IELTS, TSE: A Regulation? or a Discrimination?...

[chronicTX]

Hello everyone,

I just don't get it! The TSE (Test for Spoken English) and/or IELTS is required for foreign nurses and other professionals who wish to work in the US. Okay, I understand that for us nurses, one of our invaluable tools in dealing with our clients is our good communication skills. TSE and IELTS are a form of regulation to ensure that foreign professional nurses will be able to deliver services adequately and accurately. That's fairly acceptable... Make no mistake, I'm in favor of these regulations. However, I do not understand why is it so hard to pass? We've passed our CGFNS and NCLEX exams. We've passed the TOEFL. Most of us took these exams only once and passed. But the TSE/IELTS is the one that we prepare for the most. Ridiculous isn't it? you know why? It's the most difficult to pass! Alright, I've never tried it before but I have to. I need it for my visascreen. The information I'm getting from it is non-reassuring. You wouldn't believe- most of the nurses I know from my country have at least taken the TST/IELTS at least 4-5 times before they passed it. I'm trying to make an appeal especially to US nurses. Have you ever had difficulties in communicating with foreign nurses who earned their US-RN status? We may not speak fluently because we are born with our native tongue and english may be our 2nd language. Are the raters expecting us to speak like the native-born Americans? Common, we can speak english. We may have a funny tone /diction but we understand english fairly well. Being such doesn't make us less of an efficient nurse because we had the same education and has passed the same exams. How could that be difficult for us? I'm taking TSE this June 2004. Will I make it ?

[Rep]

Hello everyone,

I just don't get it! The TSE (Test for Spoken English) and/or IELTS is required for foreign nurses and other professionals who wish to work in the US. Okay, I understand that for us nurses, one of our invaluable tools in dealing with our clients is our good communication skills. TSE and IELTS are a form of regulation to ensure that foreign professional nurses will be able to deliver services adequately and accurately. That's fairly acceptable... Make no mistake, I'm in favor of these regulations. However, I do not understand why is it so hard to pass? We've passed our CGFNS and NCLEX exams. We've passed the TOEFL. Most of us took these exams only once and passed. But the TSE/IELTS is the one that we prepare for the most. Ridiculous isn't it? you know why? It's the most difficult to pass! Alright, I've never tried it before but I have to. I need it for my visascreen. The information I'm getting from it is non-reassuring. You wouldn't believe- most of the nurses I know from my country have at least taken the TST/IELTS at least 4-5 times before they passed it. I'm trying to make an appeal especially to US nurses. Have you ever had difficulties in communicating with foreign nurses who earned their US-RN status? We may not speak fluently because we are born with our native tongue and english may be our 2nd language. Are the raters expecting us to speak like the native-born Americans? Common, we can speak english. We may have a funny tone /diction but we understand english fairly well. Being such doesn't make us less of an efficient nurse because we had the same education and has passed the same exams. How could that be difficult for us? I'm taking TSE this June 2004. Will I make it ?

As a Filipino nurse who has a plan to work in America in the near future, It is imperative that we should pass this exam, TSE. Our nursing skills are nothing if we can not communicate well and also understand what our patients are trying to tell us.

Most Filipino nurses now a days take the IELTS instead of TSE because IELTS is not as spontaneous and time pressured as TSE.

GOOD LUCK! :)