northern marianas island

tobby_walter · Jul 11, 2008

Nurse complains about NMI

Wednesday, 25 June 2008 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Variety News Staff

NURSES from the Philippines are being given the runaround when making inquiries about the applications they submitted to the Commonwealth Board of Nurse Examiners.

Rossini Kismet Mae B. Piñero, in an e-mail, said Philippine nurses like her are having difficulty communicating with the board which is in-charge of issuing licenses to foreign nurses seeking to be employed in the U.S.

Piñero said the board informed her she must renew her nursing license on or before April 30 this year.

She sent the necessary documents before the deadline but has yet to receive any confirmation whether they were received.

She tried calling the board's office.

"I left several messages but not a single one was returned. I have spent a large amount of money to gather all the required documents for the renewal of my license as well as to pay the application fee. I feel that I have invested a good deal of time and money to get my R.N. license and renew it, and I surely don't want to waste all of that," she said.

She noted that many Filipino nurses who took their National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, or NCLEX, are facing the same difficulty in communicating with the local nursing board.

"Thousands of Filipino nurses in the Philippines have sent their applications to the Saipan board- I am sure that they would be very grateful if the board could lend us a helping hand," she said.

Variety contacted the board for comment but its office only has an answering machine.

Press Secretary Charles Reyes Jr. said he is not familiar with Piñero's situation but added that he will refer it to the proper authority.

"I will ask the secretary of Public Health to assist. I am not familiar with this case, but it seems as if a licensed was granted and that license merely needs to be renewed. I am not sure whether the documents have been properly received and processed," he said.

Nurses from the Philippines wishing to work in the U.S. used to take their NCLEX on Saipan.

However, starting in Aug. 2007, an NCLEX testing area was opened in Manila, eliminating the need for nurses from the Philippines to travel to the island to take the examination.

But those who did take and pass their exam here have to renew it on Saipan.