SWS: Most Pinoys trust nursing exam passers

Most Filipinos trust the nurses who passed the June 2006 leakage-tainted exams, but acknowledge the uncertainty of their job prospects abroad as a result of the scandal, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The SWS survey, conducted last year, showed that most Filipinos believed in the nurses’ competence but were resigned to the likelihood of fewer work opportunities abroad for them.

The scandal broke out last year when some nursing review centers were found to have leaked test answers to some examinees. The passers were allowed to take their oaths despite calls for a retake and the failure of authorities to pin down those responsible for the cheating.

The Philadelphia-based Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) recently ruled against issuing Visa Screen certificates to Filipino nurses belonging to the controversial batch, unless they retake the licensure exam and pass.

The 2006 SWS Third Quarter survey, conducted from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2, showed that 53 percent of Filipinos would still allow the nurses belonging to the controversial batch to take care of them while 25 percent said they would resist. The rest had no answers or were undecided.

The subsequent Fourth Quarter survey, from Nov. 24 to Nov. 29, indicated that 53 percent agreed that the cheating scandal imperiled the nurses’ employment prospects abroad, while only 20 percent disagreed.

SWS that the survey results appeared to indicate that the recent CGFNS ruling "probably comes as no shock to most of the Filipino public."