Filipino Nursing Herald

After an extended period of time, I am finally able to write again on this blog. To those who've been generously clicking their way to this site from time to time, I offer you my gratitude and also, my apologies for not living up to your expectations and updating more often. Even after being on hiatus, this site still gets a couple of messages, mostly from people needing information about NCLEX test applications and job opportunities, and also from a few people who've stopped by just to say, they appreciate this site. To everyone, thank you for viewing this blog. I would say that I have been overwhelmed by work, whether online or offline, in these recent times. These are difficult times so we all have to our own share of work. The fun part about work though, is it ends everyday. Of course you start work again the next day, but it doesn't consume you 24 hours a day. I should have spent part of that free time writing here, but I have been having so much fun "having fun o...

Some 28,924 nursing graduates have passed the Philippine nursing licensure exams conducted on December 2007. The oath-taking of the new nurses will be on March 17 and 18, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia.

At least 43% of 67,000 nursing graduates who took the December 2007 nursing licensure exam have passed, a report by Inquirer.net said. Leonor Rosero-Tipon, chairman of the Professional Regulation Commission, said the 43.42% passing mark was within the usual passing range. The report added that graduates from St. Louis University, Xavier University, Siliman University, Trinity, Mindanao State University, and Palawan State University were among the top 10 in the latest Philippine nursing board exam.

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 .

Perhaps many of the repeat visitors of this blog have been disappointed over the past few weeks largely due to my failure to post new information on my blog. Please accept my apologies. I suppose all bloggers on the Internet have hit some kind of quiet period once or twice or more in their online careers. These past few weeks have taken much away from my time working on my young blog. I hope you would understand my dear friends. Scanning through some of the Web's pages, I found an interesting link: There's a GMAnews report about 21 Filipino nursing students who staged a protest rally earlier in the day to call for equal rights among Japanese nurses and Filipino nurses who could be deployed in Japan once a treaty between Japan and the Philippines becomes ratified. It was a bit confusing to read this piece of news. The news writer says that the student nurses were against the ratification and yet he failed to say exactly why they were against it. The news source (or the person in...

The Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) says that the results of the June 2007 Philippine nurse licensure exam won't be available until Aug. 15 or onwards, so while waiting, here are some things you can do to relieve your stress and make the most out of this quiet period. 1. Go to a park, a beach, or a nature trail . If you haven't done so already, now is the time to breathe in some fresh air and take in the soothing effect of nature's healing charms. Forget the mall, you've been there every day after school or clinical duty. 2. Cook for your parents or your loved ones. If you don't regularly do this, now is the perfect time to show some appreciation for your parents. If you're the regular cook in the house, prepare something special--a dish you've never cooked before. Remember that a happy stomach is the source of all happiness. For guys who don't know how to cook, this is highly recommended because the effort already makes it extra special. 3. Br...

The anxiety of waiting for the results of a major test, like the June 2007 Philippine Nurse Licensure exam, builds up when you expect that an announcement would come out soon. As the days draw nearer to a target date or a day that you'd expect the results to be published, the tension gradually intensifies. Some people cope adequately, while others lose sleep, lose appetite, and even, sometimes, lose their mind. (I'm exaggerating.) The Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC), which administers the nursing licensure test, earlier said results for the June 2007 board exams would be available by the middle of August. I assume that's from Aug. 15 onwards, or about two months after the exams were conducted in various parts of the country. Throughout the history of PRC, they've been terrible at calculations and predictions. Of course, you have to marvel at their efficiency and speed when processing license tests for master plumbers, foresters, and certified mill foremen. But ...

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) will begin NCLEX testing in Manila at the international Pearson Professional Center on Aug. 23, 2007. Scheduling for examination appointments will begin on July 13, 2007. Read the full story here .

Marco Sto. Tomas, a commissioner on the Board of Nursing of the Professional Regulatory Commission, told the Inquirer today that results of the June 2007 nursing board exam will probably come out between Aug. 15 to Aug. 31. Around 78,000 nursing graduates took this year's exam on June 11-12, including 13,000 examinees who passed the leakage-marred June 2006 nursing boards but had to re-take Tests 3 and 5, where questions were allegedly leaked to examinees. The re-take was recommended by the U.S. Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) which made it mandatory for June 2006 passers who want to be issued Visascreen certificates, a requirement for U.S. immigration applications. Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment said it would release the exam results of the re-takers ahead of the rest of the nursing examinees. Because of the volume of examinees this June, the PRC has given itself at least a month more than the usual target release-date for the nursing e...

The East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City offers a nurse volunteer program that runs for at least a month. Orientation is held every 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. To inquire about the program, look for Ms. Helen Lagumen every Wednesday from 9am to 11am. Oddly enough, you won't get answers from other people in the nursing training office if you ask them about the volunteer. You have to look only for Ms. Lagumen on Wednesdays. The requirements include: Resume with ID photo, PRC card, and you must fill out an application form.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) wants the government to closely monitor nursing school across the country to protect students from sub-standard education. The TUCP, in a statement, said enrollment in nursing schools continue to surge. Enrollment this school year in more than 400 nursing schools have jumped by 30% to 632,108 students from 486,233 last year. TUCP spokesman Alex Aguilar urged the Commission on Higher Education to closely monitor schools and step up their drive against schools that act merely as "diploma mills". Aguilar also called for improved regulation of the local nursing eligibility examination to protect its integrity

Got this bit of info from our friend, Bing: The Philippine National Orthopedic Hospital is hiring nurses up to this time. To apply, just bring along original and photocopies of your credentials (TOR, resume, board rating, certificates, license, etc.) and submit them in person to the nursing personnel office. They'll schedule you for an exam and if you pass, you'll through a series of interviews. For the exam, just brush up on your Ortho lessons back in college. If Orthopedic is hiring, the Philippine General Hospital has stopped hiring temporarily. They still conduct recruitment activities though and will accept anyone who wants to apply. If you pass and complete the entire recruitment stage, you'll be placed in a priority list and will be able to start work once a vacancy opens up.

The American Nurses Association, an organization of registered nurses in the U.S., has eased its position on June 2006 exam retakers. In an e-mail, the ANA said it will abide by the decision of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) to accept a retake of test 3 and 5 of the compromised June nursing licensure exams. In the e-mail, posted in the nclex-rn.net/nclex forum , ANA said a successful score in Test 3 and 5 of the exams, along with the completion of other U.S. licensure requirements would be sufficient for any of the affected June board passers to work in the U.S. "The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools has agreed to accept tests 3 and 5 for purposes of the prescreening. Given this, you are only required to retake tests 3 and 5. While ANA would have preferred a different outcome, retaking tests 3 and 5, plus meeting the other licensure and visa requirements is all that you need to do to work in the United States as a registered nurse,...

Asian American nurses are changing the face of the nursing industry in San Diego and other parts of southern California in the US. About 15 percent of registered nurses in San Diego are Asian or Pacific Islander, compared to 12 percent of the total population. In one hospital, Kaiser Permanente, the ratio is higher. Of 1,565 nurses working for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, a third, or 528, are Asian, according to the New America Media. The Philippines continues to be the leading source of nurses in the US. The Philippines is known to produce more nursing graduates and have more nursing schools than any other country in the world – 186 with the combined ability to graduate 20,000 nurses a year. Read the full story here .

The test retake for nurses who took the June 2006 board exams would be held on June 11 and 12, the government announced this week. Although a retake is not mandatory for all nurses who took the scandal-ridden June exams, the Commission on Graduates Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) have pressured local authorities into conducting a retake of Part 3 and 5 of the local licensure test for nurses who took the June exams. The CGFNS in a recent ruling said it will not issue a Visascreen certificate, a screening process needed when applying for immigration status in the United States, to nurses that took the scandal-tainted exams if they fail to retake the test. Local authorities, meanwhile, are still weighing the decision of the American Nurses Association (ANA) which is calling for a full retake of the exams, not just parts 3 and 5. Although the ANA is not a regulatory body in the US unlike the CGFNS, the group is very influential among nursing employers in their country. The organization has...