GORDON URGENTLY CALLS FOR RESPONSIBLE RESOLUTION OF NURSING EXAM CONTROVERSY IN LIGHT OF NCLEX EFFORTS

Senator Richard J. Gordon yesterday urgently called for the responsible resolution of the nursing exam controversy in light of the efforts to include the Philippines as a venue for the National Council Licensure Examinations (NCLEX) by the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSB), stressing that it is ultimately the welfare of our Filipino nurses that is at stake here.

The recent nursing exam controversy would definitely affect the evaluation of the Philippines as a possible test site by the NCSB, stated Gordon. However, we need to show to the NCSB, as well as the general public and the rest of the world, that we are a responsible nation. We will hold the guilty parties behind this fiasco accountable for their actions, because we value the honesty and credibility of our licensure examinations, and the integrity of our Filipino nurses.

Gordon said that nurses intending to practice in the U.S. are required to pass the NCLEX, which is administered only within U.S. territories and other selected venues such as Hong Kong, London, Seoul, as well as Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, and Taiwan. He added that at present, Filipino nurses bear the financial burden of travel and accommodation in addition to the NCLEX fee of US$200 just to be able to take this qualifying exam, despite the fact that the Philippines is among the top producers of professional nurses in the U.S., citing Dr. Dante A. Ang of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO).

As it is, the path of our Filipino nurses is paved with a lot of difficulty already. We need to responsibly resolve the nursing exam controversy and be successful in getting the NCLEX to come to the Philippines for the sake of our Filipino nurses and as a testament to their quality, skill, and competence in the world, declared Gordon.

The Philippines has been exerting tremendous efforts to have the NCLEX conducted in the Philippines after it had been bypassed, without prejudice, as a test site due to the inability of the country to meet the critical components of the selection criteria set by the NCSB, which includes national security or peace and order situation in the country, examination security or the integrity of the exam and the Philippine nursing education.