Filipino nurses warned against 'leaking' US board exam questions to other examinees

[pinoy_guy]

filipino nurses warned against 'leaking' us board exam questions to other examinees

saturday, july 14, 2007

dante ang, presidential task force on national council licensure examination (nclex) chief, yesterday warned filipino nurses against "leaking" the questionnaires in the us board examination to other examinees.

"i am appealing to them to consider the honor of the country and not sell the questions to other examinees because we will run after them," ang said.

he cited instances in south korea where examinees memorized the questionnaires and sold them to other applicants. upon discovery of the irregularity, the us stopped the conduct of examination in korea.

according to ang, filipino nurses should refrain from taking any action that may compromise the holding of us board examination here.

ang issued the warning as he advised nurses hoping to work in the united states that they may start registering today for the nclex examination to be held in the philippines starting aug. 23.

ang said applicants need not visit the office and testing center in makati because only online registration will be entertained.

some advice from ang...

[gemini_star, BSN, RN]

It seems like any time there is a discussion about problems with nursing education or testing in the Philippines, people want to "end the topic" because it casts a bad light on the Philippines. The freedom to discuss issues is the whole point of this forum! Discussion of topics, even unpleasant ones, can lead to positive changes in attitudes and behaviors.

Yes, that's a good point of view. I forgot to emphasize what topic or issue I was referring to the one about social culture of cheating in Philippines and not the entire thread. It is sad the the quality of education here is going down.

[jhoieanne]

i second the motion........Nurses are not cheaters... even me for example, I am working here in middle east not as a nurse but as medical secretary, I dont have experience yet coz I came here already after I passed the board, you cannot be licensed here unless you have a minimum of 2years experience in your country, the medical centre on which I am working now, says they can help me to become a nurse and have license here if I can fake a certification of experience from my country, it was a tempting offer coz i can work in my field and will receive a bigger salary........but I am not that kind of person who cheats and fakes just for the money, I know that experience is important for patient care, I know that my nursing skills and knowledge as a student before are not enough for me even if I passed the board exam already, so better to wait for the right time...in God's time where I can practice skillfully my profession and provide the best nursing skills to all who will receive my care...when that time comes, I am confident coz I didn't cheat myself, others and especially GOD! so "NO to CHEATING" !

[gemini_star, BSN, RN]

pinoy_guy: can you back up this statement with figures?

you've roundly condemned all second coursers with this statement.

maybe i have but mostly are with the present situation here. it might be different 2 or 3 years before but this is happening now. i don't have figures to post it here.

does your statement "because nowadays, especially the second coursers, want an easy ticket to everything." apply to these american second coursers?

i was referring to filipino second coursers. the ones who had a previous bachelor degree, lived here, and wants to go out of the country fast.

[pinoy_guy]

5 minutes with william stanford, rn: from cubicle dweller to caregiver

monday july 30, 2007

william stanford earned a degree in mechanical engineering technology from the university of southern mississippi in 1990 and became the assistant plant manager at a manufacturing company. but he felt "locked" in a cubicle, so stanford turned his interest in helping others into a nursing degree from denver's regis university in 2004. he now works in the micu/sicu at rose medical center in denver. he also is working toward becoming a nurse practitioner.

. . .

q: how has your previous career helped you adapt to your new field?

i was a manager, so you really have to have people skills. you have to be able to look at people and look at what their strengths are. if someone has a skill they excel at, you have to use it. having employees, you have to motivate them to produce a goal. working in icu, you have to work as a team. personalities range, so you have to be able to work with people who might not be somebody you hang out with after work.

second coursers are not unique to the philippine situation.

instead of bashing or questioning the motives of second coursers, i suggest working for our dreams.

"the cream rises to the top."

if you're good, you have a good chance of getting a nursing job in the us.

of course, the corollary also applies, "s--- floats." which i think is the current situation now, when some people who got their bsns in 6 months or less are earning dollars in the us.

of course they cheated.

when they get found out, they'll be deported.

do things the right way, the honest way.

makes it easier to sleep at night.

[arys1075]

peace to all... let's stop it now and change the topic. as professionals, be "law-abiding-citizens". cheating & leakages are definitely not good... we will also reap what we sow in the future. be faithful and pray hard instead. bear in mind god has always answers to prayers...

the pursuit of christian character

"for by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love". 2 peter 5:4-7

...the joyful heart is always good medicine..." :monkeydance:

let's have a short debate here and please respect each others opinion. this is merely my opinion and should not be taken as an advice.

i am not for cheating. i don't like cheating. i passed everything without 'magic' but pure faith in god and burning oil at night. i do not want to tolerate cheating in any form.

however, the problem is if the culture of the society doesn't see one activity as cheating. that's a big problem.

somehow, if somebody does not share the exam questions, he is regarded as "walang pakisama" (please translate for me, can't find the right english words). in filipino culture, "pakisama" is much more valued. "pakisama" is often beyond legal and moral values.

[miss_cy]

culture and traditions has brought people to a belief that one thing is acceptable eventhough it is not!!!!

as i read the forum i couldnt continue anymore after reading the phrases that speaks about the "walang pakisama" term of the filipinos. to translate that,it means..as a group, a family, a team etc...one must cooperate to fulfill the team's success...when i say my team mate is "walang pakisama" wat im telling him is he is not cooperating for our success.

two things are...in a positive &legal way, it is definitely acceptable but in a negative way obviously it is a not acceptable

what you are trying to imply junrn falls on the negative/illegal way.

both the giver and the receiver are considered as cheaters.

the difference between the cheater and the non cheater who wants to help his/her friend is:

a non cheater advices her/his friend to review a certain system (cardio, endo,pharm, etc) and doesnt give out questions he exactly encountered during his exam.

the cheater - gives out question with choices with the intention to help with a touch of bragging around just to prove thats how they were focused on their exam that they were able to retain the questions in their heads.

i am a filipino and i am proud to be one because i know that filipinos are always at their best in everything, but we have to accept the fact that we have things in us,atittudes in us that has to be changed and one of those is our wrong beliefs and thank god we are getting to that change.

still...what country produces the best nurses in the whole world? its the philippines. lets retain that in us and continue to improve more.

[BonesGilmore, LPN, LVN]

if i had the money, i would not take the nclex-rn in this center.

remember the case with the korean center?

they revoked the us rn licenses of 3 koreans.

revocation of your hard-earned us rn license due to cheating is a painful, if not humiliating, experience.

if you're caught in the net just because of your choice of test site...that would suck.

now, why would you think that? i'm sorry but i believe that if you did not participate on cheating of any kind & your conscience is clear, why would you fear taking the nclex in the philippines? there would be an investigation so why would you be caught in the net just because you have the same center as the perpetrator?

for the record, i hate this thread.

[pinoy_guy]

now, why would you think that? i'm sorry but i believe that if you did not participate on cheating of any kind & your conscience is clear, why would you fear taking the nclex in the philippines? there would be an investigation so why would you be caught in the net just because you have the same center as the perpetrator?

most of the june 2006 nle examinees did not participate in cheating of any kind, and their consciences were clear, and they did not fear taking the nle...yet they had to retake tests 3 & 5.

if i recall correctly, they said they could not weed out the ones who actually cheated, so everybody had to retake it.

this forum is for expression of opinions, and readers have the option to listen or not.

i suggest putting weight on suzanne's posts...she has years of experience helping international nurses get into the us.

[BonesGilmore, LPN, LVN]

most of the june 2006 nle examinees did not participate in cheating of any kind, and their consciences were clear, and they did not fear taking the nle...yet they had to retake tests 3 & 5.

i doubt that would happen for nclex because they have very different test giving strategy. first of all, they all take in a small number of people per day with varying schedule so chances of 1 being falsely accused of cheating is slim. you have a different set of question as compared to others (seatmates) and based on what happened to korea's testing center, selling or sharing the questions & choices for answers after taking the exam is the only thing i could think of that is a form of cheating for the nclex. so how could that be similar to the nle that you would opt to take it somewhere else?? if you did not share/sell questions, why would you be persecuted just because others did?

[suzanne4, RN]

I doubt that would happen for NCLEX because they have very different test giving strategy. First of all, they all take in a small number of people per day with varying schedule so chances of 1 being falsely accused of cheating is slim. You have a different set of question as compared to others (seatmates) and based on what happened to Korea's testing center, selling or sharing the questions & choices for answers AFTER taking the exam is the only thing I could think of that is a form of cheating for the NCLEX. So how could that be similar to the NLE that you would opt to take it somewhere else?? If you did not share/sell questions, why would you be persecuted just because others did?

The nurses in the Korean centers that had their exam scores cancelled, did not cheat in the center on the exam. That is not possible the way that the exam is set up. Each exam is different that is given that day and is based on how the person answers the questions before. So each exam is individualized, it is not a standard test for all like the NLE.

The issue is memorizing questions and then giving them to others, and this is what the warning has been about. Nothing more and nothing less. It is also a prosecutable offence in the US, and they will press charges against any that are caught.

There have already been well documented situations that have occurred that the Board is familiar with. And they do not want to see it happen now in Manila. Remember that the approval for the center was approved the week before CGFNS came out with their statement that the NLE would not be accepted from June, 2006.

You have government officials that have come out with these warning publically, we did not start them here.

[lawrence01]

Also, the issue is to make sure the NCLEX test center to remain in the Phils. and not be shut-downed like what happened in South Korea. If I'm not mistaken, there were actually only 3 that were caught to have leaked out the questions in Seoul and that was enough to shut the whole center. Future test takers from Korea would have to travel to other places like Japan, HK, Taiwan, and now the Phils. to take the exam.

Mr. Dante Ang made the public reminder because he was the one responsible for bringing the NCLEX to Manila amidst difficult obstacles and with the assurance of: 1) people responsible for the leakage, specifically the review centers and some BON members will be dealt with, and 2) they will ensure security of the questionnaires. And also in a personal note, I bet he wouldn't want his efforts to go to waste just because one was caught "leaking" out the questions. All it takes is just one, as Hoss said and the NCLEX testing center in Manila can be shut-downed and this will have a BIG effect to many people, esp. those who finds it very hard to go to HK to take the exams.

Many who have actually taken the NCLEX will know that even before they are allowed to go in the examination room, they are given a set of instructions to read and follow and one of it is to not 'share' the questions to others. So, nurses who have actually taken the NCLEX exam, very well know from the start that not 'sharing' the questions after they have taken it is part of the agreement and if they get caught they can be persecuted and their exam nullified and licenses revoked just like what happened to at least 3 in South Korea but the real big effect is the closing down of the center because it affects all others and esp. future takers.

[bonsai_25]

What second courser programs are you guys talking about? I'm a second courser and before we enter a university or college, they check our TOR to credit subjects so we don't have to take it again (most ar e minor subjects and common FIRST YEAR college subjects). Then we finish the course like any regular student. For me, it was 3 years. Its the same thing if an engineer will shift or take a commerce course, the subjects will be credited and stuff. So nothing special and new about that. Its also like in USA, they will credit your subjects if you already had that subject back then.

Anyway, the warning by Mr. Ang is appreciated and shall we say PREDICTABLE. I think the others are complaining because people tend to THRIVE about the bad news here. The warning is appreciated for sure. The cheating that happened to korea is over, in fact I don't see any koreans talking about it here. The Nclex in Manila is good news for everyone, it will save a lot of money. Its a good thing that everyone is warning the test takers and review centers about cheating. But its also immature to assume, the test center in Manila will not last. Let us just hope for the best, a lot of Filipino nurses will benefit from the test center.

I see a lot of American nurses and other foreign nurses reading the Philippine forum. Must be fun for them I guess to read all the controversies. Their comments are appreciated but sometimes a few of them can be condescending. Take note not everyone. Everyone wants a quality nurse, even nurses from PIC can be quality nurses.