Over 2,500 Filipino Nurses Sit for US Exam in Q1
MANILA: More than 2,500 Filipino nurses sat for the US National Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the first time in the first half of 2015 in the hope of practicing their profession in America, House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. has said.
“The number is up 28.6 percent versus the 1,951 Filipino nurses who took the NCLEX for the first time, excluding repeaters, in the first semester of 2014,” Gullas, vice chairman of the House committee on Higher and Technical Education was quoted as saying by Manila Times.
Reportedly, the number of candidates taking NCLEX is considered a measurement on the number of Filipino nurses who want to obtain US licenses or seek gainful employment in America.
Gullas further said a recruitment firm licensed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will screen qualified Filipino nurses for possible deployment to the United Kingdom and Singapore.
These nurses may receive salaries of 1,500 British pounds (PhP107,000) and 1,950 Singaporean dollars (PhP65,000), respectively, Gullas reportedly said.
He added that the screening will be conducted at the Cebu Provincial Capitol’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO) from August 17 to 18.
Statistics show that among foreign-educated nurses, Filipinos remain the most active job-seekers in America, according to Gullas.
He was quoted as saying that 395 Indians, 236 Puerto Ricans, 195 South Koreans, and 130 Jamaicans also took the NCLEX for the first time from January to June this year.
Since 1995, 159,877 Filipino nurses have taken the NCLEX for the first time, including 4,580 non-repeaters who took the test in 2014.
A strong supporter of the Filipino nursing profession, Gullas has been urging Congress to restore the entry-level basic monthly pay of public nurses to Salary Grade (SG) 15—the equivalent of PhP24,887, Manila Times reported.