US may not accept June batch of RP nurses, says group

A group of Filipino nurses in the US expressed apprehension over the chances of the nurses who passed the controversial June licensure examination to get jobs in American hospitals.

Rosario May Mayor, president of the Philippine Nursing Association of America (PNAA), said reports of cheating in the board examination might jeopardize the chances of the June batch for employment in the US.

"The possibility of a blanket denial during visa screening is there," Mayor said.

The visa screen certification is issued by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) to nurses as part of the requirement of the US Homeland Security program.

CGFNS announced last Oct. 26 that the commission is studying if the June batch of nursing board passers in the Philippines will be eligible to take the CGFNS test so that they can qualify for employment in the US.

The CGFNS website showed that last Oct. 22 and 23, its Board of Trustees met and "considered whether the Filipino nurses who have passed the Professional Regulation Commission’s (PRC) June 2006 nursing licensure examination are eligible for Visa Screen Certification."

The commission wanted to know "whether the licensure process was followed in the light of the challenged results of the June 2006 test that is comparable with the requirement for nurses licensed in America."

The Philadelphia-based CGFNS is an "immigration-neutral, non-profit organization and it is the internationally-recognized authority on credentials evaluation pertaining to the education, registration and licensure of nurses and other health care professionals worldwide."

CGFNS accepts applications coming from the June batch but final decision on the Filipino nurses had been deferred.

Mayor said while the nurses could take the National Council Licensure Examination, they will not get immigrant visas "due to the failure to comply with the visa screen requirements."

She said the PNAA supported the retake of the controversial board exam to minimize the damage done by the leakage controversy in the June examination.

Mayor said that if she were an examinee, she would have taken the licensure test given by the PRC this month instead.

"I am saddened by the fact that it has to come to this. The decision made for them (June batch) is destabilizing," she said.

She started working as nurse in the US in 1971 but in 1986, she become involved in hospital management.

At present, she is the director for Performance Improvement at the Department of Veterans Affairs in The Bronx, New York and also a member of the New York State Nurses Association.

She said the Philippines is still a primary source of nurses for the US but if the country’s nursing education would not shape up, India would soon take the edge.

Mayor said they have "anecdotal records" in the US that many nursing students in the Philippines are not getting good training and experience primarily because of the lack of hospitals where they could practice nursing.

"Nursing schools in the Philippines have become a ‘money-making’ venture of certain owners," she added.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) clarified that only local recruitment agencies are authorized to recruit and deploy Filipino health workers to Spain.

POEA Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz said that under an agreement with the Spanish government, only Philippine-based and licensed recruitment agencies are allowed to deploy Filipino workers in Spain.

"In our memorandum of understanding with Spain, the point of hiring and issuance of entry visas and work permits are exclusively in the Philippines," Baldoz said.

Baldoz said there is a modest demand for Filipino health workers in Spain following the signing of agreement that provides for the hiring of Filipino workers with degree in medicine, physical therapy and other related fields.

She said adequate work experience and proficiency in Spanish language are required for all applicants.

Baldoz made the clarification amid reports that agencies based in Spain and other countries abroad are recruiting Filipino caregivers from Israel and other countries to work in Spain.

"Job placement websites that lure Filipino workers into Spain and a certain Fil-Service agency are illegal," Baldoz said.

She said under Spanish law, recruitment fees are limited to the equivalent of the worker’s one-month salary and can only be collected upon issuance of entry visa and work permit by the Spanish Embassy in Manila.

— With Mayen Jaymalin