Sunday, November 05, 2006
RP to set-up its own test center for nurses
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 550, allotting P10 million for the creation of a task force setting up the country's own testing center for nurses.
Arroyo created a task force to support the speedy establishments of a National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) testing center in the Philippines so Filipino nursing graduates will not longer have to leave the country to take this qualifying examination.
The P10-million appropriation will be taken from the President's Social Fund in support of projects, programs and activities related to its functions.
The NCLEX is a standardized examination, which the United States' National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) uses to determine whether or not a candidate is prepared for entry-level nursing practice in the United States.
The NCSBN has authorized the conduct of the NCLEX in Hong Kong, London and Seoul, South Korean in 2004. It also established additional test centers in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico and Taiwan this year.
Arroyo said the Philippines is the top country of origin of foreign-educated nurses taking the NCLEX, many of whom are encountering financial hardships due to the high cost of taking qualifying examinations overseas.
Filipino nurses constitute 83 percent of foreign educated nurses practicing in the US and contribute positively to the good image of the Philippines through their hard work, dedication and ethic of care, the President said.
The conduct of NCLEX in the Philippines will open opportunities for qualified yet less fortunate Filipino nurses to take the NCLEX locally and the savings from not having to travel abroad to take the said exam may be devoted to test preparation, she added. (PIA)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (November 5, 2006 issue)
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