IATF wants nursing board exam to be conducted in June — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is requesting to conduct the board examination for nurses in June, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said this is to ensure that more nurses would be able to augment the health workforce attending to COVID-19 patients especially with the surge of cases in the country.

“Kausap natin ang PNA (Philippine Nurses Association), kausap natin ang PRC (Professional Regulation Commission). Ang isa na nga pong hiling, agahan na lang natin ang board exams ng mga nurses,” Vergeire said in an online press briefing.

(We are talking with the PNA and PRC. One of our requests is to schedule the board exams for nurses earlier than the schedule.)

“I think it was scheduled on December. Nirerequest natin at nirerequest ng IATF na baka pwede nang gawin ng June, so that by July may mga fresh graduates and freshly licensed graduates na tayo na pwede na rin nating makasama sa ginagawa nating response,” she added.

(I think it was scheduled for December. The IATF is requesting to conduct the board exams on June so that by July we will have fresh graduates who can join us in the pandemic response.)

The Nurses Licensure Examinations (NLE) is scheduled on November 21 and 22 this year based on the PRC calendar.

The NLE was initially scheduled on May 30 and 31 and on November 20 and 21 but was moved to another date as requested by the PNA.

Vergeire revealed this proposal of the IATF when asked about the suggestion of House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco for the DOH and PRC to tap unregistered nurses to serve as health workers amid the country’s fight against COVID-19.

In response, Vergeire said that under the Philippine Nursing Act, temporary permits can only be issued to licensed nurses.

According to Vergeire, some local governments have already been tapping doctors who have yet to pass board exams to help in the primary care facilities of their localities.

She added that the DOH is also open to suggestions that could help beef up the country’s COVID-19 response, especially with the need for more healthcare workers amid the still high COVID-19 numbers in the country.

JE