Filipino Nursing Herald

We've just updated the list of hospitals and their requirements for hiring new applicants. Medical facilities we've added to the list: Asian Hospital, Makati Medical Center, Metropolitan Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, and the Medical City. Click here for the list .

We just got word from a very good source that the results of the Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam held last December 2007 could be released in the first week of February. Barring any major development, we trust that this information is accurate as of this time. Once the board exam results are released by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), we'll be one of the first to post them on our Web site. So visit us regularly.

In his final State of the Union, President George Bush on Monday focused on the U.S. economy and curbing Congress' penchant for earmarks. On the issue of immigration, Bush merely reiterated his call for comprehensive immigration reforms. "We need to acknowledge that we can never fully secure our borders until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy," Bush said. On those who are already in the U.S. illegally, Bush said they must be dealt with in a sensible and humane way. A solution must be found that also upholds U.S. laws and its highest ideals, Bush said.

Over the past weeks, we've received news that a number of nurses have sucessfully left for work in Canada. The employment opportunities, of course, depend so much on their performance in the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam (CRNE). Passing the CRNE is mandatory to get a nursing license in that country. Each province oversees its own nursing application program and each may have its own set of requirements, much like in the U.S. where each state have different licensing requirements. To get an overview of the application process in Canada, you can start at the Web site of the Canadian Nurses Association .

Diana Smith of Integrated Biometric Technoloy (IBT) wrote us to give some updates on their fingerprint scanning services. IBT is one of the fingerprint scanning service providers accredited by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations (IDFPR) which oversees the issuance of nurse licenses in Illinois. If you wish to apply for a nursing license in the state, you can send your fingerprint card to IBT and they will scan and submit your digitized prints to the appropriate agencies. IBT has lowered its service fee to $49.25 , which is a result of the FBI lowering it's own electronic fees late last year. If you recall, the OLD service fee was $54. When sending your accomplished fingerprint cards to IBT, please include a note or a letter asking IBT to forward a receipt directly to Continental Testing Service (CTS). The receipt is proof that an applicant has completed the requirements for submitting fingerprints. Also in the letter, please write down your contact in...

Starting February 2008 and until February 2010, the Canadian Registered Nurse Examinations (CRNE) will be composed of multiple-choice questions only. Aside from multiple-choice questions, the CRNE in the past also had fill-in-the-blank questions. Last year, a scandal broke out because some or all of the questions in the short-answer part (fill-in-the-blank) were alegedly leaked out in one examination . About 15% of the entire test was composed of fill-in-the-blank questions. There are 300 questions in the updated CRNE, which is a mandatory exam to get a nursing license in Canada. About 40% of the questions are independent questions while the remaining 60% are presented within cases. For more information, you can read the press release from the Canadian Nurses Association Web site by clicking here .

Opening a bank account in the US while holding a tourist visa used to be impossible, since they normally require a social security number and at least two valid proofs of identification. But at least one bank now allows a tourist to open a bank account. You can open a bank account with Washington Mutual using your valid Philippine passport and a current US visa (usually stamped inside the passport). A bank account can be useful if you want to transact using Paypal's services, which requires that you have a US bank account. Although, I think, now you may get an account with an accredited Philippine bank as well (please check with Paypal's Web site for the list). Getting a US checking account will also let you issue your own check for paying for your nursing licensure application. If you open an account at WaMu, you'll get both the checking and savings account as well as a debit card that you can use for retail or online purchases.

A reader of this blog just informed us that registration with Pearson Vue was needed before the Eligibility was issued. So, if your CES report has been issued or, at least, when all the documents needed for the CES is already complete, you may want to register and pay the testing fee to Pearson Vue (http://www.pearsonvue.com/nclex/) so that your Eligibility and your ATT can be issued. Technically, you can register earlier with Pearson Vue since you have one year to get your Eligibility. We have only learned about this through this reader's feedback because, in our own applications, we had registered with Pearson Vue even before our CES report was issued. Once you get your ATT or Authorization To Test, you have three months (90) days to schedule your exam. The testing fee is $200, and if you're taking the NCLEX outside the US, there's an additional $150-fee.

I just got confirmation that CTS, which handles applications for nurse licensure in Illinois, has increased the application fee from $79 to $82. Both CTS' Web site and the application packet that can be downloaded from the Illinois Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation Web site shows the fee increase.

We've just uploaded the schedule of CPE seminars for the first half of 2008 to be conducted by the Philippine Nurses Association. The PNA advises everyone interested in attending any of these seminars to confirm attendance days ahead as some changes in the schedule may occur. For other inquiries, PNA's Nicole me be called at this number (632)400-4430. Click here to view the schedule .

Welcome 2008. A new year has arrived and the question on most foreign nurses' minds is about the immigration prospects for foreign nurses to the US. The past year showed very little progress for nursing immigration and this year, an election year in the US, promises very little for a comprehensive immigration reform in the country. Continue to have faith, however, that there could be good news for nurses hoping to migrate to the US. If there is something that can be done this year, it should happen in the first quarter when the entire US is not yet consumed with election-related issues. Immigration expert Carl Shusterman , in his monthly newsletter, says that he is hopeful a legislation to bridge the nursing shortage in the US would be passed early this year. "House leaders have indicated that a bill to recapture unused visas for registered nurses and physical therapists will be considered during the first quarter of this year," Shusterman said. Let us hope and pray that ...