Nursing Controversy Letter

Thursday, September 14, 2006

FOLLOWING my Manila Moods column two weeks ago about the leakage of the nursing board exam answers in the Philippines, I got a flood of angry emails from readers attacking me for saying that all the June 2006 exam takers should be asked to retake sections III and V of the exam, since it was answers to those questions which were leaked through several review centers.
A few days after that column appeared I received the following letter from Erlinda Castro-Palaganas, past governor of the Philippine Nursing Association for Region 1, in which she basically agreed with all of the points I had raised.
The letter is so good that I have decided to include it here in it's entirety:

Dear Rasheed,

Thank you for your holistic and analytical lens at looking at issues related to the nursing leakage. It is heartening and very comforting to note that there are still media advocates who believe in our cause. Comrades from all over the country call us, The Baguio Braves because we dared come out against the giants when we said, “there is a leakage” in the last June 11-12 nursing licensure examinations.

In one of our public statements, we, The Baguio Braves Alliance, whose members include those who exposed the leakage in the June 2006 local nursing board examination and nursing leaders, denounces in the strongest possible terms the reckless manner with which the Professional Regulation Commission handled the fraud that attended the said professional test. Particularly, we take notice of the following:

1. PRC exerted every possible effort to cover up the fraud. Even if it had overwhelming evidence thereof in its hand, it still audaciously claimed in a public statement that there was no leakage.
2. When it could not cover up the leakage, it insisted on conducting the investigation amidst resounding calls for an independent investigating body. What were the fruits of the PRC investigation? Nothing. It only acknowledged that there was leakage but it could not determine the culprits. Was this an admission of PRC incompetence? Or was its decision to turn over the investigation to the NBI occasioned by the fact that it stumbled upon evidences that could implicate “friends and associates” and did not want to be the one to nail them? Pontius Pilate still lives!

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CGFNS Meets with Philippine Delegation

PHILADELPHIA, PA — MARCH 5, 2007 — The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS International) Board of Trustees President Dr. Lucille Joel, Chief Executive Officer Dr. Barbara Nichols, and counsel to CGFNS John Ratigan met in extended discussion with the Philippine Task Force organized by Congressman Monico Puentevella on March 5 at CGFNS headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. They heard the Task Force present its concerns about CGFNS's decision to deny VisaScreen^® certification to the June 2006 passers of the Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam. In addition to Congressman Puentevella, the Task Force was composed of Dr. Leonor T. Rosero, Chair of the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission, Dr. Remigia Nathanielz, representing the Commission on Higher Education and Philippine Nurses Association, and the leader of a group of June 2006 nursing licensees, Renato Aquino. After listening to and reviewing the concerns of the delegation, Joel and Nichols explained that CGFNS's decision was based on the requirements of U.S. law and was not subject to re-negotiation or further review.

Dr. Joel and Dr. Nichols explained the following to the Philippine delegation that:

• This decision was based on U.S. law, and what U.S. law required of CGFNS in the circumstances of the June 2006 examination. The key question was not what Philippine authorities did, but what U. S. authorities would have done in similar circumstances.
• CGFNS determined that in the case of the June 2006 Philippine license examination, the compromise situation was handled in a way that was not comparable to the way it had been handled in the U.S.
• CGFNS has been gathering information on this matter almost since it occurred. Dr. Nichols led a fact-finding team to Manila in September 2006 for exactly that purpose. CGFNS has been well and thoroughly informed of developments throughout this process.
• As Dr. Nichols advised Dr. Rosero, the decision on this issue made and announced by the CGFNS Board of Trustees on February 14 was unanimous. That decision is final, and will not be reconsidered. The Philippine delegation accepted that fact.
• We hope that is the message the delegation will take back to the Philippines -- that the time for challenges and delegations is past.
• The sooner the responsible authorities in the Philippines move forward to implement the steps for a re-take of Tests 3 and 5, without the need for Philippine nurses to surrender their current licenses in order to do so, the better it will be for all concerned.

Read FULL STORY @ cgfns.org

It’s about PRC, not CGFNS

It’s about PRC, not CGFNS

First posted 02:12:11 (Mla time) 2007-03-06
Inquirer

This in response to the letter titled “CGFNS should consider PRC’s competence.” (Inquirer, 2/27/07)

The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) does not condone any form of cheating, most especially one that is orchestrated by examiners for a very obvious reason: money.

But the controversy spawned by the leakage of test questions in the June 2006 nursing licensure exam is not about CGFNS. It is about the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). It’s time for the PRC to clean up its dirt and move on. The CGFNS only wants to keep its integrity.

MOISES M ALIPALA III, 612 W. Aldine 2N, Chicago Illinois 60657

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(UPDATE) CGFNS turns down 4-member RP appeal team

irst posted 17:43:47 (Mla time) 2007-03-06
Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) on Monday (Philadelphia time, Tuesday in Manila) rejected with finality the appeal of a four-member Philippine mission to reconsider its decision to withhold VisaScreen certification to the passers of the June 2006 nursing board exam.

On its website, the CGFNS said its board of trustees president Dr. Lucille Joel and chief executive officer Dr. Barbara Nichols, explained to the task force that CGFNS' decision “was based on the requirements of US law and was not subject to re-negotiation or further review.”

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Final try to change mind of CGFNS

Monday, March 5, 2007

By Maricel V. Cruz, Reporter A team headed by Rep. Monico Puentevella left for the United States on Sunday on a mission to convince the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools to reconsider its decision on the retake of portions of the leak-tainted June 2006 nursing licensure examinations. The team will present to CGFNS officials documentation and computations to justify its stand that the 17,000 examinees who passed do not need to retake the questionable portions of the tests, Puentevella said in an interview. The Bacolod City congressman, who heads the House Committee on Youth and Sports, acknowledged his group is practically on a “mission impossible.” But we’ll do our best for the sake of the 17,000 who passed the nursing board exams,” he said. The results of their mission would go into crafting a law that would prevent a repeat of the leakage in board exam, Puentevella said. “We will try and we will come up with a proposed legislation that will address this problem on leakage [in professional examinations] such as nursing board exams,” he said. Puentevella was accompanied by members of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the Board of Nursing, the Philippine Nurses’ Association and the Association of Deans and Colleges of Nursing. They were expected to meet with CGFNS officials Sunday night (Monday morning in Manila). The CGFNS is requiring passers of the 2006 nursing board exams to retake portions of Tests 3 and 5 before they are granted VisaScreen certificates. Medical workers seeking jobs in the US must secure VisaScreen certificates before they can be granted working visas. If the CGFNS is not swayed by the task force’s evidence, those who passed the 2006 nursing board could either apply for jobs in countries outside the US or choose to retake the leaked portions.

RP team leaves Sunday to appeal US decision on nurses’ visas

First posted 18:56:34 (Mla time) 2007-03-03
Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Four officials of vested interest groups will leave for the US Sunday to appeal the decision of the United States’ Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools that it will not accept Filipino nurses who passed the leak-tainted June 2006 board exams unless they retook portions of the test.

Professional Regulation Commission chairperson Leonor Rosero told the Inquirer Saturday they would explain in detail to the CGFNS what happened last year and the steps they took to address the problem. She said they would also ask the CGFNS how it came up with its decision.

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Ifugao parents, heath practitioners favor 2006 nursing board exam retake

PIA Press Release
2007/03/02

LAGAWE, Ifugao (2 March) -- At least two health practitioners here support the move of the national government for the partial retake of June 2006 nursing board examination.

Provincial Health Officer Dra. Mary Josephine Dulawan said she understands the plight of the examinees and their parents, however, the retake appears to be the best remedy to redeem the prestige of the profession.

“I am not happy with the retake of the board examinations, however, in the end if we look at the standards of the profession, we have to have the retake,” Dulawan said.

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Nursing exam retake

First posted 11:49:21 (Mla time) 2007-03-02
INQUIRER.net

From print news and TV news reports, it seems this controversy is being boiled up by Secretary Brion.

I can feel he has an axe to grind against the PRC Head. Since the start of controversy, Mr. Brion has been for a retake “without taking into consideration" the nurses who took the exam honestly. His wish was not granted after a thorough investigation conducted by NBI and the decision of the Court of Appeals.

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PRC drafts order for nursing board retake

First posted 20:56:18 (Mla time) 2007-02-27
Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- Nurses who passed the scandal-marred June 2006 licensure examination will have to retake portions of the test if they want to work in the United States -- and this time it is not only the US Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools that is talking.

The Professional Regulation Commission is already drafting a resolution which will “harmonize” local retake guidelines with that of the CGFNS, a nursing group leader involved in the process told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday.

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