NCSBN rules out Philippines as NCLEX site

[pinoy_guy]

just a sad update to other filipinos.

american nurses' boards won't accredit rp grads

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news5_oct26_2006

the american national council of state boards of nursing has rejected president gloria macapagal arroyo's request to include the philippines as an accredited venue of the united states licensure exam for foreign nurses.

mrs. arroyo met with the council's president, faith fields, and associate executive director dr. casey marks yesterday to brief them on what was being done to address the leak of test questions during the june board exams for nurses.

but they told the president that the philippines--up for consideration as a venue before the scandal--would have to wait "some time" before its application could be taken up again.

"some time needs to pass, and that is definitely after a final decision is made clear," fields said in an interview after the meeting.

"i think the entire nursing world is looking at what your action will be. we are very interested to see how you handle the crisis... you don't want to waste opportunity to make your own system better."

commission on filipinos overseas chairman dante ang said the president was told that some 14 states in the us did not want to reconsider the philippines' application as an accredited testing center after the june test leaks.

this post is not meant to incite arguments, but to inform.

the leakage issue had, and is continuing to have, an international effect.

i want this as a call to action & prayers.

the ncsbn heads have spoken.

i hope we have the will to do what is right.

[pinoy_guy]

some news articles affected students might want to read.

nurse tests goes before high court

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news3_nov4_2006

the appellate court's ruling "sets a frightening precedent for all board examinations where examinees can become doctors, nurses, engineers or teachers by cheating so long as such cheating is not widespread and so long as the cheaters cannot be identified," the petitioners said.

retake backers bring fight to sc

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/nov/04/yehey/opinion/20061104opi6.html

the groups insisted that all passers in the june 2006 nursing licensure exams should take tests 3 and 5 again. they said the supreme court should revoke the licenses of the board passers who will fail the retake.

. . .

in a statement it issued to the media friday, the petitioners said the court of appeals "thought it proper to ignore the cheating, order the issuance of licenses to every examinee, whether a cheat or not, and trust to future investigations the elimination of the wolf that got into the sheep's fold."

. . .

"just like everyone concerned, we desire immediate and permanent closure of this controversy so that everybody can move on. we believe, however, that it can only be obtained if cheating is resolutely addressed in line with the need to restore the integrity of the nurse licensure examinations," they said.

nursing groups take oath-taking battle to supreme court

http://www.bworldonline.com/bw110406/content.php?id=071

the petitioners said the court of appeals had ignored the reported widespread cheating, and instead left it to the executive department to cancel the licenses of those found in the future to have gained from the leak. they prayed for the high court to stop the oath taking of the nursing students who passed the june exams, to order a nationwide retake of tests 3 and 5 and to void the oaths and licenses of examinees who fail the retake. this, they said, would restore confidence in the health care sector.

the statement from the petitioners. you can text them or call them up as they attached their phone numbers in the full text of the article. just click the link.

statement of nurses standing up for integrity

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/nov/04/yehey/opinion/20061104opi6.html

the june 11 and 12 nursing licensure exam controversy is far from over. the pronouncement of cgfns deferring the visa screening application of batch 2006 board "passers" underscores the magnitude of the mess resulting in prc's mishandling of the test leakage.

labor secretary arturo brion's pronouncement that there are "a lot of aberrations in the computation of grades of the examinees" is equally disturbing.

. . .we respectfully ask the high court: the annulment of resolution number 31 of prc-bon for reasons stated in the petition; retaking of the examination in test 3 and 5 of the june 11 and 12, 2006, nursing licensure exam; and declaring null and void the oaths and the licenses of examinees who fail such examination should a retake be ordered.

we take this opportunity to call on the resignation of all prc commissioners, headed by leonor tripon-rosero.

the news article with the most information on the issue.

sc urged to void nurse oath-taking

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/news200611040404.htm

. . .the prc swore in yesterday the five new examiners of the board of nursing (bon).

they are: carmencita abaquin, chairman; and leonila faire, perla po, betty merritt and marco antonio sto. tomas, members.

. . .

"the preliminary investigation that we (nbi) are going to conduct has nothing to do with the petition filed by the faculty members of the nursing school of the university of sto. tomas before the supreme court," he said.

"the sc case has something to do with the oath taking and the investigation on students who benefited from the leakage. but ours involved the source of the leakage and what will be their criminal culpability."

. . .

navera said bucud was the one identified by university of the philippines nursing professor cora annonueva as the one who faxed the 18-page morificecript from baguio to manila to the ray a. gapuz review center.

. . .

in a 22-page complaint filed through the nbi anti-fraud and computer crimes division, regional director efren meneses jr. said the gapuz, inress and pentagon review centers were the source of the leakage of questionnaires in the 2006 nursing licensure exams.

. . .

there is sufficient evidence to establish that inress and gapuz review centers have much to do with the proliferation of the leakage, he added.

mantaring said prior to the nursing licensure examinations, review materials that contained actual questions in the examinations were circulated in baguio city and used mostly by reviewees from the gapuz review center.

"testament to the propensity of such circulation is the fact that the materials have been rampantly reproduced in just about any photocopying shops in the streets of baguio to the point that it is not a far-fetched idea that even non-gapuz reviewees may have availed of (them) as well," he said.

i would like to point out that they want the retake only for tests 3 & 5.

nobody is considering what cgfns implied, a complete retake.

it's possible these retake people will win, the licenses revoked, and the examinees retake tests 3 & 5...but still the examinees can not get their visascreen certificates.

the nbi report also states how the leak got to gapuz manila: it was faxed to the gapuz review center.

bottomline: gapuz got the leak (implicating all gapuz reviewees), baguio examinees are presumed to have gotten the leak (due to the rampant photocopying of the leak in baguio).

so it's possible gapuz reviewers, and baguio examinees, will have to retake tests 3 & 5--if malacaňan will act on this report.

revocation of the philippine rn licenses is a given.

i wonder how the license-revoked people will take that.

[RNHawaii34]

new nursing grads get jobs in us, uae, uk, australia

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=30314

at least 4 members of this batch had been accepted by one or more us hospitals.

it didn't make sense that these people took the nle in june 2006, passed nclex-rn and get hired here in the u.s. so soon. that's not possible. i graduated in october 2005, applied for nclexrn in january, got my att in may, passed nclexrn in june, but i got hired only in late aug. 2006..there are so many process that i had to go through to get my rn license, with the waiting period and everything..so, i don't beleive that the news is valid. whoever published that, you are very irresponsible, pls. get your all of your facts straight, don't write anything without any proof. you are giving these already confused, battered, new grads who worked their buns off for 4 years a false hope! :angryfire

[pinoy_guy]

it didn't make sense that these people took the nle in june 2006, passed nclex-rn and get hired here in the u.s. so soon. that's not possible. i graduated in october 2005, applied for nclexrn in january, got my att in may, passed nclexrn in june, but i got hired only in late aug. 2006..there are so many process that i had to go through to get my rn license, with the waiting period and everything..so, i don't beleive that the news is valid. whoever published that, you are very irresponsible, pls. get your all of your facts straight, don't write anything without any proof. you are giving these already confused, battered, new grads who worked their buns off for 4 years a false hope! :angryfire

umm...

among 20 new nurses monitored by the professional regulation commission's board of nursing (bon), at least four of them had already passed the national council licensure examination (nclex) and are set to join four compatriots now employed in hospitals in the united states.

ten more june passers are working in dubai, the united arab emirates, while others have been hired in australia and the united kingdom, according to eufemia octaviano, who resigned as bon chair together with four other board members in the aftermath of the nursing exam scandal.

"we're happy that they have moved on," octaviano told the inquirer yesterday.

the information came from the prc bon. from the previous chair of the bon, ms. octaviano, who's one of the shining pillars of philippine nursing to have gotten that distinguished position.

i don't think she would lie to the press people, after the leakage fiasco.

as i surmised, the 4 might have had immigrant visas already, that's why they were said to already be working in us hospitals.

bunch of garbage that we all hear over and over again. suggest that you ask the author of that article about immigration and working in the us, and they probably have no clue at all.

i had the chance to talk to ms. octaviano last year...and yes, she did not have a clue about immigration & working in the us.

we were begging her to allow us to register coz we wanted to take the earliest possible cgfns cp exam.

sigh.

our requests were denied.

[RNHawaii34]

umm...

the information came from the PRC BON. from the previous chair of the BON, Ms. Octaviano, who's one of the shining pillars of Philippine Nursing to have gotten that distinguished position.

I don't think she would lie to the press people, after the Leakage fiasco.

as I surmised, the 4 might have had Immigrant Visas already, that's why they were said to already be working in US hospitals.

I had the chance to talk to Ms. Octaviano last year...and yes, she did not have a clue about immigration & working in the US.

we were begging her to allow us to register coz we wanted to take the earliest possible CGFNS CP exam.

sigh.

our requests were denied.

that's still not possible. wether they have visas or not, no way you can take nle, and passed nclex-rn and get hired here in the U.S. for only 5 months? come on! this is too much!!

[lawrence01]

that's still not possible. wether they have visas or not, no way you can take nle, and passed nclex-rn and get hired here in the U.S. for only 5 months? come on! this is too much!!

Yes, it is near impossible. Unless, they are working under a tourist visa.

It's illegal to do so but it's being done.

There are many ways people do illegally just to get to work in the US. Their is the marry a U.S. citizen for a fee racket w/c is being done for decades and other similar rackets.

Only way I can think of is that they are working w/ no valid documentation. Again, it's illegal but it is being done and on other professions and other workers as well.

[RNHawaii34]

yes, it is near impossible. unless, they are working under a tourist visa.

it's illegal to do so but it's being done.

there are many ways people do illegally just to get to work in the us. their is the marry a u.s. citizen for a fee racket w/c is being done for decades and other similar rackets.

only way i can think of is that they are working w/ no valid documentation. again, it's illegal but it is being done and on other professions and other workers as well.

maybe. even an if you're an american citizen legally, there is no way you can get that u.s. rn license that fast. i do not want to stir an argument here. my point is that they better get their facts straight before printing it. if they really have to print names of those who made it here with legal paperworks? that will be reassuring, but no ways they can find that job fast. i mean, if they kept on printing news like this? you are just pushing those who took the june nle to do whatever, jump into anything illegal to get out of the country. hello? right now? there are many mean spirited people out there who will take an advantage of these new grads. they will offer then stuff, promises them a job that pays big salary, and they will end coming to the u.s., with no proper documentations, and the worse part is they will get paid less than what they should be earning.and in addition to that, they will risk themselves of getting deported, and maybe loose the chance to work in the u.s. that is what i am trying to point out.

[lawrence01]

maybe. even an if you're an american citizen legally, there is no way you can get that u.s. rn license that fast. i do not want to stir an argument here. my point is that they better get their facts straight before printing it. if they really have to print names of those who made it here with legal paperworks? that will be reassuring, but no ways they can find that job fast. i mean, if they kept on printing news like this? you are just pushing those who took the june nle to do whatever, jump into anything illegal to get out of the country. hello? right now? there are many mean spirited people out there who will take an advantage of these new grads. they will offer then stuff, promises them a job that pays big salary, and they will end coming to the u.s., with no proper documentations, and the worse part is they will get paid less than what they should be earning.and in addition to that, they will risk themselves of getting deported, and maybe loose the chance to work in the u.s. that is what i am trying to point out.

i'm with you. it's really up to them if they want to do it legally or otherwise. they know what they are doing. let them bear the consequences of their actions. unfortunately, these people don't care about the possible repercussions to others as long as they think they can get away w/ it.

i doubt if they will print those 4 names as the legality of their status is questionable (if they even exist). let's just say for the sake of argument that those 4 have all the legal documents to work for whatever reason/s (have existing greencard, etc..); fact of the matter is they are only 4 out of how many thousands?

[K-Ann]

cgfns deniedthe visa screen application of one of my friends. she took nle this june, she passed but well, it was that nle. so its official. no visa screen till you do a retake.

[K-Ann]

new nursing grads get jobs in us, uae, uk, australia

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=30314

at least 4 members of this batch had been accepted by one or more us hospitals.

it didn't make sense that these people took the nle in june 2006, passed nclex-rn and get hired here in the u.s. so soon. that's not possible. i graduated in october 2005, applied for nclexrn in january, got my att in may, passed nclexrn in june, but i got hired only in late aug. 2006..there are so many process that i had to go through to get my rn license, with the waiting period and everything..so, i don't beleive that the news is valid. whoever published that, you are very irresponsible, pls. get your all of your facts straight, don't write anything without any proof. you are giving these already confused, battered, new grads who worked their buns off for 4 years a false hope! :angryfire

exact same thoughts here. i graduated march 2005, took nle june 2005, applied to ca bon october 2005, took cgfns november 2005, took ielts february 2006, recieved my visa screen april 2006 and was only hired may 2006, petition received by uscis june 2006, recieved my eligibility march 2006 but was able to sit for nclex on june because it was difficult to get a schedule. how in the world they were able to do all that in 5 months????? i did it in a year and i thought that was already fast.

[K-Ann]

since it's been relayed to the philippine bon, and the bon is trumpeting it to everybody, then i would assume the 4 are working legally.

otherwise i don't think the philippine bon could have access to such information.

how were they able to do that? (same question over and over) how can they work that fast? my friend got her permit just last month, she applied right after she got her nclex result (im guessing june or july). she's still not working now. if what you're guessing is true, that they are already an immigrant, then the phil bon should not even be monitoring them. whats the use? just giving false hope to the rest who are still waiting here.

[pinoy_guy]

cgfns denied the visa screen application of one of my friends. she took nle this june, she passed but well, it was that nle. so its official. no visa screen till you do a retake.

this is big news.

can you post a text of what cgfns/ichp said in their letter?

don't include the personal details like the name & cgfns/ichp number of the recipient for privacy reasons.

from the cgfns news advisory, they just delayed release of the visascreen certificates pending a study if the nle is comparable to us exams.

i think sending a copy of the letter to our bon will wake them up to the reality that their "solution" is not working on the cgfns/ichp people.

how were they able to do that? (same question over and over) how can they work that fast? my friend got her permit just last month, she applied right after she got her nclex result (im guessing june or july). she's still not working now.

it is possible.

most people know the california time frame.

there are a couple of other states which act fast. my friends got their licenses 2 weeks after passing the nclex.

and there's the interim permit, if these 4 were from california.

what i'm driving at is that it is possible to get an early nclex sked (if you take it in places other than hk...let's say us for the immigrants) and to get your us rn license in at most a month (faster if you provided the ssn--which an immigrant will have).

if what you're guessing is true, that they are already an immigrant, then the phil bon should not even be monitoring them. whats the use? just giving false hope to the rest who are still waiting here.

exactly.

as i mentioned, i am assuming the former chair of the bon was acting with the best interests of our filipino nurses at heart. the bon members are supposed to be the epitome of the filipino nurse, the role model every filipino nurse aspires to be.

it would be interesting if the reporters can get the names of the 8, and interview them.

anyway, thanks for sharing that bit about the visascreen certificate.

when more of this batch complain about not getting their vsc, i think the authorities would finally do something about it.

[suzanne4, RN]

new nursing grads get jobs in us, uae, uk, australia

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=30314

at least 4 members of this batch had been accepted by one or more us hospitals.

it didn't make sense that these people took the nle in june 2006, passed nclex-rn and get hired here in the u.s. so soon. that's not possible. i graduated in october 2005, applied for nclexrn in january, got my att in may, passed nclexrn in june, but i got hired only in late aug. 2006..there are so many process that i had to go through to get my rn license, with the waiting period and everything..so, i don't beleive that the news is valid. whoever published that, you are very irresponsible, pls. get your all of your facts straight, don't write anything without any proof. you are giving these already confused, battered, new grads who worked their buns off for 4 years a false hope! :angryfire

i really wish that someone would go after the authors of these very misleading articles. there is no way at all that someone that took the exam in june and just graduated is now in the us working as an rn with their fellow nurses.

passing the nclex-rn exam, does not give you automatic right to work in the us, and that is what this person is thinking. it is only the beginning of a long journey............and the nurse needs immigration approval as well. and funny thing is that i am sure that they do not have a valid visa screen certificate either.

truly wish that some of you would start writing letters to the publishers of this garbage. they need to get their facts straight before writing, or start writing novels that do not affect others' lives. the problems that they are causing for some is distastsful at the very least. and they should be ashamed of themselves.

-----------------------------

and now you can see why i do not beloeve one thing that comes out of the papers there, things change to fit the need.

the issue is that if the nurse wishes to work in the us, they need to meet the us standards. period. and complete whatever the us wants them to do and do not put blame on the us.

it is a privilege to work in the us, it is not a right that is automatically yours. you need to work to get to that, and be accepted.

and a big shame on the person that does not know what they are talking about. getting a job offer based on passing the nclex exam, and actually getting thru the immigration process are completely two different things, but they do not know that.