University Expels Nursing Student, Suspends 14 Over Viral Video

Madonna University, Elele Campus in Rivers State, has expelled a final-year nursing student identified as Mercy and suspended 14 other 500-level nursing students over their involvement in a viral TikTok video.

The video showed the students dancing in different areas of a hospital environment, including a waiting area and staircase, as well as inside a bus. Mercy appeared in the opening part of the video dancing in a hospital corridor.

The video was reportedly produced as part of a social media trend involving healthcare workers dancing in clinical settings. It carried a Pidgin English caption warning people not to fall sick because Gen Z workers were now in hospitals.

Mercy was said to have received an expulsion letter from the university during the week, while the other students involved were handed suspension letters.

The video was reportedly uploaded in August before gaining wider attention after being shared by social media blogs in early September. A 15-second version posted by Yabaleftonline on September 1 had attracted more than 1.7 million views on X by Saturday.

By Saturday evening, the TikTok account that originally uploaded the video had been made private, while messages sent directly to the account could not be delivered.

The controversy drew the attention of medical influencer and TikTok content creator Nurse Girma, who called for the university to reconsider the disciplinary action against the students.

Girma said he initially believed the people in the video were already registered nurses but later discovered that they were undergraduate students. He subsequently removed some of his earlier comments and appealed to the university to reconsider Mercy’s expulsion, particularly because she was reportedly in her final year.

According to him, the video had attracted negative reactions from healthcare professionals and renewed calls for stronger regulation of the conduct of nursing students and other healthcare trainees on social media.

The university’s disciplinary action has generated mixed reactions online, with some social media users supporting the sanctions and others calling for leniency.

Those supporting the university’s decision argued that the students had violated institutional rules and acted in a manner that could affect the reputation of the nursing profession. Some also claimed that the students had been asked to remove the video after it began attracting attention but failed to do so.

Other users, however, argued that expulsion was too severe, considering the years the affected students had spent on their nursing education. Some suggested alternative sanctions such as warnings, community service or temporary withholding of academic results.

The National Executive Council of the Nigerian Universities Nursing Students’ Association (NUNSA) also expressed concern over the disciplinary measures.

The association, through its National President, Madu Valentine, and Secretary General, Ogwuche Joy, said it had opened discussions with relevant authorities in an effort to have the decision reviewed.

NUNSA said its intervention was aimed at securing a fair outcome while representing the interests and welfare of the affected students.

The National Association of Nigerian Students also appealed to Madonna University management to reconsider the expulsion and suspensions.

The student body said an expulsion at the final stage of a student’s academic programme could affect their education and future career. It called for less severe disciplinary measures, including the possibility of issuing formal warnings instead.

Madonna University was established as the first private Catholic university in West Africa and operates campuses in Elele, Rivers State; Okija, Anambra State; and Akpugo, Enugu State.

When contacted about the matter, the university’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chima Achu, said the institution would issue an official statement on the disciplinary action on Monday.