Auxiliary nurse salary in Nigeria + How to become an auxiliary nurse in Nigeria, Auxiliary nurse roles and responsibilities.
Nigeria and the world over are in short supply of nurses; so nurse assistants popularly known as axillary nurses have been long drafted in to fill in the gap of inadequate nurses. The role of an auxiliary nurse is to assist qualified nursing practitioners in administering care to patients. Auxiliary nurses require no academic qualifications, and the role can serve as a pathway into a career as a registered nurse.
It is important to clarify that auxiliary nurses are not only in Nigeria, they are also in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, South America and other African countries. Auxiliary nurses are trained in basic patient care by doctors and even registered nurses in private hospitals.
Here they are trained to identify emergencies health conditions, do basic suturing, take vital signs and taught to administer drugs especially orally drugs or intramuscular injections (but under close supervision).
Functions of an auxiliary nurse – Auxiliary nurse roles and responsibilities
The main duty of an auxiliary nurse is to ensure patients are kept as comfortable as possible. An auxiliary nurse washes and dresses incapacitated (bedridden) patients, feeds patients at meal times and helps those who have difficulty walking to get around.
Auxiliary nurses also help the elderly and disabled with toileting. An auxiliary nurse is also assigned to assess patients’ health condition by taking temperatures, measuring weight, assessing respiration levels and blood pressure. Health assistants can also do basic wound dressings.
An auxiliary nurse also performs minor medical procedures and assesses blood pressure levels. S/he will also make patient’s beds, change their sheets when required and assist with the general upkeep of the ward. Other roles she will play is based on the stipulation of the health facility.
Auxiliary nurses also perform clinical support roles under the supervision of health care professionals including physiotherapists, nutritionists, pediatricians and speech and language therapists. Auxiliary nurses or health assistants are a very important part of the workers that run old peoples home and take care of elderly persons. They are key members of Geriatric homes.
How to become an auxiliary nurse in Nigeria
Most auxiliary nurses in Nigeria are trained in private hospitals for a duration of about two years. The basic requirement for eligibility (for admission or training) used by most private hospitals is the senior secondary school cerficate (SSCE) – WAEC or NECO. Some hospitals also do not need request this – just be able to communicate in English and be trainable in basic patient care.
Thereafter, you will be trained by the doctor or a nurse on basic patient care esp in the areas of comforting a patient, basic medications and how to administer them, wound care (dressing), how to check vital signs -temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate etc.
Some auxiliary nurses (auxiliary nurse midwife) even learn to successfully take delivery and identify danger signs of labour that will warrant calling a doctor or referral. This training will take a span of 24 months or 2years after which the hospital will do “freedom” for them and release them to the labour market or retained in the hospital. Be informed that the Nigerian law is not against auxiliary nurses. However, they must work under close supervision by the nurses or doctor. Auxiliary nurses wear special kinds of uniform chosen by the hospital during training or work to differentiate them from registered nurses.
What is Auxiliary Nurse Salary in Nigeria ?
How Much Does an auxiliary nurse earn in Nigeria? Auxiliary nurses are not paid the same salary globally. It depends on the hospital they are working. The average salary of an auxiliary nurse in Nigeria is between #30,000 – #50,000 monthly and could be more or even less. I have heard that some auxiliary nurses working in some of the big private hospitals in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt earning close to #70,000 monthly. Auxiliary nurses pay do vary.
Compared to countries in Europe and America (NHS employs auxiliary nurses), auxiliary nurses are not employed in government hospitals in Nigeria. They are already calls on government by rights groups and some stakeholders to employ auxiliary nurses to augment their country’s understaffed health workforce.
Partly Sourced from:
Careertrend
