JEDDAH, 29 July 2007 — Flunkers in past nursing exams may still have a sunshine career should legislation and policy action be taken in the Philippines regarding the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN), a career option in the United States and Canada.
This is also a possible option for those students who do not want the longer course and the heavier Registered Nursing (RN) degree that the Philippine Nursing Act provides.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said that based on previous exams only 40,000 out of 78,000 nurse aspirants usually pass the nursing licensure exams. What to do now with the big number of nursing flunkers is a big headache for the government. There are those flunkers who have been failing the nursing exams even after several retakes.
Aside from upgrading the quality of education and the comprehension level of the nurse aspirants, the labor chief said the possibility of giving them another career option may be explored given the need of the United States and Canada for more licensed practical nurses.
Practical nurses perform simple medical tasks, mostly dealing with patient medication and care, under the direction of a full nurse or a physician.
While the Philippines do not license practical nurses, US and Canada recognize and give them licenses.
They earn a lot in these countries and may become an addition in the labor force to reckon with.
“This can be a sunrise opportunity that we should look at and explore with those engaged in education and training, particularly the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and TESDA. We can forward our findings to our legislators if legislation would be necessary,” Brion said.
He said the idea came up when he met recently with Sen. Edgardo Angara to discuss the employment situation in the country, including the matter involving the country’s nurses.
“This is a policy issue that we will look at together with the stakeholders, particularly the PRC, CHED, and TESDA,” Brion was quoted as saying by local papers. “We will have to find out what we can do for those who will not make it in the licensure examination and those who want to make the shorter LPN route their career choice.”
He likewise encouraged interested parties such as those who took the nursing exams and other stakeholders including the government and the academe to engage in a healthy debate and come up with a viable solution to this annual problem.
The Board of Nursing expects anew to come out with the June 2007 nursing licensure exam results by mid-August.
