ANA's Statement on the June 2006 PNLE

AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION URGES NEW TESTS FOR PHILIPPINE NURSES SEEKING TO PRACTICE IN THE U.S.
EARLIER EXAMS COMPROMISED, QUESTIONS LEARNED PRIOR TO TESTING

SILVER SPRING, MD – The American Nurses Association (ANA) is urging the Philippine government to facilitate a retake of the nurse licensure exam without penalty for the nurses who passed the June 2006 examination. Following investigations by both the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and the Philippine government, it was discovered at least 110 questions (22 percent) of the 500 question exam were known by large numbers of examinees and test-preparation operators at least two days prior to commencement of the examination.

“It is clear that the exam was significantly compromised. In the interest of public health and safety, ANA believes that every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the professional exam and licensure process in order to uphold the public trust and confidence,” commented President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR.
ANA has resolved that all passing applicants of the June 2006 Philippine nurse licensure exam wishing to be considered for entrance into the United States to practice nursing should be required to retake a new and different nurse licensure test and obtain a passing score. ANA recognizes the June 2006 applicants who passed the examination are lawfully licensed to practice nursing in the Philippines. However, U.S. law requires that all non-U.S. licensed registered nurses applicants be reviewed to determine if the foreign educated nurse’s education, training license and experience is comparable to that of a registered nurse in the United States. Given the extent to which the June 2006 exam was compromised, there are significant questions as to whether the exam can be considered a reliable test of nursing knowledge.

Foreign educated nurses are required to be prescreened and certified as part of the temporary or permanent occupational visa application process, as detailed in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. ANA was one of the strongest proponents of the pre-screening provisions of that legislation as part of the association’s commitment to maintaining the highest professional standards, and ensuring a prescreening process that works to protect the public safety.

Continue Reading... SOURCE http://nursingworld.org/pressrel/2007/statementPhilippine_Nurse_Exam.pdf
ANA's Letter to PRC Chair: http://nursingworld.org/inc/LetterPRC022807.pdf