UNTH Post Basic Perioperative Nursing admission is open only to registered nurses: the school at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, is a post-basic school that trains nurses for theatre work before, during and after surgery. Candidates are selected by the school’s own entrance exam, which UNTH last scheduled for 7 to 9 August 2024 before postponing it. There is no JAMB requirement and no cut-off mark, and UNTH has not published a full list of requirements, a fee or 2026/2027 dates for this school.
2027/2028 update: UNTH Post Basic Perioperative Nursing admission requirements and entrance exam process usually stay the same from one year to the next, so the rules on this page are what 2027/2028 candidates should plan with. They come from the latest official information (UNTH’s school pages and notices up to 2026). If the 2027/2028 notice changes anything, we will update this page.
Because the perioperative school’s own page is thin, I have set what UNTH has confirmed beside the rules its sister post-basic schools publish. Those rules are the best guide to what you should have ready. You will also find the school’s history and NMCN status, how UNTH runs post-basic applications, and a document checklist.
UNTH Post Basic Perioperative Nursing admission requirements at a glance
| Item | Latest position | Source and status |
|---|---|---|
| Who can apply | Registered nurses (post-basic programme) | UNTH Schools page; NMCN listing as Post Basic |
| Focus | Pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative nursing care | UNTH Schools page |
| Selection | Entrance exam (2024 exam set for 7 to 9 August, then postponed) | UNTH notice, 4 August 2024 |
| O’level, experience, fee | Not published for this school | See the comparison table below |
| Duration | Not stated on current pages; the first set (March 1988) graduated in March 1989 | UNTH perioperative school page |
| Intake | 40 a year since October 2010 (school page); NMCN quota 30 (August 2022 list) | Figures differ |
| NMCN status | Post Basic Peri-Operative: Full (December 2018) | NMCN list, December 2025 |
| JAMB / cut-off | Not used / none | Post-basic programme |
| Parent body | College of Nursing Sciences, UNTH | UNTH news, October 2024 |
What UNTH’s other post-basic schools require
UNTH’s perioperative pages do not list O’level subjects or experience. Two UNTH post-basic schools that also train nurses for specialist hospital units do, and their rules are nearly identical. Prepare to meet them; treat this as advice, not a published perioperative rule.
| Requirement | Nurse Anaesthetist (2026/2027 notice) | Ophthalmic Nursing (UNTH page) |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Registered nurse, current practising licence | Registered nurse, current practising licence |
| Experience | 2 years post-qualification, ICU or theatre preferred | At least 2 years |
| O’level credits | English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology | English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology; max two sittings |
| Medical fitness | Not stated | Certificate from a government hospital |
| Form | Online, www.unthportal.org | Sold from February |
If you already have two years on the wards, a current licence and those five credits, you are covered whichever way the perioperative school words its next advert. Theatre or surgical ward experience will also help at the interview, since the course trains you for the operating suite.
The perioperative entrance exam: timing and what to expect
The only dated exam notice UNTH has published for this school is from 4 August 2024: the entrance exam set for 7 to 9 August 2024 was postponed, with a new date “to be communicated in due course”. So the exam has run in the middle of the year, and UNTH announces changes on its website; check it in the weeks before any exam date.
| What | Confirmed | Not published |
|---|---|---|
| Exam period | Set for 7 to 9 August in 2024, then postponed | 2026/2027 or 2027/2028 dates |
| Exam format | Entrance exam | Subjects, number of questions, pass mark |
| Interview | Normal at UNTH post-basic schools (anaesthesia uses written, oral and interview) | Whether perioperative adds an oral stage |
| Fee | None published | Form price |
For revision, I would cover surgical asepsis and sterilisation, theatre layout and safety, positioning of patients, instruments and their care, wound healing, fluid balance, and post-operative observation and complications. Expect interview questions about any theatre or surgical ward experience you have.
Worked example (illustrative)
- Applicant: Adaobi registered as a nurse in 2023 and has worked on a surgical ward for three years. Her licence is current.
- Published rule: she is a registered nurse, which is the condition UNTH’s perioperative pages imply.
- Sister-school rules: she has more than two years of experience and credits in all five sciences and English from WAEC and NECO, so she passes the anaesthesia and ophthalmic tests too.
- Plan: she gets a letter of service showing her surgical ward work, checks the UNTH portal monthly from March, and revises theatre practice for a mid-year exam.
How to apply for UNTH perioperative nursing, step by step
- Keep your NMCN licence current: renew before the form window, and keep the receipt.
- Close any O’level gap: if you lack a credit in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics or English, resit now. UNTH’s other post-basic schools require all five.
- Collect your documents: nursing certificate, NMCN registration and licence, O’level result(s), letter of service, birth certificate and a medical fitness report.
- Watch official channels: UNTH’s website (unth.edu.ng) and the post-basic portal at www.unthportal.org. Buy the form only there.
- Sit the exam: bring your printed slip and original certificates, and check the UNTH site for postponements in the days before.
- Prepare for the course: arrange study leave or sponsorship, and be ready for postings outside UNTH (see below).
Warning
Blog pages selling a “UNTH Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing form” through a phone number are not from UNTH. Post-basic forms at UNTH are sold on its own portal, and any change to exam dates is posted on unth.edu.ng.
About the UNTH Perioperative Nursing School
Training started on 15 March 1988 with 26 students, and the first class graduated in March 1989. The course was first called Theatre Nursing; the coordinator’s office renamed it the School of Perioperative Nursing in February 1991. UNTH credits Mrs M. Ejikeme and Dr O. O. Mbonu, then Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, with starting it. Intake rose from 30 to 40 students with the set that began in October 2010.
The school is now part of UNTH’s College of Nursing Sciences. In October 2024 UNTH reported its students’ week, with Mrs Chizoba Mbah as school coordinator and the launch of a student magazine, The Scrub.
Where you train
- UNTH’s own theatres at Ituku-Ozalla.
- National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu.
- Park Lane Hospital, Enugu.
- The district hospital at Obiagu.
The school page listed seven nurse educators at the time it was written.
Accreditation
UNTH’s own school page still says the school runs on provisional approval, but that text dates from about 2011. The NMCN’s December 2025 list is more recent and shows UNTH’s Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing with full approval dated December 2018. The NMCN legend says full approval lasts five years, so ask the school for its latest approval letter before you commit.
What perioperative nurses do
- Prepare patients for surgery and check consent, fasting and site marking.
- Scrub and circulate during operations, manage instruments and keep the field sterile.
- Monitor patients in recovery and spot early complications.
- Run theatre stock, sterilisation and infection control.
Teaching hospitals, state and mission hospitals and private surgical centres all employ perioperative nurses.
Other post-basic programmes at UNTH
- UNTH Post Basic Nursing Anaesthesia admission requirements
- UNTH Post Basic Cardiothoracic Nursing admission requirements
- UNTH Post Basic Ophthalmic Nursing admission requirements
- UNTH School of Midwifery admission requirements
Not yet a nurse? Start with our UNTH BNSc cut-off mark guide.
Perioperative, anaesthesia or cardiothoracic: which UNTH course fits you?
Theatre nurses often weigh these three UNTH courses against each other. On what UNTH has published, they compare like this:
| Course | Main work after training | Length (UNTH) | NMCN status (Dec 2025 list) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perioperative Nursing | Scrub, circulating and recovery nursing in theatre | Not stated on current pages | Full, December 2018 |
| Nurse Anaesthetist | Giving and monitoring anaesthesia | 18 months | Provisional, June 2021 |
| Cardiothoracic Nursing | Heart and chest surgery, cardiothoracic intensive care | 12 months | Full, February 2021 |
If you enjoy the pace of the operating room and want the widest choice of employers, perioperative nursing is the safest pick, because every surgical unit needs scrub and recovery nurses. Anaesthesia suits nurses who like physiology and drugs and can handle a longer course.
Mistakes perioperative applicants make
- Reading the 2011 accreditation text as current: the NMCN’s 2025 list is the newer record.
- Missing a postponement: the 2024 exam moved at three days’ notice.
- Buying from agents: UNTH sells post-basic forms on its own portal.
- Arriving without a letter of service: the panel will want proof of your ward or theatre experience.
UNTH perioperative nursing: frequently asked questions
Is UNTH post basic perioperative nursing form out for 2027/2028? Not as of 29 October 2026. UNTH had not posted a perioperative advert; check unth.edu.ng and www.unthportal.org.
When is UNTH perioperative nursing entrance exam? UNTH has not announced the next date. The last dated exam notice set it for 7 to 9 August 2024, and that sitting was postponed.
How long is perioperative nursing at UNTH? UNTH’s current pages do not say. Its first set started in March 1988 and graduated in March 1989; confirm the present length in the next advert.
Is UNTH perioperative nursing school accredited? The NMCN’s December 2025 list shows full approval dated December 2018. Ask the school for its current approval letter, because full approval runs for five years.
Sources and updates
The school’s history, intake, training sites and staff come from UNTH’s Peri Operative Nursing School page (last updated June 2020, with text from about 2011). The focus of the course comes from the UNTH Schools page (updated July 2024). The exam postponement is from UNTH’s Entrance Exam Postponement notice (4 August 2024), and the coordinator and college link from UNTH’s report of the perioperative students’ week (6 October 2024). The comparison rules come from UNTH’s Nursing Anaesthesia notice (7 May 2026) and Post Basic Ophthalmic Nursing School page. The NMCN status is from the council’s list of approved schools (December 2025), and the quota of 30 from its August 2022 list. The document list, revision topics and worked example are my advice and illustration. Checked on 29 October 2026; this page will be updated when UNTH advertises the next perioperative intake.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
