by pinoy_guy

CGFNS finally speaks up.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...60924top1.html

SPECIAL REPORT: Nursing leakage

CGFNS officials find recomputation of June 2006 board exam scores ‘unusual’

Nurses’ US jobs endangered

Filipino nursing graduates who passed the leakage-tainted June 2006 licensure examination may not qualify for the examination of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS)—and therefore lose the chance to work in the United States.

. . .

That is because the recomputing of test scores to solve the leakage problem has raised questions about the validity, reliability and credibility of the board exam results.

One official called the authorities’ response to the leakage scandal “unusual.”

Another CGFNS official said that in the United States the moment some question arises about the conduct of a board exam the only recourse is to have all the candidates retake it. “Questions about the competence and skill of the passing examinees cannot be allowed to hover above their heads.”

Ms. Barbara Nichols, CGFNS executive officer, told The Manila Times in an interview that in case of a test leakage in the United States all examinees are required to retake the exam.

“The focus is on the integrity of the examination, so all takers, whether guilty or not, are bound to retake the test,” she said.

Over 1,000 nurses took the CFGNS test—500 in Manila and more than 500 in Cebu City.

. . .

Ms. Nichols said an average of 15,000 nurses takes the test each year in the Philippines.

some interesting facts:

In the 2005 (CGFNS) test results, 42 percent of all Philippine test-takers passed. In the International English-Language System subject 93.7 percent passed. One hundred nine took the test of English as a Foreign Language and 66.1-percent passed. Seventy sat for the Test of English for International Communication and all passed it.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

It is so sad for this to happen and the only way is for them to clear their names is to have a retake. What the PRC did regarding the recomputation is wrong because it doesn't address the issue of cheating, in fact it was just aband aid solution and at the same time covering up the allegation that cheating had happened. Also, when they did the recomputation, an additonal of 400 plus nurses were added to the passing batch. This is also unfair considering those "additonal nurses" were not able to make it on the "Original test."

The only thing to do and following American standard when an exam is tainted is for them to have a retake. Right now, this issue was brought up by CGFNS, sooner or later, this will also be brought up by the different States' Board of Nursing. Let us hope that those different states' BON that don't require a PHilippine licensed or CGFNS will not give a hard time for the June 2006 graduates.

One other thing, those people responsible for this should be punished, the review centers and those people at the PRC.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

how about a new computation? A new computation that will satisfy everyone. haha

What if the the final decision of the goverment is to not retake the exam? CGFNS should respect that decision.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

Doesn't help you if they "respect" the decision - still may not mean they are comfortable to license you for working in the US if they cannot guarantee your skills.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

If the decision of the Philippine government not to have a retake then so be it. The issue of cheating allegation was brought up already by the CGFNS and they said that if this thing happened in the US, they will do a retake.

Remember they said that its "unsual" for the PRC to act this way because the most sensible thing to do is give another exam.

And frankly, the issue of recomputation is unfair because it doesn't address the issue but instead creating an atmosphere of tolerance for cheating. PRC should have do a better job investigating the allegation behind it and punishing those instead of covering it up.

Also, the recomputation adds another 400plus nurses which were not supposed to passed the "original exam."

By doing a recomputation by not counting the last part of the exam could also mean that "cheating had happened."

The thing is this is unfair for those nurses who got their license the hard and honest way but the only way to remove the stigma of the tainted June 2006 NLE is to have a retake.

This is a bitter pill to swallow.

AS I said before that I hope the NCSBN will not take this issue because if they do then it means they will change the rules for Filipino nurse to come to the US. Right now, there are states that do not require a PRC license or a CGFNS certificate to sit for the NCLEX. Sooner or later this will change.

And said that CGFNS should respect the government decision would not work around in both ways. CGFNS and NCSBN can do anything they want and the only ones who will suffer are the Filipino nurses who want to go, live and work in the USA to improve their lot. Our government doesn't care because if they do then heads would have been rolling by now at PRC but nothing has happened. They only got suspension. Suspension from the job is nothing because everyone in government can just go back and happy days are here again.

And remember that JOB of the CGFNS is to ensure that foreign graduates meet the standards of American nursing and they will do everything to maintain that standards even to the point of making it harder for Filipinos nurses to apply.

This is my opinion on the matter.

Originally Posted by bonsai_25

how about a new computation? A new computation that will satisfy everyone. haha

What if the the final decision of the goverment is to not retake the exam? CGFNS should respect that decision.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

Well I just hope there will be a solution by next month because we need to move on...

Well thats your opinion, greatly appreciated. As for me, I don't want to say anything anymore, this issue has been here for 3 months already and frankly we are all tired. I just hope the court will have a decision soon so everyone can do what they must do.

Besides, retake or no retake, computation is fair or not fair, at the end of the day, it will be the court's decision that we have to follow. Hence, I'll just read my Saunders book.

Good day :biere:

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

Originally Posted by bonsai_25

What if the the final decision of the goverment is to not retake the exam? CGFNS should respect that decision.

CGFNS respects that decision.

but as they said:

Filipino nursing graduates who passed the leakage-tainted June 2006 licensure examination may not qualify for the examination of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS)—and therefore lose the chance to work in the United States.

respecting the decision and accepting the affected nurses are two different matters.

as Rep said, the PRC can do what it wants, but CGFNS and the State BONs can also do what they want.

the PRC cannot force CGFNS to issue the CG Certificates (nor ICHP to issue the VisaScreen certificates), nor force the State BONs to issue licenses.

this is my opinion: nursing practice in the US is largely based on trust--trust that the nurse knows what he/she is doing, trust that the nurse really gave the medication via the right route at the right time, trust that the nurse administered the nursing interventions he/she documented in the patient charts.

the system will fail if a nurse "documents" something in the chart which he/she did not do...as some nurses found out to their chagrin.

since there is a whiff of dishonesty in the last batch of NLE passers, the question is, will CGFNS or the State BONs take the chance? will US hospitals take the risk? the US is a litiginous society. I doubt they will risk their reputations and their money; it's much easier to get nurses from other batches...or from other countries.

a lot of UK nurses are applying for jobs in US hospitals at this time--their UK nursing experience is equivalent to US nursing experience.

since CGFNS has issued their stand on the matter, I suggested to my students to retake the NLE if they did take the June 2006 exam; and not take it if they haven't registered for it, to avoid problems--we do not even have Philippine BON members yet, so the December 2006 NLE is also under a cloud of doubt.

the bottom line is that the ones who suffer are the Filipino nurses.

I hope things get ironed out soon, for Filipino nurses' sake.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

Originally Posted by bonsai_25

What if the the final decision of the goverment is to not retake the exam? CGFNS should respect that decision.

The CGFNS respecting the decision of the Philippine government to issue licenses to the June 2006 board exam passers has no bearing on its mandate. The CGFNS is not beholden to the Philippine government. In fact, by virtue of it being contracted by the NCSBN to perform Visa Screen certification and credential evaluation of foreign nurses, it is after the interests of the American public, i.e., to screen foreign nurses so that only those who possess the credentials to qualify and practice as nurses can be recruited to work in the USA.

So even in the scenario where the Philippine government may decide not to cancel the June 2006 licensure exams and start giving licenses to those who passed, the CGFNS has the prerogative to accept or reject the credentials of those who took the said board exam; the CGFNS may instead choose to approve qualified nurses from among those who passed in the other exam dates / batches.

And also, there are other nurses from various nationalities all around the world who want to work in the USA, from which the CGFNS can select qualified nurses.

Ensuring the American patients' safety and security is of paramount importance in the task of the CGFNS, and not the fairness of accepting or rejecting the licenses and credentials of foreign nationals.

FYI, I am one of those who took the June 2006 NLE. I passed the exam but I have decided to retake the exam to clear my name of any cloud of doubt and avoid problems in the future when I would submit my application for licensure in a US state board of nursing; and in the CGFNS for visa screen and credential evaluation purposes.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

Well, seems to me if we read that Alfredo Rosario Manila Times article closely, we realize that the officials from cgfns implied four things – 1) re-computation was unusual, 2) it MAY affect June 2006 NLE passers (MAY is significantly different than WILL), 3) that they would have to screen the June 2006 batch more rigorously than they normally do, and 4) they are willing to consider more test locations and times in the Philippines.

However the article clearly states that the cgfns officials refused to speak directly about the NLE test controversy.

So, my conclusion is…they did not say “yes, and they did not say “no”, leaving me to conclude the same as I have before this article – the only way to clearly know is to apply. My informed opinion remains that if you don’t need VisaScreen, then they don’t care if you passed the NLE or not – the NCLEX is the determining test, and many State BONs don’t require a local license.

We all can agree in theory that retesting is indeed one obvious way to solve the problem. But is it really a solution? Sadly it appears that the entire 500 question database of at least one section was leaked by the BON Director. Given that problem and the problem of an empty BON to write approve or certify a new test, demanding a retake leaves us exactly in the same place – STUCK.
Just my opinion.

Re: CGFNS on the Leakage Issue

Another thing to add, those Filipino nurses who passed the NLE because they really prepared for it can easily pass it the second time. And that would be not issue for those who are prepared.