PRC: No law allows issuance of temporary licenses to nursing board exam non-passers

There is no provision in the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 that would legally allow the issuance of temporary licenses to nursing graduates who have yet to pass the Nursing Licensure Examination, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) said Thursday.

PRC Commissioner Jose Cueto Jr. stressed that Republic Act No. 9173 needs to be amended first before Health Secretary Ted Herbosa could push his plan of hiring unlicensed nursing graduates in government hospitals given they pass the board exam within a certain timeframe.

“Doon sa RA 9173, wala hong probisyon na nagbibigay ng kapangyarihan ang PRC, o any government agency, na magbigay ng temporary license sa mga nursing graduates na hindi pa nakapasa ng Nursing Licensure Examination,” Cueto said at the televised public briefing.

(In RA 9173, there is no provision that allows the PRC, or any government agency, to issue temporary licenses to nursing graduates who have not yet passed the Nursing Licensure Examination.)

“Kapag hindi napapalitan ang probisyon sa batas, hindi pwedeng gamitin ‘yung percentage na lower than 75,” he added.

(If the provision of the law is not changed, the percentage lower than 75 cannot be considered.)

Earlier, Herbosa said he wants to take in nursing graduates who flunked the board exam and scored 70-74% to help fill in the 4,500 vacant plantilla items for nurses in over 70 hospitals of the Department of Health (DOH) all over the country.

However, Section 21 of RA 9173 states that a special or temporary permit may only be issued to the following persons, subject to the approval of the Commission and upon payment of the prescribed fees:

• Licensed nurses from foreign countries/states whose service are either for a fee or free if they are internationally well-known specialists or outstanding experts in any branch or specialty of nursing;
• Licensed nurses from foreign countries/states on medical mission whose services shall be free in a particular hospital, center or clinic; and
• Licensed nurses from foreign countries/states employed by schools/colleges of nursing as exchange professors in a branch or specialty of nursing.

Cueto explained that if the non-board passers are allowed to work in government hospitals, they should be under the direct supervision of registered nurses.

“Kapag sila ay nasa ilalim ng isang registered nurse, hindi sila covered doon sa strikto na probisyon ng batas because they are not into the independent practice of the profession. They will be supervised all the way. May mga quality assurance mechanism [na] babantayan sila, lahat ng gagawin nila ay ipapaalam nila doon sa supervisor nila,” he added.

(When they are under a registered nurse, they are not covered by the strict provision of the law because they are not into the independent practice of the profession. They will be supervised all the way. There are quality assurance mechanisms wherein they will be watched over and everything that they do must be informed to their supervisor.)

According to Herbosa, temporary licensed nurses will have to render up to four-year return service to a government hospital after they pass their board exam before they are allowed to go abroad. This was his temporary solution to address the exodus of nurses who are opting for better paying jobs abroad.

If this issue is not addressed, he said he sees the number of nurses working in the Philippines to be exhausted in three to five years from now.

The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) and the Filipino Nurses United (FNU) both expressed disapproval of the proposal, saying the DOH should focus on hiring registered nurses instead given that around 120,000 of them are not currently working in the field of nursing.

To pass the Nursing Licensure Examination, an examinee must obtain a general average of at least 75% with a rating of not below 60% in any subject. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News