Even as nurses and other health workers scramble for the about 11,000 local jobs in government, the opportunities to work in the diaspora remains a viable option for the about 110,000 applicants that will most definitely be left out.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia – NMCZ has disclosed that the process for a Zambian nurse’s to work in the diaspora is a straight forward one and that most nurses or midwives may not be aware of this available option.
NMCZ Legal counsel and spokesperson Bvulani Etambuyu-Mulele told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that most of the health institutions where the Zambian nurses apply to in the diaspora write directly to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia- NMCZ for verification of candidates.
Mulele added that once the Nursing council receives applications of a particular nurse they respond and if they qualify they proceed with the rest of the necessary requirements. She said that the medical health center in there respective country report to their nursing council or equivalent body to get validation to work and it’s these regulatory bodies that write direct to NMCZ.
She disclosed that NMCZ writes back only after they are sent these applications to confirm that the individual is in good standing with NMCZ, if their practicing license is valid, if they have pending disciplinary cases and any cases of professional misconduct and they respond after checking the professional standing of that particular candidate.
In an interview with ZBT, the spokesperson for NMCZ who also doubles as the legal counsel said that they receive applications on daily basis from all over the world and they try to respond to them on time because the candidates have deadlines. The council could however not reveal the statistics as of how many nurses relocate yearly and to which respective countries.
Working in the diaspora is an option that most unemployed youths may not be looking at, but remains a viable option for even better earning and international exposure.
