RP working on hosting NCLEX exam for nurses

Continental Airlines is facing a new marketing challenge amid reports that the U.S. licensure examination for nurses may soon be offered in the Philippines.

Wally Dias, Continental staff vice president for sales and marketing, noted that Philippine nurses taking the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX, on island form a significant percentage of passengers availing of the airline’s nonstop Saipan-Manila service.

But with the possibility of the NCLEX being offered in the Philippines, Dias said Continental would have to step up efforts to promote the direct flights to markets other than NCLEX examinees.

“That will be a challenge. As you know, we do have a number of [nurses] that visit Saipan for the NCLEX test,” Dias said. “We’re aware that [the NCLEX being offered in the Philippines] is possibly going to happen. We’re looking at ways at replacing those customers with more tourist customers.”

Marianas Visitors Authority chair David Sablan noted that the conduct of the licensure examination on Saipan has “helped enhance tourism to our island.”

“I would like to see it continue. We have to study what it will take to continue that program, especially now that Continental has increased the frequency of its Saipan-Manila flights,” Sablan said.

Starting this week, the airline will operate the previously twice-weekly service three times a week. Passengers now have the option to fly every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

Data from the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing showed that Filipino nurses compose majority of internationally educated NCLEX examinees.

A total of 7,786 Philippine nurses took the NCLEX in the first three quarters of 2004. This figure is over four times the number of Canadian examinees, who ranked second with respect to volume. India came third with 1,484 examinees, followed by South Korea with 974.

Currently, Philippine nurses take the NCLEX on Saipan or obtain a U.S. tourist visa and travel to Guam of the United States to sit for the exam.

Taking the test on Saipan, however, has proven more convenient, as the Northern Marianas does not require a U.S. tourist visa for NCLEX examinees.

Starting Jan. 1, 2005, the NCLEX will be administered at three pilot “international test centers”—Hong Kong, London, and Seoul.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing said other locations may be added later.

The NCSBN has set the following criteria for selecting testing sites: (1) national security, including economic climate; (2) examination security; (3) similarity of local laws with U.S. intellectual property and copyright laws; (4) person locations with high-stakes testing; (5) numbers and locations of internationally educated nurses; (6) regional accessibility; (7) number of U.S. military personnel and dependents; and (8) similarity of local nursing educational system to U.S. nursing educational system.

A report on the Philippine newspaper The Freeman affirmed that plans are now underway to hold the NCLEX in that country.

It quoted Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs officials as saying that the Philippine Nurses Association of America and the Philippine Consulate General in New York are now working on bringing the exam to the Philippines.

Last month, the New York Consulate and the nurses association met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo to formally present the association’s request for government support to make the Philippines a licensure examination site, the report adds.

Romulo, who was in New York for the 59th Session of the UN General Assembly, reportedly promised to act on the request.