Nursing board exam readied, PRC exorcises scandal ‘ghost’

With strict security measures in place, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) hopes to exorcise the ghost of a leakage scandal that marred its nursing licensure exam last year. PRC chairwoman Leonor Rosero said Saturday that personnel of the PRC and Board of Nursing are extra-conscious of keeping the questions secure from any possible leak. “All security measures, all precautions have been emphasized to the new BON and PRC employees. Huwag nila pabayaan para hindi magkaroon ng problema uli (We stress to them they should not let their guard down so there will be no problem)," Rosero said in an interview on government-run dzRB radio. She said the only “worry" that the examinees will have is to be at the test sites early. She said the PRC requires examinees to be at the sites at least an hour before the test. On the other hand, she said lawyers representing the US Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools are already stationed in some PRC regional offices to observe the exams. “Five lawyers are already in some of our regional offices to observe how we conduct the exam so they can report to CGFNS," she said. Rosero said other measures are in place to accommodate this year’s examinees, which doubled from last year. There are 78,797 examinees this year compared to 40,000 last year. In Metro Manila alone, there will be 42,000 examinees this year compared to 20,000 last year. Rosero said all board examiners have been sworn to secrecy on the questions, and have been made to make a security declaration and commitment. She said in a GMA-7 news story Friday night that all personnel who have access to the questionnaires were virtually kept prisoner in a room, with no access to telephones, cell phones, and the Internet. When asked if she expects Sunday’s exams to exorcise the ghost of last year’s mess, Rosero said the PRC already had an exorcising of sorts in the December 2006 exam. The difference, she said, is that this year, the security measures in December 2006 will apply to all PRC exams, and not just for nursing. “Walang nangyari at lahat na security measures noong December ginawa namin June 2007, so I think hindi manggagaling sa PRC anumang controversy. Lahat ng security measures sa opisina already in place, ang nangyari isang batch lang ang controversy (Nothing will happen this time because security measures we put in place in December last year worked. We’ll implement them again this time, so if there’s any controversy it won’t come from the PRC. Besides, what happened last year affected only one batch)," she said. “We do it all our exams not only for nursing," she added. Meanwhile, Rosero advised examinees to be at the test sites early, as the PRC will not allow any latecomer to take the exam. She added arriving early will help the examinees avoid stress. “We don’t allow latecomers to take exams. We inform them to be there at least one hour before the exam. Tingnan na nila saan ang room and school assignment, ano'ng sasakyan papunta doon (They should be early so they can determine their room and school assignments)," she said. Last June 1, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez ordered filing of criminal charges against two members of the BON for last year’s nursing examination leakage. In a 12-page order, Gutierrez ordered BON members Virginia Madeja and Anesia Dionisio haled before the Sandiganbayan for the leakage that triggered a scandal. Gutierrez, in issuing the order, denied the two BON members’ motion for reconsideration. Madeja was the assigned examiner in Medical Surgery Nursing, and Dionisio the assigned examiner in Psychiatric Nursing in last year’s nursing exam. An Ombudsman fact-finding panel headed by Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro, had recommended the filing of charges against Madeja and Dionisio for violating the Professional Regulation Commission law and the anti-graft act. Gutierrez rebuffed the claim of the two that the evidence against them was weak, saying circumstantial evidence is sufficient if they can combine to form “conviction beyond reasonable doubt." Besides, Gutierrez said Madeja’s motion for reconsideration was filed only on March 13, 2007, a day after the five-day period allowed by the Ombudsman’s rules of procedure. As for Madeja’s position that charging her with two offenses with common elements constitutes double jeopardy, Gutierrez said that what is prohibited is the indictment for the same offense after his conviction or acquittal. “Hence, without an acquittal or conviction for the same act, the rule on double jeopardy will not apply," she said. The case against Madeja and Dionisio stemmed from a complaint filed before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) by the PRC on the leakage that marred the June 11 and 12 exams. Records of the case show that a few days after the NLE, several nursing personalities complained about an alleged leakage incident in Baguio City. They said certain reviewees identified through their jackets as being from RA Gapuz Review Center finished the examination much more quickly. Investigation by the PRC Investigating Committee showed that “a total of 56 situations contained in respondent Madeja’s manuscript, identified as keywords, appeared in the handwritten leakage notes distributed to the reviewees of RA Gapuz Review Center in Baguio City and other parts of the country and five situations therein...with a total of 25 questions actually came out in the NLE in the subject Medical Surgery Nursing Test." Also, the investigating committee said “majority of respondent Dionisio’s test questions both handwritten and in computer printed notes were shown to have reached the reviewees of RA Gapuz Review Center and Institute for Review and Special Studies (INRESS), Manila, and in other parts of the country." The committee also said 90 questions from Dionisio’s test were among the 100 examination questions asked in the NLE in Psychiatric Nursing. The Ombudsman panel is still conducting a fact-finding investigation on the possible involvement of other persons to the leakage incident. - GMANews.TV