School of Nursing In Nigeria: How To Apply & All You Need To Know

If you are reading this, then you’re probably aspiring to become a nurse and are searching for a school of nursing in Nigeria whose application form is currently on sale. Well, congratulations on your decision to becoming a nurse – it’s a great career choice, one you’re guaranteed to enjoy.

Note: Candidates with passion for Nursing can also tap from available scholarship opportunities, interested candidates can also read up the top 10 Nursing scholarships opportunities for international students of which Nigeria is a part of.

We have decided to put this article together to help nursing aspirants like you. It’s quite easy for beginners to get confused with the whole application process and then gets discouraged or worse even go the wrong route.

Also, when choosing a Nursing school in Nigeria, you carry out proper research, one of which is if it is on the list of approved registered Nursing school in Nigeria and which catchment area it falls within, it is easier gaining admission when a candidate or applicant applies in the Nursing school that falls within his or her catchment area.

Nursing comes in different categories and has different application routes all which have their own special pecks. Most nursing students often end up regretting the application route they choose because they fail to carry out proper research on the subject.

They go with the popular admission process and which in most cases is not the best option for them and for what they hope to achieve in their career. We earnestly hope at the end of this article, you’ll be armed with sufficient knowledge to make a decision about how to apply to a nursing school.

We’ll be showing you optional application route for a nursing school and the benefits of each. Armed with that knowledge and knowing the level you want to take your nursing practice to, we believe you’ll be able to find and take the route that will take you to your destination faster. So let’s get started.

Basic Facts Before Picking Up A School of Nursing Application Form

There are three routes to becoming the nurse you want to be and not just one as most people erroneously think,

1. The 3 year Basic General Nursing Programme
2. The 3 year Basic Midwifery Training Programme
3. The 5-year Generic BNSc Nursing Programme

The cool thing about these routes is that they all have the same basic entry requirements – minimum of 5 credits in O’level results in Mathematics, English language, Biology, Chemistry and Physics in not more than two (2) sittings.

The only difference in the application route is the mode of application – either going through JAMB or picking up an application form from the specific nursing institution. You could also check out the top 10 current Federal schools of Nursing in Nigeria from which you could make your choice.

Let’s look at how these nursing applications differ as well as the benefits of each.

The 3 Year Basic General Nursing Programme

This probably is the most popular means of becoming a nurse in Nigeria – get to the specific institutions and pick up an application form. The Basic General Nursing Program as the name implies is a very basic level of nursing. It’s like the first step in your walk to becoming a nurse and I believe you’ll want to take it but it’s actually full of some disadvantages which may later work against your progress.

To start with, you’ll need to come up with an average of N250,000 to N300,000 for admission fees alone. The three-year duration for this program is not inclusive of your PTS – you’ll have to spend extra 6 months again after successful completion of the 3-year program in PTS. Another huge disadvantage of this route which you must consider is the council at NMCN – your fate lies in their hands completely – well at least.

After successfully completing your exam the council retains the right to hold your results for as long as they deem fit or till when they are ready which at times can be almost infinite. And while your final result is being held, you will continue working for ‘free’ in the training hospital pending when the council releases your final results.

And you may also want to know that you won’t be able to apply for Direct Entry while your final results are still pending if you want to further your nursing career. There’s no definite timeline for the release of the final results. There are loads of other negative parts of becoming a nurse through this route which many never considered before applying – the 3-year program could easily turn to 4 or 5 years through flimsy reasons.

A major advantage though is that you can easily obtain your Registered Nurse (RN) which you can use for employment purposes both within and outside the country and the admission process is quite straightforward and you are even surer of being admitted to your desired institution

The 3 year Basic Midwifery Training Programme

A major drawback of applying via the 3 year Basic Midwifery route is that most organizations prefer to recruit Registered Midwife with double qualifications. So if you are planning on going this route then you must be prepared for going back for an 18-month post basic nursing course after obtaining your Registered Midwife certification. Another thing consider is the fact that most universities do not accept RM for direct entry, so if you wish to study further, you may have a little problem later if you become a nurse via this route.

The 5-year Generic BNSc Nursing Programme

The 5-year nursing program is the creme de’la creme of the nursing program. Through this route, you get the whole package at a goal – the Registered Nursing (RN), the Registered Midwife (RM) and also a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BNSc). This certainly is the best route to a nursing program. Most institutions now even include an extra public health qualifications in the program. Though the 5-year program takes more time, it’s more beneficial and it likely is the best route to the nursing career in Nigeria.

A major turn of this route, however, is the mode of application – you’ll have to sit for JAMB and we are all aware how JAMB can easily frustrate you. However, with its excessive pecks, I believe it will be worth the stress. With the qualifications you get from the 5-year program you can easily go for your masters without any stress.

With the various advantages and disadvantages of each of the various application process, you may want to consider some options before choosing a particular route like the height you’ll wish to attain in the nursing profession, your commitment, money available and time.

If you don’t want to spend much time in school, then you might want to go with the three-year program, but do you have the necessary fund – an average of N250,000 to N300,000? Consider these factors and much more before choosing your application route.

I believe this article may have opened your eyes to the various routes through which you can become a professional nurse in Nigeria. We’ll love to get your feedback and any questions you may have as regards school of Nursing in Nigeria, their application forms, how to apply and all you need to know, via the comment section below.

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