BELIZE CITY, Thurs. June 21, 2021– The Nurses and Midwives Council of Belize has issued a public statement to clarify the protocols that are in place for prospective and current nurses and highlighted the need for licenses in order to maintain high standards of competency within Belize’s healthcare system.
Nurses with temporary licenses are now being urged to sit a licensure examination in order to regularize their status in accordance with the Nurses and Midwives Council Registration Act, Revised Edition 2011. The council further denied any allegations of refusing to issue nursing licenses. The release states, “At no point did the Council refuse to issue nursing licenses. The Council issued 57 temporary nursing licenses with expiration dates into 2022/2023, thus all nurses are currently licensed.” This release highlights that unless nurses have successfully sat the licensure exam, they will remain as temporarily licensed until they can complete and pass the exam — meaning those who failed in previous attempts must resit the exam.
The council had initially granted nurses with temporary licenses a grace period of two years to sit the licensure examination, but in light of the pandemic and the huge demand for nurses, the council had approved the extension of the temporary license by one year. This allowed nurses a three-year grace period with four opportunities to sit the licensure examination. While the council is not refusing to supply anyone with a nursing license, the release states, “Note that all Belizean Nurses are required to sit this exam to obtain a license to practice in Belize.”
The need for nurses has been intensified and the number of available nursing personnel has been limited during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has been making an effort to increase the capacity of the local healthcare system by expanding the pool of available nurses through various measures, including allowing nurses to sit exams on a special basis. It has been reported that nurses from overseas who have been hired by the Belizean government to serve within our local healthcare system have often left the country after a limited period of time to access jobs in jurisdictions where they can receive a higher salary or where they are not required to sit a licensure exam. The council asserts, however, that their role is to protect the public through properly vetting nurses and regulating the practice of nursing. This ensures that all nurses are competent and are aligned with the nursing standards, inclusive of proper licensing to practice nursing in Belize.
While the Ministry of Health and Wellness has made efforts to prevent the departure of 35
Filipino nurses from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, including collaborating with the Ministry of Immigration to waive the temporary employment fees that are required for Filipino nurses, the Nurses and Midwives Council of Belize stipulates that nursing licenses remain an requirement to practice in Belize, as guided by the Nurses and Midwives Council Registration
Act.