The nursing profession is one of the most respected globally. Patients accord a great deal of respect to these professionals. This is because their job places them in a position to deliver life-saving and life-altering care to patients.
The last few years have been a difficult time for nurses in Ghana, as we have seen them carry out strike upon strike just so that their wages can be improved upon. This make makes a lot of people to wonder how much nurses earn in Ghana. Although the Ghanaian government has scrapped the ban on qualified nurses traveling to find a job abroad, the pay of nurses has not really improved. What then is the nurses salary in Ghana?
Nurses Salary in Ghana May 2024
Here is how much a nurse is paid in Ghana:
- Certificate nurses – GHS 1,300.00 monthly.
- Diploma nurses – GHS 1,600.00 to GHS 1,800.00 monthly.
- Degree holders – GHS 2,000.00 to GHS 2,200 per month.
How to become a nurse in Ghana
You may have probably heard about nurses and what they do. In this post, we discuss who a nurse is, what they do, who qualifies to become a nurse, how to become a nurse and many more.
Who is a nurse?
Nurses are professionals in the healthcare sector that are directly involved in the care of patients. Nurses are specially trained to play an integral role in improving health, treating or preventing illnesses and caring for all individuals.
Nurses usually spend more contact time with patients than any other health professional and often serve as the first point of contact for most patients. They work on the frontline of healthcare and make a difference to the lives of patients day in and day out.
What is the work of a nurse?
Nurses play diverse roles in the hospital and these may include but not limited to:
- Communicating with patient and patient relatives, doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
- Taking care of the patients
- Dressing patients’ beds
- Administering patient medications
- Feeding patients
- Wound dressing
- Checking of patient’s vital signs like blood pressure, pulse, temperature etc
- Drawing of blood for laboratory investigations
- Counselling and educating patients and relatives
How do I become a registered nurse in Ghana?
There are three basic steps that you need to take to become a nurse in Ghana. These three steps are:
- Application to a school offering a nursing program
- Successful completion of a nursing program (degree, diploma, or certificate)
- Registering with the board or attaining a license for practice
Considering the first step, there are a number of both public and private institutions that offer the nursing program in Ghana. Once you have completed your senior high school education, you can apply to any of them.
Upon acceptance of your application and being offered admission, you will have to attend school for a number of years (two, three or fours years) depending on the ultimate award that the institution offers (certificate, diploma or degree).
Upon successful completion of the nursing program, you will have to sit for your licensure examination. This licensure examination which is offered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana is what will lead to the award of a practicing license.
The licensure exams are usually offered through the accredited institution in charge of your training. You will take the licensure examination not long after you have finally completed your academic program and your school or academic institution has certified that you have successfully completed the program.
What qualities or character do I require to become a good nurse?
Nurses are key components of the healthcare system and are therefore expected to exhibit some peculiar characters. It is therefore expedient that you try to emulate some of these qualities if you want to become a nurse.
Because of their direct handling of patients, nurses are expected to be very compassionate, caring, humble and understanding. Some other qualities expected of every nurse include:
- Must have good communication skills
- Have be a person who pays attention to details
- Must be a time conscious person
- Must be empathetic
- Must have a great sense of humor
- Must be respectful and open to people
- Must be neat and advocate for cleanliness
- Must be passionate to help people and committed to their work
- Must have good problem solving skills
- Should be willing to learn
How long will it take me to become a nurse?
The duration of becoming a registered nurse in Ghana will depend on the academic program you choose to read.
Those who read a certificate in nursing programme may take just two years to become registered nurses in Ghana. If you offer a diploma in nursing, then you would require a minimum of three years to become a registered nurse in Ghana.
The Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing takes a minimum of four years to complete and become a nurse in Ghana.
However, irrespective of the route you take to become a nurse in Ghana, you will have to undergo a one year compulsory national service. During the national service, you will be posted to a health facility to offer your services as a nurse for a year.
After your one year compulsory national service, the search for a job then begins. Because of the high demand for nurses in Ghana, the government employs most nurses. You may therefore get the opportunity to work in any public/government health facility after your national service.
There are also a lot of private health facilities that require the services of a nurse and therefore, you may also decide to apply to a private facility to work there.
Who qualifies to read nursing in Ghana?
The qualification to read nursing in Ghana is institution-specific. However, the general rule of thumb is that the person should have a background in Science or Home Economics. This is because biology is an integral part of nursing and a lot of the things you will be studying revolves around biology.
You may therefore find the course challenging if you have no previous knowledge in biology.
Thus, anyone who reads General Science or Home Economics and meets the minimum requirements for the study of Nursing in the particular school selected is qualified to read Nursing.