Nursing a Bad Image

Nursing a bad image

THE nursing profession has taken another hit after allegations of cheating and leaked test questions marred last June’s licensure exams. It is incumbent upon public officials and concerned agencies to punish whoever was responsible for the mess and save the profession’s credibility.

Last week, the Board of Nursing delayed the oathtaking of more than 17,000 nursing students who passed the exams. The chairman of the Professional Regulatory Commission has already threatened to suspend or revoke the licenses of those who took the test should the National Bureau of Investigation establish that cheating took place.

If the allegations are proven, the sanctions mentioned by the commission are justified if only to restore the image of the Philippine nursing profession, which has also seen the rise of dubious nursing schools operating without the necessary permits and facilities mandated by agencies such as the Commission on Higher Education.

More importantly, the credibility of the nursing profession in the country must be reestablished because the Philippines is one of the world’s top exporters of nurses. The country had the most number of examinees in the world that took the National Council Licensure Examination, a requirement for working in the United States. Annually, between 15,000-35,000 students graduate from nursing, while some 90,000 nurses have left the country over the past 10 years.

Not only will the demand for Filipino nurses lessen if cheating in licensure exams is not dealt with decisively, but their quality will also be compromised if they can’t even pass tests cleanly.

The culture of getting by easily has gradually made its way into the nursing profession, whether through setting up fly-by-night schools or making use of leaked questions to score high marks in a test. These practices must be stamped out if the country is to continue producing the best nurses in the world. Source:manilastandardtoday