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

By MAYEN JAYMALIN
The Philippine Star

Filipino nurses, beware.
Dante Ang, presidential task force on national council licensure examination (NCLEX) chief, on Friday 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 Saturday for the NCLEX examination to be held in the Philippines starting August 23.
Marco Sto. Tomas of the Board of Nursing (BON) said applicants may register and check out information concerning the examination at www.pearsonvue.com. Other information is also available at www.ncsbn.org.
To register, applicants should download registration information from the pearsonvue Web site. All the requirements and fees to be paid are listed online.
Ang said applicants need not visit the office and testing center in Makati because only online registration will be entertained.
“Applicants will register, submit the requirements and get the schedule of the examination online,” Ang added.
The US National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc. (NCSBN) earlier announced that NCLEX testing will be conducted in Manila to allow “greater customer service” to nurses who are applying to work in the US.
All security policies and procedures currently used to administer the NCLEX examination domestically will be fully implemented in the Philippines, NCSBN noted.
Foreign nurses aspiring to work in the United States are required to apply to the board of nursing in the state or territory where they wish to be licensed before registering for the NCLEX examination.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, meanwhile, welcomed the approval by the NCSBN of the request of the Philippine government for the establishment of a testing center in the country for the NCLEX.
“Bringing the US nursing licensure exams to the country represents a major breakthrough that would benefit thousands of Filipino nurses and their families,” said Cayetano, who chaired the Senate Committee on Health and Demography in the 13th Congress.
Cayetano noted though that the breakthrough also has its downside, since this would also mean more nurses lining up for work in the US, including Filipino doctors who will be enticed to retrain as nurses.