Starting August 23 US oks NCLEX testing in Manila

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) announced recently that the NCLEX testing for foreign nurses in Manila will begin August 23 at the international Pearson Professional Center. The scheduling for the tests started last July 13.

Passing the NCLEX test is a requirement for obtaining the license to practice nursing in the United States and its territories.

The NCLEX test is administered by the NCSBN, a not-for-profit organization composed of the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four US territories.

According to the NCSBN release, its Board of Directors decided to open the NCLEX test center in Manila “because of the deep commitment shown by the Philippine government to ensuring a secure test center.”

Despite being the largest number of foreign NCLEX test-takers, Filipino RNs had to travel abroad to take the exam either in the US or other previously designated international test sites.

Beginning January 2005, the NCLEX has authorized the establishment of international test sites in such places as London, in the UK; Hong Kong; Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in Canada; Frankfurt, Germany; Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai in India; Mexico City; Taipei, Taiwan;Chiyoda-ku and Yokohama in Japan.

The Philippines had been conspicuously bypassed in the international test site designation, even as NCLEX statistics indicate that Philippine-educated RNs comprise more than 30 percent of first-time foreign NCLEX test takers since 2003.

The NCSBN explained that the Philippines was not able to meet the test site selection criteria which included national and test security issues.

Notwithstanding the nurse licensure scandal that rocked the Philippine nursing profession in June 2006, the Philippine government and groups such as the Philippine Nurses Association of America, relentlessly persuaded the NCSBN that an NCLEX test site must be set up in the Philippines. The NCSBN announced in February that it has decided to establish this year the much-awaited Manila test site.

NCLEX exam statistics ending March 2007 show that the Philippines still leads the top five nurse sending countries to the US which included India, South Korea, Canada and Cuba. Filipino nurses are estimated to constitute over 80 percent of the foreign-educated nurses in the US.

The NCSBN release also said, all international candidates are required to apply to the board of nursing in the state or territory where they wish to be licensed before registering for the NCLEX examination.(PR)