11 J. Luna Castro St., North Susana Exec. Vill.

, Old Balara, Quezon City

February 26, 2012

Dr. Carmelita C. Divinagracia, Phd, RN Dean of College of Nursing, UERMMMC 64 Aurora Boulevard, Brgy. Doa Imelda, Quezon City

Dear Dean Divinagracia,

I am an alumnus of UERMMMC Nursing Batch Altairs 2011. I am currently applying for the NCLEX in California, USA. I have already passed all the initial requirements and paid the due fees to the California BON dated December 31, 2011. On February 5, I have received a mail from them requiring me to pass my Case Form the Major, Minor, Actual Delivery, Assist, and Cord Care cases.

I was about to let the school mail my Case Form when I found out that my classmates from KAPLAN NCLEX RN Review Center, who are also applying for NCLEX California, have been getting rejection letters and were advised to repeat the Medical-Surgical and Obstetrics Concepts in a California Nursing School. Justification letters have been issued by their respective deans but were still denied. The reason is that the completed date of the cases were not concurrent with the theory portion.

Further clarifications were attempted by some of my classmates. Their application analysts said that the dates of the five (5) Major, and five (5) Minor Cases should all fit in the same semester as the Medical-Surgical Concept concerning the cases. Likewise, the dates of the five (5) Actual Delivery, five (5) Assist, five (5) Cord Care Cases should all fit in the same semester as the Obstetrics Concept concerning the cases.

Some of the cases in my Case Form were completed in the same semester as with the Concept, but a number of them were not.

When I was still a nursing student, we were assigned to various wards in the UERM Hospital. When my batchmates and I were rotated to Delivery Pay Ward and Delivery Charity Ward, there were very few delivery cases versus numerous students. Same is true with the Operating Room, Emergency Room and Outpatient Department where we get our Major and Minor Cases.

Since UERM Hospital - being a private institution, is having a hard time to accommodate every student, we were advised by our clinical coordinator to affiliate in government hospitals and lying-ins, which have a lot of cases, to complete our Case Form. It was permitted when we were already in our 4th year. As result, almost everyone in the batch had completion before graduating including myself. The California BON had become very strict by not allowing any form of completion of cases beyond the semester. And in this criterion is where nursing graduates are rejected. This is not limited to UERMMMC graduates but encompassing all the nursing graduates in the Philippines who fail the concurrency regardless of school.

According to one of my classmates from KAPLAN Review Center who studied in University of Makati, this criterion is assumed to be implemented by the California BON around August, 2011. According to their College of Nursing Office, the last successful application was granted on July, 2011 and the succeeding applications were all recommendations to repeat Med-Surgical and Obstetric Concepts.

In ____________, they even assigned an NCLEX Personnel to counsel students about their applications. But still, those who have applied in the NCLEX California still keep on getting rejection letters.

My classmate from KAPLAN Review Center, who graduated from the University of Makati, has been my most solid partner in this investigation. She is one of the top 10 students from last December Local Board Exam. Its just a sad fact that even with her caliber; she will still not be eligible to take the NCLEX California because of the very rigid cases concurrency.

She also sought help with their dean. Justification letters were issued but were still not enough. Until she decided to pay a visit to Dr. Anabelle Borromeo - the Chief Nurse of St. Lukes Medical Hospital, her mentor in University of Makati. She told Dr. Borromeo everything. According to my classmate, Dr. Borromeo picked up her cellphone and called key persons in front of her. She alerted Betty Roxas, ADPCN President and the CHED Technical Committee. Unfortunately, Dr. Borromeo left this weekend to pay a visit in the US and will be back next

week but according to my classmate, she will be hearing from Dr. Borromeo as soon as the doctor arrives in the Philippines.

Dr. Borromeo also mentioned an article from CNN entitled Manilas forgers graduate with honors from Recto University which was published in January 17, 2012. She was trying to point out the congruency of the article to the heavy screening of the United States.

Even in the UERMMMC College of Nursing, School profile forms are to be completed. Questions like When was the school founded? and Whats the vision and mission? Even thick course syllabus and clinical rotation schedules that an alumnus pays for more than a thousand peso are asked. These requirements were not asked a few years back.

My other classmates from KAPLAN Review Center have decided to seek help from their respective deans as well and yet the only help provided were justification letters that were again rejected. They were even advised to just take the NCLEX in other states like Vermont because its easier to get NCLEX eligibility. Even in other Review Centers like Rachel Allen, those applicants who were rejected were advised to take it in Vermont as well because its convenient, it doesnt require Social Security Number a very ideal entry point to the US.

As a result, there has been a flood of application in Vermont. Communication between the Vermont BON and its applicants has slowed down. Now, there has been a circulating rumor that Vermont will also require a Social Security Number because of flooding applicants. And if Vermont, the most lenient of all states in the US, follow, it is not far from happening that other states will also follow, thus closing the United States for US citizens and immigrants exclusively because only they have Social Security Numbers.

I have put here online forum sites where all nurses who studied in the Philippines express their concerns regarding the issue. http://nurses.definitelyfilipino.com/index.php/2012/02/advisory-for-philippine-nurseswho-are-planning-to-apply-or-take-the-california-nclex-rn/ http://allnurses.com/international-nursing/ca-board-nursing-647809-page15.html

When I first heard of this matter, I thought that its as simple as providing all the requirements, paying the fees, and informing the school to write a justification letter. I thank God that I was halted in sending my application right away for it will surely be rejected without remedy. I feel sorry to my fellow applicants most especially to my schoolmates who got rejected. Some of them have given a lot of requirements from the school to the BON already. Multiple Fed Ex deliveries have been made, 1500 pesos per delivery, but still are denied. Meanwhile, there are also people like me who are US immigrants that is only allowed to stay here in the Philippines for a limited time or else my visa will be revoked.

This has become quite a nationwide problem and is increasingly becoming a threat to the Philippine Nursing Profession. The rejection of the Nurses of today will also be the rejection of the Nurses of tomorrow unless drastic change in the curriculum will be made. Thank you very much for the privilege of sharing my story. May the Lord bless this case and all the people who will help defend the integrity of the Philippine Nursing Profession!

Yours Truly,

Jeffrey E. Canlas Nursing Alumnus Batch Altairs 2011