NOVEMBER 2009 NURSE BOARD EXAMS SETS NEW RECORDS
The November 2009 Philippines’ Nursing Licensure Exams (NLE) has established many records of sorts, as follows:
- It has the most number of takers, 94,462 of them, in the history of the NLE. The next highest number of takers was in the NLE of December 2008, when 88,649 took the twice a year exams.
- It has the lowest percentage of passing, with only 39.73% of takers passing (37,527) the exams, which makes it the “most difficult “NLE so far. The second lowest was the NLE of June 2009, when the passing rate was only 42.13% ( 32,617 passed, out of 77, 901 takers).
- It has the most number of people passing the exams, with 56, 935 passers. Because of the sheer number of takers , 90, 000 plus, the NLE of November 2009 has correspondingly the most number of RN’s who will be sworn in, on two dates, March 08 and March 09, at two sessions on each date.
Above records include results of first timers and repeaters. The next NLE is scheduled on July 03 and 04, 2010, and will be administered in 11 cities all over the country.
For a complete listing of the NLE results in the last 13 years, please click here.
February 16, 2010
INTERESTED IN A NURSING JOB IN AN ABU DHABI HOSPITAL? HERE'S HOW
The requirements have changed for Abu Dhabi-bound Filipino nurses.
If you're a registered nurse, with at least 3 years work experience, and looking for a job opportunity in a hospital in Abu Dhabi, you'll now have to meet the added prerequisite of passing an online exam.
The online exam is the HAAD (Health Authority of Abu Dhabi) Exam offered by Pearson Vue Testing Center. The PVE is done at the Trident Tower , 312 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, during office hours from Monday to Friday. Nurses can apply online, choose his/her exam date, and pay the exam fee of $90. The test results can be obtained within a few hours after taking the exam.
After getting the results, the nurse can attach the results as part of his application for employment in any hospital in Abu Dhabi.
The better method of course, from the standpoint of the Filipino nurse, is to take the exam ONLY after having had an employment offer, or perhaps after employment interview. What use is the PVE anyway if no employment offer will come?
Among Abba's clients in Abu Dhabi, almost all will require nurses to have taken and passed the exams. There are plans at present that calls for a recruitment trip from the Abu Dhabi hospital, for the visiting hospital representatives to conduct interviews, and for those who pass the interviews to take the PVE. An ideal scenario? Yes, but for now just a dream.
Until that scenario is achieved, a nurse will have to take the PVE first , before she can be considered for a nursing job in Abu Dhabi. For questions about nursing jobs in UAE , or the PVE, call Jen of Abba , at (02) 687-3668.
VHR ASSURES U.S.-BOUND WORKERS THAT WAITING
WILL END; OFFERS OPTIONS
 Tom Nichols, President of Vintage Health Resources of Memphis, recently talked to more than 60 nurses in Abba office in Manila, and assured them that efforts are being exerted to shorten the presently long processing of those who have applied for the EB 3 or immigrant visas.
VHR, a contracting company based in Memphis, Tennessee, is a long-time client of Abba, and has recruited more than 800 Filipino nurses for their client-hospitals in the U.S. since 1993. Starting 1998, it offered the green card or EB 3 visas to nurses. But the continuous flow of nurses suddenly slowed, starting late 2006, with the onset of visa retrogression.
Mr. Nichols assured VHR’s applicants that his company, along with many recruitment companies in the U.S., have made representation with government officials in the U.S. to solve the current retrogression problem. He has also offered H1B visas to those who meet the work visa requirements.
For the excerpts to the Question and Answer session conducted with the nurses, please click here.
SAUDI IS STILL TOP OFW DESTINATION
Saudi Arabia is still the top destination for Filipino workers in 2008. There were 275, 933 workers both new hires and rehires, who were deployed to the Kingdom last year.
Saudi Arabia is followed by UAE, which also registered the highest incerease in 2008, compared with the previous year.
Total deployments for 2008 was 974, 399, up 20.1% from 2007. For details on top destination, click here.
SAUDIS GET TOUGH ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
The government of Saudi Arabia, thru its Cabinet, approved a set of regulations that will further promote human rights of migrant workers and penalize human trafficking. The prominent features of the regulations, recommended by the Shoura Council, include penalties against coercion, threats, misuse of position or influence, taking advantage of the workers’ weakness, coercive service, practices similar to slavery.
A committee has been formed to monitor known victims of human trafficking and human rights violations. It will ensure that victims are not harmed again, and will coordinate with the authorities concerned to repatriate foreign victims if they so request, or pursue complaints against the offending parties.
CAMBRIDGE TALKS TO APPLICANTS ON LONG DISTANCE VIDEO
On June 15 and 16, Cambridge Healthcare System (CHC) conducted a series of interviews and sessions with more than 30 prequalified applicants for the U.S. Aside from interviewing the nurses , Teresa Taylorson and Kim Losiewski of CHC conducted a briefing session among the applicants, and talked to the group about how long the processing of their U.S. visas will take.
So, what's new with this?
Teresa and Kim were actually in Baltimore, while the Filipinos nurses were more than 9,000 kilometers away, in the Abba offices in Manila.
Welcome to the world of video conferencing.
Abba has done video conferencing before, but on a limited basis, or in a faraway place in Makati or Ortigas. This time, the video conferencing was done right smack in the Abba office.
(MORE)
KSA BOUND WORKERS TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED AND
FINGERPRINTED
Saudi Arabia is introducing fingerprinting and full-faced
digital photographs for visa applicants. sometime the year 2010,
as part of its effort to strengthen security.
There will be a network of service
center that will receive visa applications, and take fingerprints
and digital photo of those people wanting to visit or work in
Saudi Arabia.
The measure is also expected to
enable this Mideast country to enforce its rules against workers
who were not able to finish their employment contract or who do
not have no-objection certificates.
SAUDI ARABIA HAS NEW AGE LIMITS FOR OFW's
Saudi Arabia has new minimum age requirements for incoming foreign workers. The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the Philippines annouced that effective immediately, the age requirements for these occupation are as follows:
Domestic helper ......................................21 years
Nurse and Flight Attendant ...................... 21 years
Dressmaker ...........................................30 years
Salesman for Textile and Ladies wear .......40 years
Barber ...................................................35 years
Physical Therapist ...................................35 years
Family Driver ..........................................21 years
Male Worker ...........................................21 years
TAGALOG SPEAKERS ARE HIGHEST SCORERS IN IELTS
If your first language is Tagalog, it is very likely that you'll have the highest score among the IELTS takers all over the world.
That's what the statistics show for the Test Takers Performance of IELTS in the year 2007. The IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an exam required by English speaking countries (like the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia), to measure English proficiency of the examinee in 4 areas: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking.
A large number of examinees are Filipino RN's who take the exams as a requirement for work - entry to the English speaking countries.
Statistics show that examinees with Tagalog as first language fared better, with an overall band score of 6.57, compared to those whose first language is Spanish (6.54), Malay (6.44), Tamil (6.21), Hindi (6.21). For the complete figures, please click here.
The Tagalog speakers were highest in Listening, Writing, and Speaking.
IN 2008, FILIPINO NURSES STILL BIGGEST GROUP OF NCLEX - RN TAKERS
Among internationally educated nurses, or nurses who finished their course outside the U.S. the Filipino nurses still are the biggest number of NCLEX exam-takers.
Figures from the NCSBN (National Council of State Board of Nursing), show that for the year 2008, there were 20,748 Filipino nurses who took the exams, or 40.4% of the total internationally-educated nurses. The Philippines was followed by India, South Korea, Cuba and Canada.
In 2007 the Filipino nurses took the top spot, comprising 39.7% of the total
Below are the 2008 statistics:
NURSING IS STILL HOTTEST CAREER IN THE U.S.
The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has stated that healthcare is still the largest and fastest growing industry in the U.S. today, with nurses comprising the largest field employing 2.4 million people, and still growing rapidly.
BLS figures show that within a span of half a decade, healthcare costs rose from US$1.9 trillion in 2004 to an estimated US$4.0 trillion in 2008. The BLS attributes the growth to the U.S.‘s aging population and advancing technology. Both result in longer life expectancy, a larger more complex health system, and invariably, more nurses.
PHILIPPINE NURSE LICENSES NOW RECOGNIZED BY ASEAN COUNTRIES
The nursing licenses from the Philippines are now recognized by all ASEAN countries, and will thus enable Filipino nurses to practice their professions in Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia , Laos and Vietnam.
This development came after the signing of the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Nursing Services . Under the MRA, licensed Filipino Nurses will be recognized by the host country and will be allowed to practice their profession , without having to take the the national licensure exams of the other ASEAN members. A minimum work experience of 3 years is required for all the nurses.
The Philippines will be the biggest beneficiary of the MRA, having the most number of licensed nurses in the ASEAN.
NURSES FOR ABBA CLIENT CAN LEAVE FOR U.S.A. ON H1B VISA
Cambridge Healthcare, one of Abba’s U.S. based clients, continues to interview nurse-applicants for a non-cap hospital in the U.S. This means that successful applicants will be processed on an H1B, or work visa.
As a non- cap facility, the hospital does not need to wait for April 01 in filing the H1B petition. That considerably shortens the processing period to within 5 months or less, from the approval of the nurse’s application with Abba.
With an H1B visa, the nurse can land in the U.S. earlier, get employment with the H1B for 3 years, and extend the visa for another 3 years. Within this period, the nurse is expected to be able to convert her work visa to permanent residency status.
To qualify for the work visa, the applicants must have passed the NCLEX and IELTS. Interviews are ongoing in Abba, and client's selection are finalized with an overseas phone interview by the client.
Next Page >>
|
