Nurse Reporter Winter 2007 - Wyoming State Board of Nursing

CGFNS Denies Visascreen ® Certificates
for Philippine Nurses Who Passed
the Compromised June 2006
Philippine Licensure Examination
After careful consideration, the
Commission on Graduates of Foreign
Nursing Schools (CGFNS
International) has decided that those
Philippine nurses who were sworn in
as licensed nurses in the Philippines
following their passing the compromised
licensure exam of June 2006
are not eligible for a VisaScreen
Certificate. CGFNS began investigating
this issue soon after the first
reports of irregularities were received
and sent a fact-finding mission to the
Philippines in September 2006.
CGFNS has concluded that the
licensure process for those who
received their license as a result of
passing the compromised June 2006
licensure examination raises significant
questions about the accurate
assessment of the competencies of
many of those individuals.
Therefore, CGFNS is unable to
certify that the licensure is comparable
to a U.S. license. In this instance,
applicable U.S. immigration law will
not permit CGFNS to issue the
VisaScreen Certificate required of
internationally educated health care
workers to those nurses who obtained
Philippine licensure on the basis of
passing the June 2006 nursing licensure
examination. CGFNS notes,
however, that the June 2006 passers
are able to overcome this bar and
qualify for a VisaScreen Certificate
by taking the equivalent of Tests 3
and 5 on a future licensing examination
administered by Philippine regulatory
authorities and obtaining a
passing score.
Consequently, CGFNS urges the
Philippine authorities to provide an
opportunity for re-take of those tests
without surrender of licensure so that
the June 2006 passers may qualify for
the VisaScreen Certificate. The
integrity of foreign licensing systems
ultimately affects the health and safety
of patients in the United States, a
primary consideration of CGFNS in
its role in evaluating candidates under
U.S. immigration law. The decision
announced today is made in support
of this critical mission of CGFNS.
CGFNS is an internationally recognized
authority on credentials evaluation
and verification pertaining to
the education, registration and licensure
of nurses and healthcare professionals
worldwide. CGFNS is an
immigration-neutral, nonprofit organization
with 30 years of experience in
certifying the credentials of over
450,000 internationally educated
nurses and other healthcare workers.
Board Agrees To Particpate —
NURSYS ® License Verification System
The Wyoming Board of Nursing signed a
“Participation Request Agreement” to participate in the
Nursys® database during the January 9-11, 2007 Board
Meeting. In signing this agreement, the Board agreed to
submit Wyoming’s nurse licensing and disciplinary data
to Nursys®. According to the Nursys® web site,
Nursys® is a computer database system that contains
licensure and disciplinary information that has been provided
by member boards of nursing in the United States
and its territories. The purpose of Nursys® is threefold:
(1) verification of applicant licensure information; (2)
entering and review of disciplinary actions; and (3) provide
electronic communication between member boards
of nursing. The public is provided access to Nursys® for
the purpose of licensure verification.
Once the Board completes the process of conversion
to the Nursys® database system with the National
Council of State Boards of Nursing, the Wyoming
Board of Nursing will no longer perform licensure verification
for applicants for licensure. Verification of licensure
will occur through the National Council of State
Boards of Nursing at a fee of $30.00 per applicant. The
Board will keep you apprised of its conversion to this
system as we progress.
W Y O M I N G N U R S E R E P O R T E R 11