Nurses trapped in limbo
EDITORIAL
Nurses trapped in limbo
THE Professional Regulation Commission has played a cruel joke on the more than 17,000 nursing graduates who had passed the board examinations administered last month.
The exams were tainted with anomaly after several examinees complained that copies of the questions that appeared in the test sheets had been distributed in advance to reviewers in Baguio City. The commission acknowledged that a leakage had indeed taken place, and that two of its employees were involved.
Days after the leak was discovered, the PRC chief, Leonor Rosero, told a TV interview that making the examinees take the tests again was “an option” the commission was weighing. The announcement triggered skepticism and apprehension, and Rosero never raised the point again.
After the list of successful examinees was released on July 19, the PRC announced that they could take their oath as new nurses next month. There was, however, a catch. Those found to have benefited from the test leakage would have their licenses revoked.
On Saturday the PRC revised its stand once again, and postponed the oath-taking ceremony “until further notice.” That means there won’t be any swearing in until the National Bureau of Investigation will have ferreted out the examinees who had received copies of the leaked questions.
Eufemia Octaviano, chairman of the PRC’s Board of Nursing, explained she postponed the oath taking to allow the board to hear the concerns of the deans of the colleges from prominent nursing schools.
The commission’s waffling leaves the new nurses in limbo, many of whom no doubt will have to put their plans on hold; they can’t apply for jobs without their license.
We dread what would befall the 17,000 examinees if the investigation dragged on for months.
And what about the two PRC employees implicated in the leakage? The PRC merely said they have been “inhibited” from their functions and were under investigation. There was no mention if the commission is going to bring criminal charges against them.
Despite the PRC’s refusal to admit it, the leakage has compromised the integrity of the nursing licensure exams. Sen. Richard Gordon sees deeper repercussions, saying the leakage could “taint the credibility of the entire government-sponsored testing system and affect the image of all Filipino professionals going out of the country.”
In calling for a Senate investigation, the senator stressed that “since nurses are charged with the health, medical needs and life of their patients, here and abroad, it is essential that the PRC ensures that licensed nurses are competent and fully equipped to perform the responsibilities of the nursing profession.”
We agree with his indictment and his call for an investigation. But we can’t help feeling sorry for the nursing graduates who have been swept into the controversy and are suffering because of it.
FROM: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/july/31/yehey/opinion/20060731opi1.html
Nurses trapped in limbo
THE Professional Regulation Commission has played a cruel joke on the more than 17,000 nursing graduates who had passed the board examinations administered last month.
The exams were tainted with anomaly after several examinees complained that copies of the questions that appeared in the test sheets had been distributed in advance to reviewers in Baguio City. The commission acknowledged that a leakage had indeed taken place, and that two of its employees were involved.
Days after the leak was discovered, the PRC chief, Leonor Rosero, told a TV interview that making the examinees take the tests again was “an option” the commission was weighing. The announcement triggered skepticism and apprehension, and Rosero never raised the point again.
After the list of successful examinees was released on July 19, the PRC announced that they could take their oath as new nurses next month. There was, however, a catch. Those found to have benefited from the test leakage would have their licenses revoked.
On Saturday the PRC revised its stand once again, and postponed the oath-taking ceremony “until further notice.” That means there won’t be any swearing in until the National Bureau of Investigation will have ferreted out the examinees who had received copies of the leaked questions.
Eufemia Octaviano, chairman of the PRC’s Board of Nursing, explained she postponed the oath taking to allow the board to hear the concerns of the deans of the colleges from prominent nursing schools.
The commission’s waffling leaves the new nurses in limbo, many of whom no doubt will have to put their plans on hold; they can’t apply for jobs without their license.
We dread what would befall the 17,000 examinees if the investigation dragged on for months.
And what about the two PRC employees implicated in the leakage? The PRC merely said they have been “inhibited” from their functions and were under investigation. There was no mention if the commission is going to bring criminal charges against them.
Despite the PRC’s refusal to admit it, the leakage has compromised the integrity of the nursing licensure exams. Sen. Richard Gordon sees deeper repercussions, saying the leakage could “taint the credibility of the entire government-sponsored testing system and affect the image of all Filipino professionals going out of the country.”
In calling for a Senate investigation, the senator stressed that “since nurses are charged with the health, medical needs and life of their patients, here and abroad, it is essential that the PRC ensures that licensed nurses are competent and fully equipped to perform the responsibilities of the nursing profession.”
We agree with his indictment and his call for an investigation. But we can’t help feeling sorry for the nursing graduates who have been swept into the controversy and are suffering because of it.
FROM: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/july/31/yehey/opinion/20060731opi1.html
yes indeed! we are the ones suffering. we do not even know where to start... we are at a lost kasi ginagawa tayong parang mga batang tanga ng PRC!
Posted by
Anonymous |
3:35 AM
okay lang if oathtaking lang suspend nila. but the question is tuloy ba nurse registration sa prc on aug 15? mas importante naman yun. yung cancellation ng oath taking para lang masabi me ginagawa prc, pacute kung baga
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:07 AM
okay lang if oathtaking lang suspend nila. but the question is tuloy ba nurse registration sa prc on aug 15? mas importante naman yun. yung cancellation ng oath taking para lang masabi me ginagawa prc, pacute kung baga
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:11 AM
nars budek or anyone in the know, could you please answer my querry? with all the things going on, i am thinking to plan ahead, because time is running for all of us and i have to decide what i think is best. i don't want to be a BUM for GOD knows until when this investigation ends.
i passed the june NLE with a 79% rating and applied for registration at the prc, but with all the fuss going on, and if the investigation will drag until the end of september or GOD knows when..
> can i apply for a job (in a hospital, of course) while waiting for the result of the investigation?
> what are the consequences if i take again the NLE on dec?
a. if i will pass the dec. exam, can i use that rating in applying for a job and disregard my june rating?
b. what will happen if i fail the dec. exams?
thank you in advance. i just want to be enlightened in these difficult and dark times of my life.
Posted by
Anonymous |
5:06 PM