Nurse Job Categories, Job Groups and Allowances In Kenya 2024

Well in Kenya, Currently Nursing is one of the best Healthcare Courses. Previously Nursing was once termed to be a ladies attached job unlike the other professions in the same field. Over the years many you might be surprised by how much is the salary for Nurses in Kenya, 

The Average Salary of a Diploma and Licensed Nurse in roughly Ksh 50,000 While for BSc Nurses their salary Averages at around Ksh 70,000.

In this post we will review the different Job Groups of Nurses in Kenya, the different nurse allowances in Kenya, and salary comparisons.

The nursing profession in Kenya is important as it offers the country key health services by which the healthcare sector of the country is almost defined. By 2024 it will be important for aspiring or enhancing a career in nursing Kenya to explore different categories of jobs, groups and allowances available for nurses. This article seeks to review the different categories of nurse job openings, look at the job group classifications and enlighten Kenyan nurses on the allowances that they are likely to encounter on the job as they seek to establish a new future for nursing profession in their country. 

 Overview of the Nursing Profession in Kenya

Nursing is one of the esteemed and distinguished occupations in Kenya and widely demanded too. Given the current trend of health care needs where more people are seeking health care services and especially those living in the rural areas and other hard to reach areas, the role of nurses has never been felt in this generation. Nurses perform the role of healers while also playing crucial roles in prevention, education and promotion of health among communities. There are hierarchical categories and job groups that define the nursing profession in Kenya including the roles that they are expected to play as well as the remuneration they are likely to receive. 

Nurse Job Categories in Kenya 

Clinical Nurses

The details are that nursing is the foundation of Kenyan health care sector and clinical nurses in specific. They serve with patients in different health facilities including hospitals, clinics, and community health centers. Clinical nurses involved in the assessment of the patients health status and the management of medications, treatments and services that are required for addressing the patients’ condition and care needs as well as working alongside other clinicians. 

Key Areas for specialization of clinical Nurses in Kenya

• Kenya Registered Psychiatric Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Peri-operative Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Ophthalmology Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Paediatric Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Critical Care Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Accident & Emergency Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Neonatal Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Nephrology Nursing
• Kenya Registered Anaesthetic Nursing, 
• Kenya Registered Palliative Nursing

 Nurse Administrators 

Leadership work in health-care organizations 

The role of the nurse administrators include the supervision of the nursing employees, managing of the health facilities and entities, and tasked with the upholding of the achievement of standard nursing care. There occupy high positions in health sectors such as hospitals, clinics and other health care institutions they allocate budgets and recruit staffs as well as formulate policies. 

Responsibilities and Implications to Practice of Nursing 

Nurse administrators make changes to policies that affect the practice of nursing, increase clients’ benefits and enrich the method through which healthcare is delivered. It central role is to enhance the clarity and quality of health care services delivery. 

Key specializations for Nurse Administrators 

• Masters degree in Nursing with specialization in Nurse administration.
• Doing a Phd in Nursing,
• Doing a short course in leadership and management can be beneficial.
• Doing a short course in Health system Management can be beneficial.

Nurse Educators 

Responsibilities in Training and Education

Are you nurse or are you aspiring to be a nurse and you are passionate about sharing your knowledge with the young people willing to become great nurse in the future? Or are you a practicing nurse willing to further your education in the education sector? Then this is your great area of interest. Being a nurse educator, you can earn a living from it in so many ways. Away from becoming a lecturer/ Nursing Tutor you can earn an income from different pathways, one you can begin your own online class for short nursing courses for example those give a nurse CPD points for license renewal or coach students for Final examinations. For example Mary went to Kenya Medical Training College did her Diploma in Kenya registered Nursing thereafter she practiced for three years which she felt that she had more needs compared to what she was earning from her employer (a Government hospital) then she went o further to look for means of supplementing her income, that's when she realized she could earn a living from tutoring.

At the moment Mary owns one of the big freelance nurse platform where is the tutor and a CEO, during an interview with her, she said she no longer regrets quitting her government job and start her own business, we asked her the amount of money she was making from the business, though she didn't disclose the exact amount she was making from it, Mary gave an average of the earning whereby on a bad month she could make Atleast Ksh 120,000 while on a good month she could go up to Ksh 400,00.

Collaboration with Academic Institutions

A great set of making an income is collaborating with Nursing schools, Joshua an experienced nurse with over 8 Years as a registered clinical nurse serving at Thika Level 5 hospital had passion in himself, The Passion and dedication in himself never knew would be a game changer in his nursing practice, Joshua, after 3 years of practice realized that he had a talent of doing nursing education, a talent that was identified by his friends in a Continuous medical Education session in the hospital, later He would engage medical interns, nursing students from different schools for practical trainings and the trainees claimed to understand much better their lecturers where teaching them, This Motivated him further to reveal the unknown greatness with his talent. At the Moment Joshua is a contracted clinical instructor 4 Medical schools, each medical school pays him Ksh 2000 per training session per day. In a quick math, away from the Joshua's monthly salary, He pockets Ksh 8000 per day which translates to Ksh 40,000 per week, then Ksh 160,000 Per month. With This Joshua doesn't feel the pinch of the Economy.

From the Joshua's story it's clear that you don't require a medical education specialization in order to make more as  a Nurse, There are so Many unexploited opportunities for Nurses.

Nursing Job Groups In Kenya

Nursing Job Group Overview

Nursing career growth in the government sector is graded in terms of Job Groups which is factor in by the level of education, experience and specialization.
We have the Entry level Job Groups, Mid-Level Job Groups and Senior Level Job Groups.

Based on Education Level we have:

• Enrolled Nurses
• Registered Nurses
• Nursing  Officers.

Enrolled Nurses Job Groups In Kenya

We have 5 Job Groups for Enrolled Nurses. Namely Job Group G, H, J, K and L.  Job Group G being the entry point and L is the Maximum Point one can reach as an Enrolled Nurse.

This Table is Exclusive of Allowances For allowances check in the sections below.

ENROLLED NURSES JOB GROUPS	BASIC MONTHLY SALARY
Job Group G	Ksh 22,270
Job Group H	Ksh 25,470
Job Group J	Ksh 31,270
Job Group K	Ksh 38,270
Job Group L	Ksh 42,970

Enrolled Nurse III  Job Group G Salary in Kenya.

This is the entry point for enrolled Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 22,270 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Certificate in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages

Enrolled Nurse II Job Group H Salary in Kenya.

This is the second job group for enrolled nurses.

The basic salary for this job group is Ksh 25,470

For Appointment for to this job group you need the following:

• Served in Job Group G for a minimum of 3 years
• Shown merit and ability as reflected in work performance
• And all other requirements for Job Group G

Enrolled Nurse I Job Group J Salary in Kenya.

This is the third Job group for enrolled nurses in Kenya.

The basic salary for this job group is Ksh 31, 270

For Appointment into this Job group you need the following:

• Served in Job Group H for a minimum of 3 years
• Shown merit and ability as reflected in work performance
• And all other requirements for Job Group H

Senior Enrolled Nurse II Job Group K Salary in Kenya.

This is the fourth Job group for enrolled nurses in Kenya.

The basic salary for this job group is Ksh 38, 270

For Appointment into this Job group you need the following:

• Served in Job Group J for a minimum of 3 years
• Shown merit and ability as reflected in work performance
• And all other requirements for Job Group J

Senior Enrolled Nurse I Job Group L Salary in Kenya.

This is the fifth Job group and the senior most job grade for enrolled nurses in Kenya.

The basic salary for this job group is Ksh 42,970

For Appointment into this Job group you need the following:

• Served in Job Group K for a minimum of 3 years
• Shown merit and ability as reflected in work performance
• And all other requirements for Job Group K

So you need Atleast 15 Years to jump from Job Group  G to job L if you are an enrolled Nurse.

Registered Nurses Job Groups in Kenya

Registered Nurses (RN) have 7 Job groups which range from Job group H being their entry Point to Job Group P their senior most Job Group in the service.

The Table below illustrates the different Basic salaries for different job groups in the Registered Nurses.

REGISTERED NURSES JOB GROUPS	BASIC MONTHLY SALARY
JOB GROUP H	Ksh 25,470
JOB GROUP J	Ksh 31,270
JOB GROUP K	Ksh 38,270
JOB GROUP L	Ksh 42,970
JOB GROUP M	Ksh 49,000
JOB GROUP N	Ksh 56,370
JOB GROUP P	Ksh 87,360

Registered Nurse III  Job Group H Salary in Kenya.

This is the entry point for Registered Nurses or Diploma in Nursing.
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 25,470 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Diploma in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages

Registered Nurse II  Job Group J Salary in Kenya.

This is the second point for Registered Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 31,270 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Diploma in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in job group H served for a minimum of 3 years.
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages

Registered Nurse I  Job Group K Salary in Kenya.

This is the third point for Registered Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 38,270 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Certificate in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group J for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages

Senior Registered Nurse Job Group L Salary in Kenya.

This is the fourth point for Registered Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 42,970 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Diploma in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group K for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.

Chief Registered Nurse Job Group M Salary in Kenya.

This is the fifth point for Registered Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 49,000 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Diploma in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group L for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.

Principal Registered Nurse Job Group N Salary in Kenya.

This is the sixth point for Registered Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 56,370 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Diploma in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group M for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Shown a degree of ability to lead.

Senior Principal Registered Nurse Job Group P Salary in Kenya.

This is the seventh point for Registered Nurses
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 87,360 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Diploma in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group N for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Shown ability and degree to lead.

OR 

• Higher Diploma in Nursing

Nursing Officer Job Groups in Kenya

Nursing Officer (NO) have 8 Job groups which range from Job group K being their entry Point to Job Group S their senior most Job Group in the service.

The Table below illustrates the different Basic salaries for different job groups in the Nursing Officer.

NURSING OFFICER Job GROUPS	BASIC MONTHLY SALARY
JOB GROUP K	Ksh 38,270
JOB GROUP L	Ksh 42,970
JOB GROUP M	Ksh 49,000
JOB GROUP N	Ksh 56,370
JOB GROUP P	Ksh 87,360
JOB GROUP Q	Ksh 99,000
JOB GROUP R	Ksh 121, 430
JOB GROUP S	Ksh 133, 870

Nursing Officer Job Group K Salary in Kenya.  Also the Nurse Intern  Salary

This is the entry point for Nursing Officer or Bachelors degree in Nursing.

And Also the Nurse Interns in Kenya are placed in this Job Group.
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 38,270 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.

Senior Nursing Officer Job Group L Salary in Kenya.

This is the second point for Nursing officers
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 42,970 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group K for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.

Chief Nursing Officer Job Group M Salary in Kenya.

This is the third point for Nursing Officers.
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 49,000 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group L for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.

Principal Nursing Officer Job Group N Salary in Kenya.

This is the fourth point for Nursing Officers
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 56,370 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group M for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Certificate in Senior Management Course
• Shown a degree of ability to lead.

Assistant Director Nursing Services Job Group P Salary in Kenya.

This is the fifth point for Nursing Officers
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 87,360 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group N for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Certificate in Senior Management Course
• Shown ability and degree to lead.
• Masters Degree In Nursing

Senior Director Nursing Services Job Group Q Salary in Kenya.

This is the sixth point for Nursing Officers
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 99,900 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group Q for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Shown ability and degree to lead.
• Certificate in Senior Management Course
• Masters Degree In Nursing
  
• Higher Diploma in Nursing

Deputy Director Nursing Services Job Group R Salary in Kenya.

This is the seventh point for Nursing Officers
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 121, 430 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group Q for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Certificate in Senior Management Course
• Shown ability and degree to lead.
• Masters Degree In Nursing
• Higher Diploma in Nursing

Director Nursing Services Job Group S Salary in Kenya.

This is the fifth point for Nursing Officers
The Basic salary for this Job Group is Ksh 133,870 Per Month exclusive of Allowances.
For Appointment to this Job Group one needs the following:

• Bachelors degree in Nursing from recognized institutions
• Served in Job Group R for a minimum of 3 years
• Registration certificate from Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK)
• Valid Practice License 
• Certificate in Computer packages.
• Certificate in Senior Management Course
• Shown ability and degree to lead.
• Masters Degree In Nursing
• Higher Diploma in Nursing