By Abraham Olatokunbo
The Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu (FEDCODTTEN), has broken an academic record, becoming the first institution in West Africa to lead its students to write professional Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) Examination on Dental Nursing.
Head, Public Relations, at the School, Mr. Omololu Ogunmade, said this in a press statement Monday.
He said this implies that the college is the first institution of higher learning to train dental nurses in West Africa.
The development, according to him, is one of the many giant strides of the incumbent Rector, Dr. John Emaimo, who has transformed the institution from a monotechnic to an institution offering different accredited degree as well as diploma programmes.
The professional examination, which is a precursor to obtaining practising licences by prospective dental nurses from NMCN, followed the earlier conduct of pre-council examination written by the students in October.
NMCN, which conducted the two examinations on the school campus, registers and licences qualified nurses to practise in various hospitals across Nigeria.
Leading the council team to conduct the examination recently, Mr. Timbuak Yamai, hailed the college authority for the uncommon feat, saying efforts of the authority to produce dental nurses who meet the standards for professional practice both within and outside Nigeria are praiseworthy.
Yamai acknowledged that the examination was the first of its kind in Nigeria and the entire West Africa, noting that the team was in the College to conduct the NMCN examination and simultaneously ensure that it conformed with professional standards.
He also described it as a national examination which qualifies participants to be a practising nurse in any part of Nigeria.
“The importance of the examination is that this is where we gratuity that we get into the pool of nursing professionals in the nation. It’s a national examination that qualifies one to be a nurse and practise anywhere in Nigeria,” he said.
Acknowledging that there was a preceding pre-council examination earlier conducted, Yamai described the pre-council examination as a prerequisite for NMCN to establish that participants were qualified for the final examination.
Yamai said: “Qualification from the pre-council examination depends on what the examiners were able to establish; if all of them pass, fine; if some fail, that means those ones will not be presented. There is a possibility that all of them will pass and there is a possibility that some of them will fail but the essence is to establish that all of them are fit to sit for the professional examination.
“If someone fails the examination, he or she has the opportunity of a second attempt and after that, if the person is not successful, let us assume, the person will have a third attempt at the examination.”
Speaking earlier during the pre-council examination which lasted for three days in the college premises, Head of Dental Nursing Department, Dr. Ismail Mohammed, emphasised that the examination was the first of its kind in the whole of West Africa.
According to him, the college achieved the feat, being the first institution to commence the training of dental nurses in West Africa, whose practice, he added, would be regulated by Nursing and Mid-wifery Council of whichever country they choose to practise.
“This is the first of its kind and we are happy. The Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu is the first institution hosting such examinations.
The achievement was anchored by the Rector, Dr. John Emaimo, who is a goal getter, a digital rector, who goes for the best and nothing but the best. He goes for quality,” Mohammed said.
He further disclosed that whereas various countries in the entire African continent had hitherto been itching to produce dental nurses, the college became the first institution to meet this yearning and raise this category of healthcare providers adding that dental nurses had hitherto been trained abroad.
“You could only send them outside the country, either to Canada, United Kingdom for training, but now we have it here in Nigeria and this is the first set through the effort of the rector, the staff and the Federal Ministry of Health.
“We are not even enough to cover a state, let alone the country. Outside the country, they are itching for these types of healthcare providers all over the world.
Jobs are waiting and searching for them. They are not to search for the job and it will draw attention to our college,” Mohammed said.
The HOD, who explained that dental nurses are dual professionals, further described Dental Nursing as a specialty of Nursing which handles and manages oral healthcare diseases adding that dental nurses work closely with the dentists to provide all nursing care for patients seeking oral care management.
“Our nurses adapt to the mainstream nursing because they will be trained as nurses first before specialty as dental nurses and that is why we have our quality and standard, ethics and values are all the same. So, coming here gives an added advantage of dual knowledge to function in the world at the bedside and also at the dental chair side,” Mohammed said.
