Who is a CHEW Nurse?

A CHEW Nurse is a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) who is part of nursing in healthcare in Nigeria, the people who went to the School of Health Technology are called chew nurses. There are other courses in the School of Health Technology. They also play a crucial role just like every other nurse in the delivery of basic health services and the promotion of healthy living practices in rural and underserved communities. Their work is mainly in rural areas where there are no doctors.

They act as doctors in rural areas and contribute a lot to the immunization of children.

However, CHEW Nurses play a vital role in ensuring that people in rural areas get basic health services including preventive health education, immunization, maternal and child health services, family planning, and basic curative services.

They are seen as the angels in the rural areas where they operate in government health centers as Nurses. The people in the rural areas have great respect for them. These government health centers hardly have medical doctors, the chew nurses fill in the gap.

Application for CHEW

To apply for CHEW, the requirements are as follows:

• You should possess five (5) passes in English, Mathematics, Biology or Health Science and any other two (2) subjects in WAEC/GCE or NECO at not more than two sittings, and must be domiciled in the local government area.
• You should be on the lookout on when the form will be available for sale by communicating with anybody in the school, or visit the school portal often.
• Prepare yourself for the entrance exams, it’s sometimes handwritten.
• Prepare for the oral interview

Duration to study CHEW

2 years for JCHEW and 3 years for CHEW.

Determinant exam into Jchew or chew

After admission, there will be an exam to determine the category in which a student falls into. This exam is graded based on performance. Those who score above the benchmarks are separated from those who score below the cut-off mark, while others who fail woefully will be forced to leave the school.

Senior CHEW

The Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) is a member of the health team for Primary Health Care (PHC).

The Community Health Extension Worker will live in or close to the community in which he/she is posted. He or she has the responsibility of supervising the Junior Community Health Extension Workers (JCHEW), the Community Health Extension Workers in training, the Volunteer Village Health Workers, and the Traditional Birth Attendants. He or she is to be supervised by the Community Health Officer (CHO) at the Local Government.

Junior CHEW

The Junior Community Health Extension Worker is a member of the Ward Health Team who works directly with the government. He is employed by the Government, posted to the Health Center under the Local Government, and is expected to spend his working time in the community where he is posted. He is supervised by the Senior Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW). Both of them work in the same Health center.

Uniform of CHEWs

Uniforms of chews are different from other Nurses. They are known for their ash-colored skirts and white suit-like white whereas others may appear in white gowns.

Salary of CHEWs in Nigeria

The salary of CHEWs varies from grade to grade. The start grade is a grade level 2 or 4, and the salary is above the Nigerian minimum wage for workers above 30k, and it increases as the person gets a promotion. They are paid well than other Local Government workers in the State. The Senior CHEWs earn more than the JCHEWs, and the Chief Nurses earn more than the Senior CHEWs whose salaries are above 200k, whereas the JCHEWs or CHEWs at grade 9 or below grade 9 earn above 100k.

Some CHEW Nurses have their private maternities where they also earn on a daily basis.

The salary of chews in Kano, Abuja, Owerri, Kaduna, etc. might be different due to some environmental factors. People in the North tend to work with some NGOs even while working with the Government, and earn higher. So, CHEWs are paid well in Nigeria.

What are the functions of CHEW nurses?

Chew Nurses provide Integrated Primary Health Care services to their host rural areas.

They organize and run Integrated Primary Health Care Services where the Community Health Officer or Medical Doctor is not available. These include:

1. They give Health Education concerning the prevention and control of prevailing problems in rural areas.
2. Promoting water supply and basic sanitation. They sensitize the people to water purity, and to keep their environment neat in rural areas.
3. Maternal and child health, including reproductive health, e.g. provision of antenatal care and delivery of normal pregnancy, postnatal care and specified reproductive health services.
4. Providing immunization services. They are the ones who go to homes, private hospitals, churches, mosques, parks, schools, etc immunizing children when the need arises such as meningitis, polio, etc.
5. Managing logistics and cold chain systems in rural areas.
6. Carrying out of equipment sterilization according to established protocol.
7. Treatment of common sicknesses, diseases, and injuries. They also refer cases beyond the availability of their equipment to General or Specialist hospitals.
8. Performing simple laboratory tests and examinations e.g. RDT, hemoglobin estimation, stool and urine testing etc. They work with Caritas and other NGOs in managing HIV, and other diseases.
9. Keeping and checking that clinic equipment are in safe and good working order.
10. Promoting mental and dental health.
11. They collect and collate monitoring and evaluation data for the National Health Information System (NHIS) from the Community Facility and forward to the Ward level.
12. Carry out with the Community Health Officer (where available) the day-to-day administration of health services in the target population.