NURSING AND MIDWIFERY COUNCIL OF GHANA SCHOOLED NURSES AND MIDWIVES ON NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL OF PIN/AIN
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana will from January 2017 roll out the new requirements for the renewal of Professional Identification Number (PIN) and Auxiliary Identification Number (AIN) for practitioners.
The new system is to expand the requirements for renewal of license to include other accredited professional activities other than participation in workshop. Under the current system the requirement for the renewal of PIN/AIN is a participation or attendance of workshops of five (5) days duration or Thirty (30) Contact hours.
With the new system credit points will be needed for renewal of license. This could be earned in areas like Research, Publishing of professional education books or journals, active membership of professional or regulatory bodies, clinical supervision and audits, provision of psychological interventions, lecturing, teaching, facilitating workshops, using of partograph in monitoring labour and many other areas.
The new PIN/AIN renewal policy is in accordance with section 55 (f) of Part III of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857) which mandates the Council to among other things, “ determine and implement post-registration, continuing education and continuing professional development programmes for practitioners”.
At a durbar of nurses and midwives in the Eastern and Western regions, the Council schooled practitioners and students on the new accredited Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs which will be used as a requirement for the renewal of license. The practitioners and students were also educated on the functions of the Council.
Speaking on behalf of the Registrar, Mrs. Philomina Wolley and Mrs. Dorothy Gyinae leaders of the delegation that visited nursing and midwifery training schools and clinical facilities in the Eastern and Western regions noted that unlike previous situations where CPD programs were classroom centered, practitioners will now have the opportunity of scoring professional education points beyond the classroom.
Practitioners were encouraged to identify, select and engage in relevant CPD activities that will help them in their personal and professional learning goals. The Council has also indicated that it shall not hesitate to apply sanctions enshrined in Section 73 of Part III of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857) to practitioners who fail to renew their license.
A copy of the new accredited CPD programs for the renewal of PIN/AIN could be obtained from the download section of the Council’s website.
