Government asks nursing schools to offer free review classes

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will ask reputable nursing schools to offer free review classes for the June 2006 batch of nurses who want to retake Tests 3 and 5 of the licensure exam.

In a radio interview, CFO chairman Dante Ang said the two agencies hope that reputable nursing schools would heed their appeal and waive the fees to ease the burden of those who plan to repeat the two tests.

Ang said the CFO and DOLE are coordinating with schools that have a passing rate of 80 to 100 percent in the licensure tests: "If there are nurses who come from other schools but they want to review in these reputable schools, we’ll request that they be charged with very minimal amount."

The two agencies also recommended that the P600 fee charged by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for the licensure test be waived.

Ang added the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) will not change its mind on its decision not to issue Visa Screen certificates to the June 2006 examination passers unless they retake the leaked tests: "The CGFNS does not believe that the re-computation of grades done on the licensure test has solved the leakage problem."

To cleanse the examination of the stigma caused by leakage, the PRC invalidated Tests 3 and 5 and re-computed the percentages of the five-part test.

Ang said this solution is "not acceptable" to the CGFNS, primarily because the United States is very particular about patients’ safety and rights.

He reiterated his advice that the June 2006 nursing licensure examination passers retake the questionable portions of the exam, as the Philippines cannot impose its standards on the CGFNS.

The newly created Task Force on CGFNS will meet next week to discuss their actions following the CGFNS decision.

The task force, composed of the PRC, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Alliance of New Nurses plan to visit the CGFNS headquarters in Philadelphia soon to seek reconsideration.

These groups have opposed moves to have the questionable portions of the examination retaken.

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said a retake of the examination’s leaked tests will erase doubts about the nursing licensure examination, citing such a move will provide "final" closure of the matter and a "win-win" solution for all parties concerned.

‘Practical nurses’

Meanwhile, Filipino nursing undergraduates, or the so-called "licensed practical nurse (LPN)," are getting more in demand abroad and may soon outnumber registered nurses there.

Schools offering LPN courses have been receiving numerous job offers from the United States and other countries for its students, said Art Lacuesta of the Philippine Paramedical and Technical School Inc.

"We have observed an increasing demand for licensed practical nurses from the US, Australia and United Kingdom and we expect further growth in employment opportunities because of the growing old population in many countries," Lacuesta said.

Lacuesta noted that LPNs are now more in demand abroad because they have lower salaries than registered nurses. "The average pay of LPN is $5 to $8 lower than registered nurses that foreign employers prefer to hire the former."

He explained that an LPN who undergoes a 15-month training, could easily work in the US after passing the National Commission on Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

The country has sufficient supply of LPN, with 74 schools nationwide offering such courses, Lacuesta said. However, "We are having problem as to which government (agency) will be issuing the certificate of competency being required abroad."

Malacanang’s office of external affairs assistant secretary Johnifer Batara confirmed that LPN would provide more employment opportunities for Filipinos.

"With LPN, more opportunities will be generated since nursing students who are undergraduates and under board will have an opportunity to be a licensed practical nurse, thus have more opportunities to work in the country and abroad," Batara said.

At this time, however, LPN is still unrecognized in the country.

To realize the full potential of the licensed practical nurses, Batara said, the government will convene a workshop to tackle the issue of LPN and come up with recommendation to President Arroyo. – Sheila Crisostomo, Pia Lee-Brago, Mayen Jaymalin