5 August 2008

The South African Nursing Council is very pleased to announce the launch of:

eRegister

eRegister is the South African Nursing Council Electronic Register of Nurses and Midwives.

eRegister is published in terms of section 35 of the Nursing Act, 2005 as a COPY of the official register. It is primarily intended for use by those who need to verify the registration status of a practitioner and the validity of the original documents presented by the practitioner. Practitioners may also use eRegister to confirm their own registration status.

You can access eRegister from the SANC website or directly by typing the following address in your web browser:

www.sanc.co.za/eregister

TIP: Once the “Conditions of Use” page opens, save it as one of your FAVOURITES and you won’t have to remember the address each time you use it.

USING eRegister

In order to use eRegister you will need to know either the practitioner’s SANC number or South African Identity Number.

eRegister has been designed to be as simple to use as possible. If you read the instructions on each screen, and follow them, you should not have any difficulty. Take a moment to read through the Help page before getting started as it contains additional information to assist you. Please read all notes boxes carefully – they contain important information about the information displayed using eRegister.

TIP: The easiest and fastest way to use eRegister is by using just the numeric keypad and the Enter key. 

IMPORTANT NOTES ON USING eRegister

Employers are cautioned that they may not rely solely on eRegister when checking the credentials of a new employee. The applicant’s identity must be authenticated by the production of the necessary identity documents and the necessary original documents which serve as proof of registration in terms of the Nursing Act, 2005.

Once the employee’s true identity has been established, eRegister can be used to monitor the on-going registration status of the practitioner.

CONFIDENTIALITY

In order to protect practitioners, confidential information such as contact details, etc. will not be made available on eRegister. For the same reason, users will not be able to use the system to extract lists of practitioners. Criteria searches such as those which may be required by recruitment organizations will also not be permitted.

Signed
Ms Hasina Subedar
Registrar and CEO

© 2004 - 2020 South African Nursing Council (Under the provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005)

Disclaimer

10 December 2007

South African Nursing Council – Year End Closure

21 December 2007 – 03 January 2008

The South African Council will close its offices for the Christmas holidays at 16:30 on 21 December 2007 and re–open at 08:00 on 03 January 2008.

Please contact Ms P Moloi at telephone (012) 426 9542, if there are any queries about this circular.

(Signed)
Mrs Thandi Manganye
Acting Registrar
The S A Nursing Council

© 2004 - 2020 South African Nursing Council (Under the provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005)

Disclaimer

2007-12-07

South African Nursing Council
Examination Schedule – 2008

Click here to see the Examination Schedule for 2008.

Kindly take note of the following requirements applicable to the Council examinations. 

1. The closing date for examination should be strictly adhered to and no exceptions or allowances will be made to extend these dates. 

2. Only registered students/pupils will be eligible to enter for an examination, the head of the nursing education institution must ensure that all students/pupils are registered with the Council within the prescribed period (this does not apply to the Admission Examination for Enrolled Nursing or to the Admission Examination for Foreign Nurses).

3. The Council will only process examination applications that meet the following requirements:

a)    submitted on the Council’s official Application Form for Examination which is completed in full and signed by the relevant person(s).

b)    accompanied by the prescribed fee or proof of payment of the fee into the Council’s bank account, such payment should be done by the school (group payment) and not by individual students.  The latter delays processing of applications as some payments are outstanding at the time of processing; banking details are as follows: 

 c)    includes all the required documentation.

4. Only those students/pupils that have been issued an examination number will be eligible to write Council examination.

5. All practical MARK SHEETS must be submitted to Council by the end of the month in which the examination is written. Examination results cannot be processed if practical MARK SHEETS as per the SANC format are not submitted on time.

6. The Council reserves the right to cancel an examination reflected on the schedule if there are insufficient candidates for such an examination(s).

7. The SANC requests the NEIs to inform all learners to refrain from individually contacting the Council to enquire about examination results.

8. In respect of the Admission Examination for the Course Leading to Enrolment as a Nurse, the school has a responsibility to identify a learner(s) who cannot be admitted into the second year of the Course Leading to Enrolment as a Nurse (R.2175) before the learner has written and successfully passed the admission examination for the R.2175 course.  No learner(s) shall be allowed to write the final year examination of the R.2175 course before they have passed the Admission examination.

Signed
THANDI MANGANYE
ACTING REGISTRAR & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
THE S A NURSING COUNCIL

© 2004 - 2020 South African Nursing Council (Under the provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005)

Disclaimer

26 October 2007

1. Transitional Arrangements on Recurriculation

2. Application for Approval of Retrospective Registration as a Learner and Retrospective Exemption from an Already Acquired Professional Registration

3. Admission to the Second Academic Year of the Course Leading to Enrolment as a Nurse (Government Notice No. R.2175 of 19 November 1993)

4. Compliance with Provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005 and Regulations

1.    RECURRICULATION

1.1    Introduction

Nursing Education Institutions (NEIs) are required to review their curricula every five (5) years and submit these to the South African Nursing Council for approval

Currently there are legacy and provider qualifications registered by both SANC and NEIs on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

Further, two Standard Generated Body (SGB) – generated qualifications are already registered on the NQF i.e.

	National Certificate: Auxiliary Nursing
	Further Education and Training Certificate: Nursing

There is no implementation directive from the Council in respect of these qualifications as yet, but the profession will be kept informed should this status change

1.2    Transitional Arrangements

In view of the above, the Council at its meeting held on 20 and 21 April 2007 resolved that recurriculation for submission to Council be put in abeyance until the transitional arrangements in line with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)’s requirements are communicated to NEIs by the Council.

Programmes that are affected by this arrangement are the following:

	Course leading to enrolment as a nursing auxiliary (Government Notice No. R. 2176 of 19 November 1993 as amended)
	Course leading to enrolment as a nurse (Government Notice No. R.2175 of 19 November 1993 as amended)
	Bridging course for enrolled nurses leading to registration as a general nurse or psychiatric nurse (Government Notice No. R.683 of 14 April 1989 as amended)
	Education and training of a nurse (general, psychiatric and community) and midwife leading to registration (Government Notice No. R.425 of 22 February 1985)

This arrangement does not affect post basic/registration programmes

2.    Applications for approval of retrospective registration of learners and retrospective exemption from learning content contained in an already acquired professional registration

2.1    Application for approval of retrospective registration as a learner

On submission of completion of training records, the Council has observed that some NEIs fail to register learners at commencement of training as prescribed

This is a violation of regulations regarding:

	Registers for students (Government Notice No. R.3735 of 14 November 1969)
	Rolls for pupils (Government Notice No. R.3736 of 14 November 1969)
	Rolls for pupil nursing auxiliaries (Government Notice No. R.1833 of 20 October 1972)

Adherence to the provisions of the above mentioned regulations as well as provision of section 16 (1) of the Nursing Act, 1978 (Act No. 50 of 1978) is mandatory and failure to comply constitutes an offence.

Programmes for which learners need to be registered with the Council on commencement of training are as follows:

	R.880 2 May 1975 Regulations for the course for the diploma in psychiatric nursing for registration as a psychiatric nurse
	R.254 14 February 1975 Regulations for the course for the diploma in midwifery for registration as a midwife
	R.2175 19 November 1993 Regulations relating to the course leading to enrolment as a nurse
	R.2176 19 November 1993 Regulations relating to the course leading to enrolment as a nursing auxiliary
	R.425 22 February 1985 Regulations relating to the approval of and the minimum requirements for the education and training of a nurse (general, psychiatric and community) and midwife leading to registration
	R.683 14 April 1989 Regulations relating to the minimum requirements for a bridging course for enrolled nurses leading to registration as a general nurse or psychiatric nurse
	R.276 15 February 1980 Regulations for the course for the diploma in nursing administration
	R.48 22 January 1980 Regulations for the diploma in Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment, Treatment and Care

2.2    Exemption in respect of already acquired professional registration within the course leading to registration as a nurse (general, psychiatric and community) and midwife

Where a learner commences a course of study in terms of Regulations relating to the Approval of and the Minimum Requirements for the Education and Training of a nurse (general, psychiatric and community) and midwife leading to registration, and such learner has one of the above registered against his/her name, the following is requested:

	A clear indication of such a professional registration at the time of commencement of the course. (the name of the professional registration e.g. one year diploma in midwifery, should be clear )
	Date of registration and certificate number
	Intended/proposed duration of training in the intended/new course of study

3.    Admission to the second academic year of the course leading to enrolment as a nurse (Government Notice No. R. 2175 of 19 November 1993)

Regulation 10 (1) of the Regulations relating to the course leading to enrolment as a nurse, (Government Notice No. R.2175 of 19 November 1993), gives provisions for admission into the second academic year of this course i.e. passing the first year examination specified in these regulations or exemption in terms of regulation 7 of these regulations

It has been observed with concern that some schools admit learners into this level of the course without ensuring that the above mentioned provision is adhered to. This mostly affects enrolled nursing auxiliaries who underwent the course for the certification for enrolment as a nursing assistant in terms of Government Notice No. R.1834 of 20 October 1972. The duration of this course of study was one hundred (100) days minimum, and is not a direct equivalence of the course regulated by Government Notice No. R.2176 of 19 November 1993.

For this reason, the Council put together an upgrading package that is available for use by schools to prepare such candidates for the admission examination for the course leading to enrolment as a nurse. You are reminded that these are mere guidelines that can be adapted to suite current learning towards fulfillment of the desired outcomes of this course

The duration of such an upgrading course is determined by the school and the learner’s readiness to sit for such an examination.

You are therefore reminded that it is the responsibility of the school to identify and ensure that candidates are assisted throughout the process

4.    Compliance with provisions of the Nursing Act and Regulations

It is the responsibility of the school to acquire and keep the above especially those pertaining to the programmes your school offers.

It is hoped that this information will assist your school.

5.    Enquiries

Should further clarity be sought on the above matters, enquiries can be directed to the managers of Accreditation, Registration and Examinations

Your cooperation is always appreciated.

Yours sincerely

 (Signed)
S A Mchunu
Deputy Registrar: Professional Affairs
For Acting Registrar and Chief Executive Officer

© 2004 - 2020 South African Nursing Council (Under the provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005)

Disclaimer

13 June 2007

Processing of Applications for:

	Registration with the South African Nursing Council prior to successful completion of the four-year programme covered by the Regulations Relating to the Approval of and the Minimum Requirements for the Education and Training of a Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife Leading to Registration (Government Notice No. R.425 of 22 February 1985)
	Re-entry into the Council examination to rewrite failed examination papers/portions

1.    Background

1.1    Requirements for Registration

The Nursing Act, 1978 (Act No. 50 of 1978) specifies the requirements necessary to practice in any category of nursing. These include the certificate of a qualification in support of documents submitted with the application for registration.

In accordance with the Regulations relating to the approval of and the minimum requirements for the Education and Training of a Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife (Government Notice No. R.425 of 22 February 1985) as amended, conditions for registration (admission to the register) include:

	successful completion of the course/programme
	complying with the programme objectives/outcomes
	any other requirements for the award of the qualifications concerned.

1.2    National Qualifications Framework NQF Council’s response to Objectives and Principles of the NQF

In 1999, the South African Nursing Council responded to a national call for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in line with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) policy on retention of credits.

It approved issuing of certificates of professional registration for learners who had not successfully completed the course and had not acquired an academic qualification from their respective training institutions.

The purpose and spirit of such a concession was to assist learners who had undergone the whole programme and exhausted the legislated duration of the course, including provider concessions but had not passed all the subjects/courses of the programme to qualify for registration as a Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife.

2.    Problems and Implications

An undesirable trend has developed over years, where learners abandon the programme without registering for all the courses and before completion or fulfillment of requirements of all sub-disciplines within the four year programme.

Such a practice is not in line with the initial purpose and spirit for which this concession was put in place in 1999.

The observed adverse effects are as follows:

	Compromised registration of some components of this programme i.e. Midwifery and Psychiatric Nursing Science. This directly affects service delivery in respect of these areas.
	Issuing of a Certificate of Registration by the Council without the learner having achieved a qualification affects the learner’s employability outside South Africa and raises indictment issues on the quality of nursing education in South Africa.

3.    Purpose of this policy framework

The purpose of this document is to:

	create a legitimate route towards professional registration, supported by programme regulations
	put in place a transitional arrangement until the new qualifications in line with the new Scope of Practice are available and registered on the NQF.
	outline a process of re-entry into the Council examinations to re-write final examination papers/portions
	waiver all previous communications in respect of this concession, following termination of the four year programme and re-writing of examinations

4.    Process of handling applications for registration/enrolment

Upon termination of training from this programme the following provisions shall be observed towards registration and enrolment:

4.1    Enrolment as a Nursing Auxiliary

This will be carried out administratively in accordance with the exemption provisions of the Regulations relating to the course leading to enrolment as a Nursing Auxiliary (Government Notice No. R.2176 of 19 November 1993, Section 7 (1)):

Conditions and Requirements are as follows:

	application shall be considered if it is within 5 years of termination of training
	declaration from the person in charge of school certifying that the theoretical and practical requirements equivalent to the requirements of the regulations published under Government Notice No. R.2176 of 19 November 1993 have been attained
	completion of at least one year training of the four-year course
	the candidate must have passed an examination in General Nursing Science and Art I
	completion of at least 1000 hours of clinical practica
	record of training shall be submitted to the Council by the relevant nursing school
	completed form for registration/enrolment
	payment of prescribed fee

4.2    Enrolment as a Nurse

This will be processed administratively in accordance with exemption provisions of the Regulations for the course leading to enrolment as a Nurse (Government Notice No. R.2175 of 22 November 1993, Section 7(1))

Conditions and Requirements:

	application will be considered if it is within 5 years of termination of training
	completed form for registration/enrolment
	payment of prescribed fee
	certificate (declaration) from person in charge of school on attainment of the theoretical and practical requirements equivalent to the requirements of the regulations published under Government Notice No. R.2175 of 22 November 1993
	completion of at least two years of the four-year course
	the candidate must have passed an examination in General Nursing Science and Art II or its equivalent
	completion of at least 2000 hours of clinical practica
	record of training shall be submitted to the Council by the relevant nursing school

4.3    Registration as a Nurse

There are no regulations providing for such registration following termination of training from the four-year programme.

The result is that no academic qualification can be awarded by the nursing education institution on termination of training

The following process will therefore be followed on termination of training after the third year or during the fourth year of training, or at the end of the fourth year where outcomes of the course have not been achieved:

4.3.1    Enrolment as a nurse

4.3.2    Approved school shall, upon receipt of an application to the school by the learner:

Register (Restore) the candidate as a learner into the Bridging Course (Government Notice No. R.683 of 14 April 1989) in order to give a legitimate student status. This will be done in accordance with regulations regarding registers for students i.e. Government Notice No. R.3735 of 14 November 1968 as well as provisions of Government Notice No. R.683 of 14 April 1989.

NB: Termination of Training Record must be submitted for the four year course as restoration cannot be effected on the Council’s system if the candidate is still registered as a learner in another programme.

Evaluate accumulated knowledge and skills through a formalized RPL process by comparing with the subject content (learning outcomes) of the Bridging Course for Enrolled Nurses leading to Registration as a General Nurse (Government Notice No. R.683 of 14 April 1989)

4.3.3    Progress of learners:

If the:

	Evaluation reflects that requirements for registration as a general nurse have been fulfilled: the school submits practical marks in line with requirements of the course the candidate may challenge the final examination of the Bridging Course for Enrolled Nurses, towards registration as a Nurse
	Evaluation reflects gaps in terms of subject content: facilitation to close gaps will be undertaken by the school. duration of academic support will depend on identified gaps (compiled portfolio of evidence is kept by the school).

4.3.4 Submission to the Council by the School:

	Completed application form for resumption of training, at resumption of training
	Applicable fee (restoration as a student)
	Application for entry into final examination of the Bridging Course, if the student qualifies for immediate entry into examinations
	Practical assessment marks
	Declaration from the person in charge of the school that outcomes of the Bridging Course have been met either during the four year course or during the facilitation phase of RPL process at the school

NB: Time Frame:

Application will be accepted within three (3) years after termination of training. This requirement is due to rapid changes in education.

5.    Registration of single supplementary basic qualification(s)

	No further single registration except General Nursing ( through the Bridging Course ) shall be granted after termination of training from the four-year programme
	Single qualifications such as Midwifery, Psychiatry and Community Health Nursing shall be pursued separately after registration as a General Nurse and in accordance with relevant regulation(s) for each programme. In such cases, principles of RPL will be implemented where some of the minimum requirements as set out in the relevant regulations were fulfilled within the four year programme.
	This will ensure portability of credits and avoid repetition of learning content already covered.

6.    Re-writing of failed examination papers/portions

A candidate who has failed a portion/paper in the Council examination for the first time follows the process outlined below:

	Re-entry into any of the two consecutive examinations after publication of the examination results
	An examination application form and prescribed fee must be submitted to the Council.
	These submissions must be made within the prescribed time frames
	Credits of the passed portion/paper will be retained
	A candidate who has failed twice may be offered academic support by the Nursing Education Institution (NEI) in preparation for the third re-entry into an examination.  The school will keep and maintain records of such academic support
	A candidate who after three attempts (full academic year) fails the examination, reregisters for the course and resumes training.

7.    Conclusion:

This policy revokes all other communication and policies in respect of the above concession following termination of training and in respect of rewriting of Council examinations

8.    Implementation:

The implementation date of this policy framework is 01 January 2008.

Any enquiries regarding this matter may be referred to

Deputy Registrar – Professional Affairs (Telephone: 012 420-1059)

OR

Manager – Examination/Registration Section (Telephone: 012 420-1044)

Email: [email protected]

Your cooperation in this regard will be appreciated.

(Signed)
S A Mchunu (Ms)
for Registrar and Chief Executive Officer

© 2004 - 2020 South African Nursing Council (Under the provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005)

Disclaimer

7 May 2007

Appointment of Acting Registrar and CEO of the South African Nursing Council

The term of office of the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the South African Nursing Council came to an end on 31 March 2007.  Consequently, the Acting Minister of Health, Minister J T Radebe, has appointed and Acting Registrar and CEO to serve the Nursing Council until such time as a new Registrar is appointed.  The appointment was made in terms of Section 18(1) of the Nursing Act, 2005 (Act No. 33 of 2005).

Ms Thandi Manganye was appointed as Acting Registrar and CEO of the South African Nursing Council on 10 April 2007.  Ms Manganye has served on the Nursing Council for some years as a Council Member and is therefore well acquainted with the requirements of her new position.

Signed
Herman Dikobe
For Acting Registrar and Chief Executive Officer 

© 2004 - 2020 South African Nursing Council (Under the provisions of the Nursing Act, 2005)

Disclaimer