MoH threatens to expel nursing students over TikTok videos in uniform

By: Godbless Asaana
The Ministry of Health’s Health Training Institutions (HTI) Directorate has warned nursing and midwifery trainees against creating social media content while wearing their official uniforms, threatening disciplinary action, including expulsion from school, for those who violate the directive.

The Acting Head of Health Training Institutions, Tony Goodman, issued the warning at the 2026 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Session of the Nurse and Midwife Educators’ Society in Takoradi, where he expressed concern that the use of professional uniforms for online entertainment could undermine the dignity and public confidence of the nursing and midwifery professions.

Goodman disclosed that the Directorate, in collaboration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), had established monitoring mechanisms to track the online activities of trainees and ensure compliance with professional standards.

“We are going to watch social media now. And if we see you as a student using uniforms to be doing those TikTok videos, we will find a way of removing you from the school,” he warned.

He stressed the need for strict enforcement of professional standards, saying the Directorate was determined to ensure that current trainees upheld the integrity of the profession for future generations.

“We have decided that we must be strict, we must be serious about what we are doing. Otherwise, the generations that will come after us will say these people didn’t do anything, and that is not what we want,” he added.

Beyond the issue of social media conduct, Mr. Goodman condemned allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation involving male educators and female trainees in health training institutions.

He described such conduct as a serious concern within the public service, noting that it had generated dissatisfaction among parents and members of the public.

“It is a serious matter in the public service. People are not happy with that, parents are not happy,” he stated.

Mr. Goodman urged tutors and institutional administrators to uphold professional ethics and protect students entrusted to their care, warning against the abuse of authority and the exploitation of female trainees.

“Please, you cannot be training and be damaging. Please, there are a lot of women in town. There are a lot of them in town, not the ones we have brought to you to train,” he said.

The HTI Directorate reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening discipline, protecting trainees from misconduct and ensuring that health training institutions across the country maintain high ethical and professional standards.