Angelite Nurses

CGFNS to ’06 nurses: Forget appeal, take test
By Nikko Dizon
Inquirer
Last updated 04:09am (Mla time) 02/24/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS )is standing pat on its decision not to issue VisaScreen certificates to those who passed the tainted June 2006 nursing licensure examination—unless they retake the questionable portions.

The latest CGFNS statement, posted yesterday on its website and attributed to its chief executive officer Barbara L. Nichols, gave emphasis to the requirements of US immigration law.

It was issued after nursing groups and the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) formed a task force that would travel to the United States to appeal the commission’s decision.

In the statement, Nichols said the CGFNS recognized that the June 2006 passers who had been sworn in as registered nurses were “validly licensed in the Philippines.”

But it is US immigration law that requires the CGFNS to make “a determination as part of the VisaScreen process about several elements of the visa applicants’ education, training, license, and experience—including their comparability to US nurses,” she said.

“After reviewing the circumstances concerning the irregularities of the June 2006 nursing license exam, CGFNS concluded that the licensure process for [that exam] is not comparable to that required of US nurses, and that US immigration law therefore prohibits issuance of a VisaScreen certificate to individuals who passed this exam,” she added.

Immigration process

Nichols further said: “The VisaScreen certification process is an immigration process—not a licensure process—that must be satisfied to obtain an occupational visa to work in the United States.”

She said that the VisaScreen certification program was “a federally mandated immigration screening program for certain foreign health professionals” seeking employment in the United States, and that CGFNS was “designated by US immigration law to administer this program.”

Nichols reiterated that the June 2006 passers could “overcome this bar” and qualify for a VisaScreen certificate by “taking the equivalent of Tests 3 and 5 on a future Philippine nursing exam.”

Asked to comment, Pia Bersamin-Embuscado, counsel for the UST Faculty Association, told the Inquirer in a text message that the CGFNS statement “should put all questions to rest.

She added: “June 2006 nurses have the option to retake Tests 3 and 5 if they want to go to the US. This is what we were worried about. Unfortunately, only the few people who stood by us saw this coming.

“We wanted what was best for our nurses. We hope that the PRC, the PNA (Philippine Nursing Association), and the June 2006 nurses will open their eyes and not waste precious time and money but be productive.”

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