Fiji midwives signature drive gains momentum

A signature drive started last month seeking for the retention of Fijian midwives by the Department of Public Health is gaining support, with proponents claiming to have garnered more than a thousand signatures from the community.

Christi Omengebar, who is spearheading the signature drive, said the more than a thousand signatures they have obtained acknowledges the contributions made by the Fijian midwives to the CNMI.

Omengabar, a mother of one who swears by the importance of retaining the Fijian midwives at the Commonwealth Health Center, said she would be submitting the petition to the Office of the Governor and to the Legislature within the week.

“We have the support of the community,” she said.

Omengebar said the letter hopes to press for the suspension of the requirement for the Fijian midwives to take and pass the NCLEX, the licensure exam for nurses now also being required of midwives employed at CHC.

Rather than requiring them to take the NCLEX, the Fijian midwives should be retained because of their excellent track record in providing for the needs of expectant mothers and care for babies born at CHC, said Omengabar.

In an earlier statement, she said sending the midwives home would be a big loss not only to CHC, but also to the entire island community as future mothers and their future babies would be deprived of the personal care provided by these people.

“The care you receive from the midwives is totally different from what you receive from an RN [registered nurse],” she said.

DPH administrative services manager Marciana D. Igitol confirmed earlier that there are 34 hospital staff members in 15 hospital units and wards at CHC who must now take and pass the NCLEX if they want to continue working at the hospital.

The 34 hospital staff members, including nurses and midwives, are likely to leave the CHC if they fail to take and pass the NCLEX before June this year.

Under the law, a nurse or midwife can practice in the CNMI for a maximum of four years without taking the NCLEX exam, so long as they are licensed by foreign endorsement. After that period, they must take and pass the NCLEX.

Omengebar also said that the Fijian midwives have special training and each of them have their own credentials.

She said she could not see the reason why the board is forcing the midwives to take NCLEX. She said the licensing exam is insufficient to measure the skills of the midwives.