Leyte grad tops 16,908 Nurse Licensure Exam passers

(Updated 8:55 p.m.) A graduate from a college in Leyte province topped the list of over 16,000 passers of the Nurse Licensure Examination given last December, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced on Wednesday. Glicyl Arante Alvero of Colegio de Sta. Lourdes of Leyte Foundation garnered 85.80 percentage score to lead the 16,908 passers in the exam, the PRC said. A total of 49,066 took the exam, which means the passing rate is 34.45 percent.  [Click here for complete list of Nurse Licensure Exam passers.] Tied at the No. 2 spot were Phyllis Glee Cuyag Guting from Mountain View College, Alfa Cresia Nacino Nilo from Saint Mary's University, and Billy Tabon Rabago from New Era University, all with 85.40 percent. At No. 3 was Margeaux Jen Acedo Samonte from Father Saturnino Urios University with 85.20 percentage score. Saint Paul University in Tuguegarao province, meanwhile, led the top 10 best performing schools with a 99.28 percent passing rate. The exam was given by the Board of Nursing in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Iloilo, Laoag, Legazpi, Lucena, Nueva Ecija, Pagadian, Pampanga, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga on December 16 and 17, 2012. Employment But the chances of these passers being employed remain uncertain. In February last year, a Labor official said the demand for nurses abroad has declined. In an interview with "News To Go" anchor Howie Severino, Labor Communications Director Nicon Fameronag said: “Pinupunteriya nila kapag nag-enroll sila ay makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa, subalit may mga bansa naman [kung saan] hirap nang pumasok ang mga nurses.” 

• Japan, where language training is required;
• the United States, where he said the unemployment rate is higher than the Philippines; and
• the United Kingdom, which recently underwent a change in government.

As early as 2004, a VERA Files report said the Commission on HIgher Education had declared a moratorium on the opening of new nursing schools due to the declining quality and oversupply of nurses.  It was also reported that with 490 nursing colleges in the country, the Philippines is producing up to 100,000 nurses every year—way beyond its needs. At a recent roundtable discussion on Universal Health Care, Dr. Marilyn Lorenzo of the UP Manila College of Public Health said this exemplies the irrational production of health professionals — a category that also includes doctors and midwives — in the country.— KBK/RSJ, GMA News