure that lecturers are prepared to use available resources, have access to needed support, and develop competency for using resources and support. Also, e-learning should be encouraged to thrive, making it one of the prerequisites to getting admitted in our training institutions.

CREATION OF NIGHTINGALE CALL CARE CENTRE
NMCN should partner with a trusted telecommunication company to create a toll free number “Nightingale Call Care Centre” for nursing customer care service in treating any nursing issue within and outside Nigeria. Personnel under this unit will provide 24 hours’ online services as they attend to various complaints that have to do with the profession, either from individual, group or school. This will make service delivery more accessible to all registered nurses home and abroad.

NIGHTINGALE F.M.
Nightingale F.M as the topmost success of Nightingale Call Care Centre majorly will be trashing nursing health related issues, recent discoveries through research and updates on management of certain condition. This is another tool that will be useful to rebuild our reputation on what nursing is and what it is not. Nightingale F.M. will also be used to source for talented ones among nurses, who have developed their latent ability in media as presenter, musician, instrumentalist, poet and other vocations, all for nursing and by nurses.

ON QUACKERY
The regulation of the training of auxiliary nurses in Nigeria, which most times are perpetrated in privately-owned hospitals, becomes pertinent, as this constitutes one of the major avenues through which quackery thrives, rather than the all-comers affairs that nursing practice in Nigeria has become for years, a situation in which most privately-owned hospitals and of recent, religious organizations, etc. unabatedly train and churn out quacks, glamorized as auxiliary nurses in hundreds. The N&MCN can help in standardizing this sub-sector in the Nigerian nursing in semblance to what is obtainable in the advanced world.

It is important that through adequate legislation, the leadership of the N&MCN institutionalize a program in Nigerian nursing, similar to what operates in the western world. The Health Care Assistantship (HCA) program in the United Kingdom and the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in the United States of America are very unique in their own rights and had immensely impacted nursing practice in those countries. If such programs are meticously implemented in our nation's health sector, through a system in which the N&MCN in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) design a program for the training of individuals, interested in this career path, by defining the requirements, scope of practice, renumeration, outfit (uniform), job specifications, etc. for the so-called auxiliary nurses, the monster of quackery would be duly destroyed, as this will help in stemming the tide of every tom, dick and harry who wear the white uniforms, being reverence as nurses. Similarly, it will also help in curbing the menace of quackery in nursing with quantum cases of unwholesome practices and litigations resulting from such venture, while at the same time, considerably help in supplying a sound and vibrant ancillary workforce to the nursing profession, in both the government and private health care settings in the country as obtainable in the advanced climes.

PUBLIC SENSITIZATION AGAINST MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION OF NURSES
Observations all over the world have records of nurses always being at the receiving end for most negligence cases because of how we have been mis-represented by the media. To make things worse, the Nigerian film industries have really bastardized our unique image through their interpretation of nurses in most of their home videos. Some portray nurses as prostitutes, husband snatcher, kleptomaniacs, manager of baby factory, doctor’s errand girl or boy and the likes. This sensitization will be in form of stakeholders' meeting in the media and film industry and start a campaign tagged, “Nursing: What it is, what it is not.” The concept of this campaign is to come up with numerous selected slides used on media and home videos to depict the value of the profession. This will unveil to the general public our stand on this subject and a communiqué will be released at the end of the meeting for expedite action by the government.

THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
Information technology, IT, is the use of computer to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data or information. It is the subset of information and communication technology. The NMCN should ensure the use of ICT is embraced to better the lots of the profession. The NMCN website should be designed in a way that would make it easier for the consumer of health and the entire public to have direct contact with the council and make report of abuses when necessary. This will give them access to verify the professional status of anybody impersonating nurses.
Similarly, it is high time the NMCN becomemore active on the social media platforms. Social media platform is becoming the widest space in dissemination of information and influencing people while at the comfort of their homes. NMCN should ensure that the council have a viable and active social media platforms to bring the activities of the council to the fingertips of professional nurses and the entire public. The social media platforms shall also be serving as a medium to changing the poor public perceptions of nursing and nurses in Nigeria. For example, a single twitter thread can be used to push for policy changes in nursing if strategically twitted.
Above all, we are confident that this letter will appeal to your sensibilities as a respected leader who can facilitate productive collaboration to reach an amicable solution. We believe that if these ideas and innovations are put to test, the Nigerian nursing profession will in a matter of years from now become an enviable one.
We live in a time of rapid changes, monumental achievements, profound knowledge and discoveries. It is imperative that we evolve as a profession, adapt and learn at the same pace as our world is transforming. Also, we must learn in our own culture.
Yours faithfully,
Nrs. Oluwatosin K. Odunayo
CEO / Editor-in-Chief, FNA.
For Team Fellow Nurses Africa.

The Nursing and midwifery council of Nigeria has today released the November 2018 professional examination results, Fellow Nurses Africa has confirmed. This is coming barely a month after the examination.
Details soon...

Congratulations to the new Nurses!

Vitamin E is an antioxidant and it is the name of a group of eight fat soluble vitamins,  known as tocepierols and tocotrienols. It is not only used when Vitamin E deficiency is noticed,  vitamin E is  rare and usually caused by an underlying problems with digesting fat.

Vitamin E dissolves in fat and it is food in many foods including vegetable oils,  cereals, meats,  eggs and wheat germ.

Dosage
Vitamin E is available in oral capsules,  oral solution,  compound powder,  oral liquid,  oral and topical oil.




The dosage varies with age,  severity of condition.
It is available in 1000IU and 1500U1for adults and smaller doses for children.

Uses
- Vitamin E is used to treat and prevent diseases of the heart,  blood vessels lncuding hardening of the arteries, heart attack,  chest pain,  high blood pressure.
- It is also used to prevent diabetes and its complications
- It helps in preventive lung and oral cancer in smokers
- Prevention of complications in late pregnancy due to high blood pressure, premenstrual syndrome, menopausal syndrome.
- Topical vitamin applied to the skin can keep it from aging

Contraindication
- Vitamin E cannot be used if a patient has vitamin k deficiency
- Bleeding disorders
- Diabetes
- Head and neck cancer
- Liver disease

Side effects
If vitamin e is taken in high doses, the higher the dose the greater the risk of side effects.  Research says taking 300-800IU of vitamin e can increase a patient's it's of having hemorrhagic stroke.

Below are the side effects of vitamin e
  - Nausea
  - Diarrhea
  - Rash
  - Dermatitis
  - Intestinal cramps

Interactions
- Vitamin e should not be used with iron replacement drugs like ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate and warfarin
- Alcohol may cause dizziness,  nausea, and it should not be taken with vitamin e

Nurse's Responsibility 
  - Know the 7Rs of drug administration
  - When you notice any drug reaction,  inform the physician and drugs should be discontinued
  - Patient with heart disorder should be monitored closely,  to avoid stroke.
  - When you notice bleeding, it could be a drug reaction, it should be discontinued
  -  For out patient patients, explain chances of having drug reaction and dosage correctly to patient.

Happy new week!

 Hydrocortisone is a corticosteroid with glucocorticoid and to a lesser extent mineralocorticoid activity. It is used as an immunosuppressive drug, and for conditions adrenogenital syndrome, adrenocortical insufficiency and high blood calcium.
Topics hydrocortisone is used to treat itching,  redness.

Nursing is beautiful, but it is so dangerous if it is done without adequate knowledge and carefulness. Student nurses most times see the perfect side of nursing,  all they know is nursing is noble,  then life takes a new turn the day a road traffic accident patient’s blood splash on the face and they have to pray the laboratory investigation results comes out negative.

One of the things I have chosen to be my mantra as a nurse is, “every patient is a suspect”, therefore I guide my care diligently with my suspicion. It is true that every occupation has its hazard,  ranging from emotional rollercoaster, to exposure to pollutant and chemical and various types of injuries.  The good news is as nurses we are enlightened about these hazards: we teach them and talk about them, yet a large number of nurses are victims of various kinds of workplace hazards.

1. Back Injury
This is common,  and it is relatable to every nurse. Research says about 40,000 nurses report back related injuries annually, and this is due to lifting patients in bed,  helping patients out of bed,  transferring patients from the bed to chairs, and movement devices. Nurses are known for their perseverance on the issue of short staffing and underpayment, which is one of the cause of back injuries.

All back related injuries can be related to short staffing. Example is a nurse who weighs 65kg is been designated to a female surgical ward of 15 patients. In a shift that will last for 8 – 12hours, the nurse will need to help half of her patients out of their bed, help them on a bed pan or have their bed bath.

How to prevent back injuries 
As much as the issue on underemployment is yet to be attended to by the government and labor congress, nurses can do themselves the favor of learning how to prevent back injuries.
It can be prevented in two ways
• Reducing the rate at which you carry heavy objects
• Learning to delegate work to nursing assistants or ward care

2. Stress
Stress has become a way of life for a large number of nurses, and they all have learnt to accept it as such. Stress can be managed to help you stay healthy and agile at work

Management
• Have a schedule of your time, don’t spend your day offs visiting friends who live miles away
• Eat healthy
• Exercise regularly
• Sleep well
• Avoid unhealthy foods,  such as caffeinated drinks
• Don’t procrastinate
• Know that you can’t have it all, you need to reward yourself after a busy shift. It not creativity.

3. Infectious Disease
December 1st  was the world AIDS  day and it was tagged,  “know your status”, health practitioners are at the verge of contacting several kinds of infectious diseases, either by body contact, inhalation or other means. Research says that 600000 to 800000 needle-stick injuries occur each year in all healthcare system.

Prevention
• Learn to keep an eye of aggressive patient to avoid inhalation or bodily contact with vomit or blood
• Never uncap a needle when it is not yet needed
• Don’t attend to a patient with your gloves on,  and face masks in case of pulmonary diseases

4. Violence 
A research result says, 80 percent nurses who work in emergency services report violence each year; 39 percent of nurses experience verbal assaults yearly and 13 percent of nurses report battery and domestic abuse yearly. So much has been said about violence in the ward,  and we hope the government can do something to address the issue of violence and assault towards nurses.

Prevention
• Be patient not to reply a patient relative in anger
• Ask questions before retaliation
• Never insult anyone
• In cases of death, don’t break the news of the deceased in a close formation. You tell them and leave immediately
• Be smart and know your right as a nurse

Above are the 4 common hazards in nursing and ways out. 
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