Copyright ©2006 CGFNS International Board Meeting October 2006 FRAUDULENT DOCUMENTS Report DONNA RAE RICHARDSON, JD, RN Director of Governmental Affairs and Professional Standards

Copyright ©2006 CGFNS International Board Meeting October 2006 CRAMMING of TRANSCRIPTS The Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) withheld the results of 599 examinees who passed the exam in December The students were from West Negros College and were mostly second degree holders, e.g. doctors and dentists. There transcripts reportedly had excessive hours. Hearings were held in the Congress and the Board of Nursing subsequently authorized release of the exam results. In May 2006 the PRC allowed 429 of the nurses to be registered and take their oath as nurses. CGFNS will utilize a secondary evaluation procedure for West Negros graduates for education and for licensure.

Copyright ©2006 CGFNS International Board Meeting October 2006 IELTS TESTING ISSUES The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) discovered fraudulent English scores and sent an advisory to other nursing groups. IELTS one of the English proficiency exams used for CGFNS’ Certification, Visa Screen Programs and the New Jersey Credentials Evaluation Service Report. CGFNS notified IELTS regarding the NMC report. IELTS has worked with CGFNS to establish two security measures to circumvent fraud. CGFNS uses the IELTS online Test Report Form Verification Service to screen every paper based report and also the new electronic score download system. The State boards of nursing consult CGFNS regularly regarding English scores. At least one State board has reported a fraudulent IELTS score.

Copyright ©2006 CGFNS International Board Meeting October 2006 LEAKAGE OF PHILLIPPINE LICENSE TEST QUESTIONS In June 2006 the PRC nurse licensing exam was compromised by the leakage of test questions. The leak has resulted in national hearings in the Philippine Senate, resignation of nursing leaders from the Philippine Nurses Association and the Board of Nursing and criminal actions against Board of Nursing members. The scandal has been on the national news because of the impact on the marketing of Filipino nurses abroad and the postponement of the NCLEX testing in Manila. The President transferred the PRC to the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor. The Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (60 days) to withhold the administration of the oath to the nurses who passed the exam however 3000 took it. The Court of Appeals has ordered the retake of the two exam parts leaked from the exam. A final order is expected from the Department of Labor shortly. CGFNS has surveyed the state boards of Nursing to determine which require initial licensure for NCLEX.. It is required for the CP but has not been for visa screen. CGFNS will determine if the criteria for certification of health care workers which calls for comparability of education, licensure and experience compels us to utilize additional evaluation measures for those who graduated in March 2006 and took the June 2006 exam.