Pasig hospital hiring June 11-12 exam nurses

By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
Manila Times

AS far as Pasig City General Hospital graduates who passed the flawed June 11-12 nursing licensure examination are as good as any.

The hospital on Thursday started hiring the nurses, amid calls for the examinees to retake the surgical/operation and psychiatric nursing subjects, in which answers were said to have been leaked.

“We’ll take passers from the 2006 board exam,” said Ninfa Ignacia, chief nurse of Pasig-PGH. “We want to give them a chance.”

Officials of the Philippine Regulation Commission had issued a warning it would revoke the license of those who already took their oath of office once proven they benefited from the leakage.

Ignacia disclosed that about 20 board passers were already undergoing training at the hospital. She said they would become part of the regular nursing staff after a time.

It is an assurance that nurse trainee Anna Marie Pamplona holds on to as she puts in long hours learning the ropes from regular nurses. She is sure of her competence, saying she has passed the test fair and square.

Other government hospitals have also expressed interest in the new nurses. One of them, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, a government-owned and-controlled corporate entity, said it is not discriminating against them.

“They have our trust,” said Jane Sta. Ana, deputy director for nursing services. “We will give them a chance to prove their capability.”

At the height of the controversy, a California-based company came to Manila to assure passers they would have a shot at jobs in the US.

In the United Kingdom, Filipino nurses expressed fears that hospitals there would shun the new nurses. It would be a pity, they said, because British hospitals preferred Filipinos over other nationalities.

Of the 14,000 graduates who took the exam, more than 17,000 made the grade.