The first degree available to nursing students in Nigeria is the General Nursing Programme, which results in students being awarded the Registered Nurse (RN) title over a three-year training track. Prerequisites for admission to this program include the completion of a Senior Secondary School Certificate or equivalency, as well as five credits that must include a science (Biology/Health, Chemistry or Physics) and an English-language credit. The NMC of Nigeria has approved 68 schools to administer this title.
Once a student becomes a registered nurse, he may apply to a Post Basic Midwifery Programme to become a Registered Midwife (RM) Applicants must meet requirements specific to the institution they wish to attend, 65 of which have been sanctioned by the NMC.
With an RN or RM to their name, students receive a Practicing License to begin a work-study program consisting of a year of professional on-the-job training. Here they gain experience registering patients and working towards a Clinical Specialization at the certificate level through professional programs. This can be in the fields on Nurse Anesthetist, Public Health Nursing, Pediatrics, Orthopedics. Ophthalmic or Occupational Health Nursing. Students can also receive credentials to work in Accident and Emergency Nursing, PeriOperative Nursing, Burns and Plastic, Intensive Care, Ear, Nose and Throat Nursing, Cardiothoracic Nursing or Nursing Administration. These specialization programs last the full calendar year, except for the Nurse Anesthetist program, which runs 18 months.
Registered Nurses can enter into a one year Post Basic Psychiatric Nursing Programme to become a Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN) at eight specialized schools.
Alternatively, aspiring nurses in Nigeria can attend a five-year university where they can take courses in core subjects leading to a Bachelor of Nursing Sciences degree as well as study towards a RN, Registered Midwife (RM,) or Registered Public Health Nurse (RPHN) award. As a prerequisite, students must complete five credit level passes in the West African Examinations Council (WADC ) or Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) exams in one or two sittings in the subjects of all Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Completion of these programs must include a one-year internship in an approved health care facility.
Two schools offer further credentials, a Master or Doctorate of Philosophy with a focus in Nursing. They are Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, and the University of Ibadan in Ibadan.