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PGMA allocates P20-M for special voluntary exams of 2006 board of nursing test passers

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has allocated a P20-million budget for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to administer a special voluntary examination this year for the nurses licensed pursuant to the June 2006 Board of Nursing examination.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced in his press briefing in Malacanang this afternoon that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 609 on March 12 directing DOLE, acting through the Board of Nursing (BON) and utilizing the administrative processes of the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) to administer a special voluntary examination to the nurses who passed the controversy-laden June 2006 BON examination.

The special voluntary examination maybe taken in the June 2007 and December 2007 BON examinations or once at either dates.

"The examination shall be for the equivalent of Tests III and V of the June 2006 BON examination. The results of these tests shall not affect the validity of the licenses previously issued to the voluntary examinees," Ermita said.

He said the nursing examination process will still follow the rules and procedures as provided by the PRC. DOLE will monitor all stages of voluntary examination processes and examination fees will be waived.

E.O. 609 provides that after correction of the special voluntary nursing test, the BON shall report the results only to the DOLE secretary, unlike the previous policy where the nursing board exam result is reported to the PRC. Public announcement of those who passed the tests will be undertaken both by the DOLE and the BON chair.

The Labor department has been authorized to designate special nursing review centers duly recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The President’s directive regarding the tainted 2006 nursing board examination stemmed from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) decision that Philippine nurses licensed pursuant to the BON test of June 2006 shall not be eligible for the grant of VisaScreen certificates.

The CGFNS noted that a retake of and passing the equivalent of Tests III and V of the June 2006 BON examination shall remedy the eligibility problem of the June 2006 BON passers. (Malacanang press release)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ey! If you're not going to take CGFNS, when can you possibly get your visa screen?
Geoff said…
Aside from the CGFNS certificate exam, the NCLEX exam can be used to get a Visa screen. So, you don't need to take the CGFNS exam to get a Visa screen. You will need to pass an English exam, however. You can take either the IELTS or the TOEFL.
Anonymous said…
Is it true that it is harder to pass TOEFL than IELTS?
Geoff said…
I can't comment about the IELTS, because I don't have any first-hand experience on it. I did take the TOEFL iBT recently and it's something that you need to prepare for even if you're a good speaker of English. In the TOEFL exam, you have to combine your English communication skills -- reading, listening, speaking and writing -- to answer questions because it takes an integrated approach. It doesn't really test your knowledge of English rules such as grammar, veb-subject agreement per se, but it tries to determine if you can "communicate" in English, which requires that you understand what you're being told and know how to answer back. The only thing with TOEFL iBT is the time pressure and the volume of questions and passages that you have to finish. It's not just a test of your English skills but it's also a test of endurance and quick note-taking skills. Often, the accuracy and understandability (to you) will be crucial to your performance because you will answer questions based on your notes.

Some people would rather take the IELTS. It really depends on the requirement of the state to which you're applying for a license.

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