'We want Oath-taking.'
This seems to be the message of the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA) and Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing (ADPCN) as the following, back-to-back articles, by Jocelyn R. Uy of Philippine Daily Inquirer and Sheila Crisostomo of The Philippine Star, were published this morning regarding the position of these two Nursing Organizations re: Cancellation of Oath-taking for July 2011 NLE Passers:
Nursing deans question oath-taking cancellation
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated August 30, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) and the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing (ADPCN) yesterday questioned the scrapping of the mass oath-taking for those who passed the licensure examination for nurses.
PNA president Dr. Teresita Barcelo said the announcement by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) came “too late in the day,” disappointing not only the nurses but their parents as well.
“Many of these nurses are sons and daughters of migrant workers who come home just to witness them taking their oath. How can we deny that to them? That should have been announced long before,” she said in an interview.
The PRC has decided to shelve the traditional mass oath-taking for newly-licensed nurses as part of the government’s austerity measures. The oath-taking for those who passed the July licensure tests for nurses is expected to be held early next month.
Barcelo claimed that the government has not been spending for this event. The nurses themselves pay a fee of P350 and another P250 for each companion, she said.
“There is no budget from the government for this (oath-taking). None that I know of and if that is the policy, why single out nurses? That should apply to all other professionals. Why do they discriminate (against) us?” Barcelo added.
The PRC’s Board of Nursing (BON) used to collect the fees but due to some controversies, the PNA assumed the task with the supervision of the BON.
The PNA and ADPCN urged the PRC to allow them to push through with the oath-taking for nurses.
“Many parents want to witness this milestone in their children’s life, thus, the mass oath-taking was conceptualized,” Barcelo said.
There are more than 37,000 passers in the July licensure examination for nurses.
Source: PhilippineStar.com, retrieved at 22:35 UTC +8
Nurses hit scrapping of rites
By Jocelyn R. Uy, Philippine Daily Inquirer 1:29 am | Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
The decision of the Professional Regulation Commission’s (PRC) Board of Nursing to scrap the mass oath-taking rites for newly registered nurses starting this year is not sitting well with the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA).
PNA national president Teresita Barcelo on Monday said the move to cancel the mass oath-taking ceremony next month may be too late for the oath-takers’ parents, mostly working overseas, who have already taken their leave from work to attend the event.
“It would be OK if it was announced earlier because now many parents and relatives of the oath-takers are anticipating the oath-taking and some are even coming home from abroad for that event,” Barcelo said in a phone interview.
She said the PNA wrote the PRC last Thursday after being informed of its decision, appealing that it push through with the ceremony, at least this time.
The association has even offered to sponsor the event just to see it push through on Sept. 25-26.
The PNA asked the commission to implement its decision starting in December, when the next board exam for nurses will be given, so that everyone would be informed early.
She said that last month the association reserved a venue for the oath-taking, which 14,000 to 15,000 board passers are expected to attend. At least 37,500 of 78,135 examinees passed.
“We could still hold the mass oath-taking and we could simplify it,” she said, stressing the importance of giving recognition to the exam topnotchers and to the schools that are doing well.
The Department of Labor and Employment on Sunday announced that the PRC’s Board of Nursing had decided to do away with the mass oath-taking to spare the government from the expenses “relevant to the holding of the traditional mass oath-taking.”
The announcement said it would help the families of the board passers save money as well.
But Barcelo said the event had always been a “self-liquidating activity,” in which not a single centavo came from the government. “The government does not spend for the occasion,” she said.
Not mandatory, board passers who choose to attend the mass oath-taking ceremony pay P250 to P350 for their guests.
She added that conducting the oath-taking either individually or by group during registration for nursing licenses with the PRC would be “inefficient” and “time-consuming” considering the almost 40,000 who passed the exam.
“This sends the wrong signal… it looks like they are discouraging these board passers not to be nurses anymore,” she said.
Source: Inquirer.net, retrieved at 22:36 UTC+8
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