IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW NURSING QUALIFICATIONS REGISTERED ON THE NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK (NQF)

(a)    Professional nurse

(b)    Midwife (c)    Staff nurse (d)    Auxiliary nurse (e)    Auxiliary midwife

1. National Certificate: Auxiliary Nursing. This qualification leads to registration as an auxiliary nurse. This qualification is recorded as level 3 of the NQF and will therefore be offered by accredited Further Education & Training Institutions (FETIs).
2. National Diploma: Nursing. This qualification leads to registration as a staff nurse
3. Bachelor of Nursing. This qualification leads to registration as a professional nurse
4. Masters Certificate: Nursing (16 electives)
5. Masters of Nursing (degree) (17 electives) The seventeenth elective in this qualification is research, an essential for a masters degree qualification.

5.1    Elective 1: Orthopaedic Nursing 5.2    Elective 2: Operating Theatre Nursing 5.3    Elective 3: Palliative and Oncology Nursing 5.4    Elective 4: Ophthalmic Nursing 5.5    Elective 5: Emergency Nursing 5.6    Elective 6: Occupational Health Nursing 5.7    Elective 7: Nephrology Nursing 5.8    Elective 8: Paediatric Nursing 5.9    Elective 9: Critical Care Nursing (adult) 5.10  Elective 10: Critical Care Nursing 5.11  Elective 11: Psychiatric Nursing 5.12  Elective 12: Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing 5.13  Elective 13: Community Health Nursing 5.14  Elective 14: Nursing and Health Services Management 5.15  Elective 15: Nursing Education 5.16  Elective 16: Family Practice

2.1.    PHASING-OUT OF THE LEGACY NURSING QUALIFICATIONS 

The following qualifications that existed prior to the creation of the NQF are recorded as legacy qualifications on the NQF:

2.1.1.    Course leading to Enrolment as Nursing Auxiliary. This qualification is replaced by the National Certificate: Auxiliary Nursing.

2.1.2.    Course leading to Enrolment as a Nurse. This qualification has no equivalent replacement.

2.1.3.    Bridging Course for Enrolled Nurses leading to registration as a Nurse. This qualification has no replacement.

2.1.4.    Course for the Diploma in Midwifery for registration as a Midwife. This qualification has no replacement.

2.1.5.    Course for the Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing for registration as a Psychiatric Nurse. This qualification has no replacement.

2.1.6.    Comprehensive Nursing leading to registration as a Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife. This qualification is replaced by the Bachelor of Nursing

2.1.7.    Course for the Diploma in Nursing Administration.

2.1.8.    Course for the Diploma in Unit Management for Registered Nurses.

2.1.9.    Course for registration of an additional qualification in Nursing Education.

2.1.10.    Course for the Diploma in Community Health Nursing.

2.1.11.    Course leading to registration as a Nurse(General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife.

2.1.12.    Course for the Diploma in Clinical Nursing Science, Health Assessment, Treatment and Care.

2.1.13.    Post-basic qualifications. These are replaced by the sixteen electives in the Masters Certificate: Nursing and Masters of Nursing that will yield a professional registration in a specialized area of practice.

The expiry date of registration of the above-mentioned legacy qualifications on the NQF is 30 June 2010.

2.2    IMPLICATIONS FOR PROVIDERS THAT WERE APPROVED FOR THE ABOVE-MENTIONED LEGACY QUALIFICATIONS IN TERMS OF THE NURSING ACT, 1978 (Act No. 50 of 1978) 

The final intake date for the legacy qualifications by the approved providers of nursing education and training is 30 June 2010. Providers will not admit any learner for a legacy qualification after this final intake date.

Further, the Council will not register or enroll any person for a legacy qualification, who commences education and training after 30 June 2010. 

The teach-out period (end achievement date) for all legacy qualifications will be the prescribed duration of the course of study, with an allowance of an additional period not exceeding two years for learners who were registered or enrolled by 30 June 2010.

3.1.    BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

Providers wishing to offer a learning programme for any of the new qualifications registered on the NQF that lead to registration of a person in a category stipulated in section 31 of the Nursing Act, 2005, must apply for accreditation to the South African Nursing Council. Although providers may commence with the development of their curricula based on the qualifications requirements, the SANC can only assess and evaluate the curricula for the new qualifications once the regulatory prescripts for registration of a person in terms of section 31 of the Nursing Act, 2005, are in place.

SANC will therefore not accept any applications for accreditation from providers prior to the finalization of these regulatory prescripts.

SANC is currently finalizing the regulations that prescribe the minimum requirements for each of the categories of nurse provided for in section 31 of the Nursing Act, 2005 as well as the regulations that prescribe the accreditation standards, criteria and requirements that providers must comply with.

Without these regulations, SANC is unable to accredit any provider to offer any new qualification registered on the NQF as these regulations are aligned to the new categories of nurse and the new scopes of practice which require the minimum requirements to be prescribed in regulations. SANC anticipates that the new regulations will be in place by the third quarter of 2009.

The implementation date for the new qualifications registered on the NQF will be in and around 2011 and as this date is dependent on the availability of the regulations mentioned earlier, the actual date in 2011 will be published in a notice in the Government Gazette.

3.2    IMPLICATIONS FOR PROVIDERS OF BASIC NURSING QUALIFICATIONS

Providers that intend to offer any of the above-mentioned qualifications may commence with curriculum development using the content of the qualification, with the understanding that regulations will provide new prescripts for education and training requirements of each of the affected training programmes.

Regulations for basic qualifications are currently in progress but not yet promulgated.

The curriculum for each new qualification will have to be in line with the above-mentioned regulations that relate to minimum requirements for education and training for each category of nurse provided for in section 31 of the Nursing Act, 2005 and regulations relating to accreditation of institutions as nursing institutions, once these are promulgated.

NB:    During the interim period Council will not accept or review any curricula until the regulations are finalized.

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

Disclaimer

15 January 2009

Update on Community Service

A number of issues have arisen as a result of nurses who are completing Community Service. South African Nursing Council urges you to take note of the matters clarified below as this will reduce the confusion and resulting delays.

What happens on completion of Community Service

Once a nurse has completed the 12 month period of Community Service, he/she may be registered as Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife. In order for these registrations to be effected, the correct procedure must be followed.

1. The head of the public health establishment must submit a completion report with a declaration signed by both the head of the establishment and Provincial Coordinator for Community Service to the Nursing Council.
2. The completion report referred to in 1 (above) must be submitted on the form obtainable from the Nursing Council for that purpose. Forms can also be downloaded and printed from the Nursing Council website (www.sanc.co.za).
3. The completion report must be submitted to the Nursing Council within 30 days of completion of community service.
4. Registration fees of R300-00 must be paid to the Council (R150-00 for registration in the category Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and R150-00 for registration in the category Midwife).

Please note that some nurses paid additional registration fees to cover these amounts at the time when they were registered in the category Community Service. Others may have paid part of the additional registration fees at that time. PLEASE CHECK BEFORE MAKING PAYMENT!

If all of the community service requirements mentioned above are in order, the Nursing Council will delete the registration in the category Community Service from its register and will register the practitioner as Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife with effect from the end of the month in which Community Service was completed.

Annual Practising Certificates – Query regarding the expiry date shown in respect of registration in the category Community Service

There have been a number of queries about the expiry date of the Community Service registration as shown on the Annual Practising Certificate for 2009. These nurses commenced Community Service on 1 January 2008 and if everything has gone well will have completed Community Service on 31 December 2008. Given this situation, the query is then raised as to why the Annual Practising Certificate shows the expiry date of the Community Service registration as 31 December 2009?

In fact, 31 December 2009 is quite correct. The reason is simply that a nurse is given TWO years in which to complete the period of community service – and is registered in that capacity for the full two year period (i.e. in this case from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009).

SANC will continue to show the end of the TWO year period as the expiry date of the Community Service registration until such time as the completion of Community Service record is received by the Council.

Annual Practising Certificates – “Updating” is not generally a necessity under the Nursing Act, 2005

Nurses doing Community Service who have already paid the Annual Fee for 2009 will have been issued an Annual Practising Certificate that shows that they are registered in the category Community Service. When these nurses complete their Community Service and are registered as Nurse (General, Psychiatric and Community) and Midwife, they may feel that it is necessary to update their Annual Practising Certificate to reflect these new categories. In fact, some employers may insist on this “updating”.

This is generally unnecessary. The Nursing Act, 2005 makes it quite clear that a registration certificate is proof of registration for a period of 12 months from the date of registration shown on the certificate. For nurses who are completing Community Service at the end of December, 2008, the certificates of registration in the categories Nurse and Midwife will be dated 31 December 2008 and will be proof of registration in these categories up to 31 December 2009.

Signed
Hasina Subedar
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer 

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

Disclaimer

4 December 2008

South African Nursing Council – Year End Closure

22 December 2008 – 2 January 2009

The South African Nursing Council (SANC) offices will be closed at the year end from 22 December 2008 to 2 January 2009.

The SANC offices will reopen at 08:00 on 5 January 2009.

Kindly inform all persons in your institutions so that they are aware in advance of the dates the Council will be closed.

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this arrangement may cause you.

Signed
Ms H Subedar

Registrar and CEO
S A Nursing Council

Contact person regarding enquiries about this circular:  Ms Party-day Moloi

Telephone 012 426 9542

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

Disclaimer

17 November 2008

South African Nursing Council
Examination Schedule – 2009

Click here to see the Examination Schedule for 2009.

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 for entry into the Council examinations that meet the following requirements:

a)    submitted on the Council’s Application for Examination Form which is completed in full and signed by the relevant person(s).  (The name/s and surname as appearing in the identity document.)

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 SANC requests the NEIs not to coerse the invigilator/s to enclose the practical mark sheet or any other document with the Examination package.

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

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

9. 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
HASINA SUBEDAR
REGISTRAR & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
THE S A NURSING COUNCIL 

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

Disclaimer

8 September 2008

Increases in Nursing Council Fees

South African Nursing Council has contained the increase to its fees for the last two years. Due to factors beyond our control we regret to inform you that it has become necessary to increase fees at this time. The decision of Council to increase fees was influenced largely by inflation and the new legislative requirements which placed a drastic increase in resource demands on the Council. The Nursing Act, 2005 promulgated in February 2008 has imposed a number of new regulatory responsibilities and processes which must be performed by the Nursing Council and fulfillment of these require an increase of resources to establish.

Examples of additional regulatory responsibilities include:

	Implement new categories of nurses and scopes of practice;
	Introduce a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system for nursing;
	Institute an appeals mechanism; and
	Expand the investigation role of Nursing Council to include cases of poor quality of nursing in institutions.

Nursing Council wishes to assure stakeholders that it is committed to a programme of continuous improvement of service delivery through systems improvement and the use of technology. We have also ensured that the increased fees remain in line with or lower than all other professional fees for health workers in South Africa.

Notice of Increase in Fees

You are hereby notified that increases in South African Nursing Council fees have been published in Government Gazette No. 31374 dated 5 September 2008. This circular contains details of all the increased fees and the dates from which they will be applied.

Copies of Government Gazette No. 31374 of 5 September 2008 are attached to this circular for your information. Copies of the Government Gazette can be purchased from the Government Printers.

Annual Fees for 2009 will increase from 1 October 2008

The Annual Fees for 2009 will increase from the date of publication of the notice in the Gazette. For practical purposes, the increased Annual Fees for 2009 will be payable for all amounts received on or after Wednesday 1 October 2008.

This means that in respect of payments for 2009 Annual Fees made prior to 1 October 2008:

1. A person who has paid the annual fee (in full) prior to the above date will not have to pay the difference between the old and the new fees.

2. If fees have been paid via postal services and the posting date on the article is before 1 October 2008, the person will not be expected to pay the difference.

3. If fees have been paid electronically and the payment appears on the Nursing Council bank statement before 1 October 2008, the person will not be expected to pay the difference. In this regard, please check the rules of your own banking institution regarding the effective date for payments made electronically. Council will not make any exceptions in this regard since these rules form part of the electronic banking agreement between the client and the banking institution.

All Restoration Fees will increase from 1 October 2008

The Restoration Fees will increase with effect from Wednesday 1 October 2008.

Other Fees that will increase from 1 October 2008

The following fees will also increase with effect from Wednesday 1 October 2008.

VAT

Please note that the above fees all include VAT at the current rate of 14%.

Signed
Hasina Subedar
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer 

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

Disclaimer

6 August 2008

Reinstatement of Ms Hasina Subedar as Registrar

Following the outcome of the much publicized CCMA case between Ms Hasina Subedar and the South African Nursing Council, Ms Subedar has been reinstated as Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the South African Nursing Council with effect from 1 July 2008.

On behalf of Council, I welcome Ms Subedar back as Registrar and wish her every success as together we strive to achieve the level of service to the public of South Africa envisioned in the new Nursing Act, 2005.

Our heartfelt thanks are extended to the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for seconding Ms Thandi Manganye to the Nursing Council as Acting Registrar during this period. Ms Manganye’s contribution to the Nursing Council is appreciated by both the Council and the Administration. We wish her well as she returns to her post in the National Department of Health.

Signed
Ms N J Makhanya
Chairperson
South African Nursing Council

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

Disclaimer

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