1.How do an individual becomes a Nurse?

What is the rating score needed in

the PNLE?

ARTICLE IV Examination and Registration

Section 12. Licensure Examination. –

All applicants for license to practice nursing shall be required to pass a written examination, which
shall be given by the Board in such places and dates as may be designated by the Commission:
Provided, That it shall be in accordance with Republic Act No. 8981, otherwise known as the "PRC
Modernization Act of 2000."
Section 13. Qualifications for Admission to the Licensure Examination. –
In order to be admitted to the examination for nurses, an applicant must, at the time of filing his/her
application, establish to the satisfaction of the Board that: (a) He/she is a citizen of the Philippines,
or a citizen or subject of a country which permits Filipino nurses to practice within its territorial
limits on the same basis as the subject or citizen of such country: Provided, That the requirements
for the registration or licensing of nurses in said country are substantially the same as those
prescribed in this Act; (b) He/she is of good moral character; and (c) He/she is a holder of a
Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from a college or university that complies with the standards of
nursing education duly recognized by the proper government agency. Section 14. Scope of
Examination. - The scope of the examination for the practice of nursing in the Philippines shall be
determined by the Board. The Board shall take into consideration the objectives of the nursing
curriculum, the broad areas of nursing, and other related disciplines and competencies in
determining the subjects of examinations.
Section 15. Ratings. –
In order to pass the examination, an examinee must obtain a general average of at least seventy-
five percent (785%) with a rating of not below sixty percent (60%) in any subject. An examinee
who obtains an average rating of seventy-five percent (75%) or higher but gets a rating below sixty
percent (60%) in any subject must take the examination again but only in the subject or subjects
where he/she is rated below sixty percent (60%). In order to pass the succeeding examination, an
examinee must obtain a rating of at least seventy-five percent (75%) in the subject or subjects
repeated
2. What are the grounds for revocation and suspension of Certificate of
Registration/ Professional License?

Section 23. Revocation and suspension of Certificate of Registration/Professional License

and Cancellation of Special/Temporary Permit. –
The Board shall have the power to revoke or suspend the certificate of registration/professional
license or cancel the special/temporary permit of a nurse upon any of the following grounds: (a)
For any of the causes mentioned in the preceding section; (b) For unprofessional and unethical
conduct; (c) For gross incompetence or serious ignorance; (d) For malpractice or negligence in the
practice of nursing; (e) For the use of fraud, deceit, or false statements in obtaining a certificate of
registration/professional license or a temporary/special permit; (f) For violation of this Act, the
rules and regulations, Code of Ethics for nurses and technical standards for nursing practice,
policies of the Board and the Commission, or the conditions and limitations for the issuance of the
temporarily/special permit; or (g) For practicing his/her profession during his/her suspension from
such practice; Provided, however, That the suspension of the certificate of registration/professional
license shall be for a period not to exceed four (4) years.

3. What is the Scope of Nursing Practice?

ARTICLE VI Nursing Practice

Section 28. Scope of Nursing. –
A person shall be deemed to be practicing nursing within the meaning of this Act when he/she
singly or in collaboration with another, initiates and performs nursing services to individuals,
families and communities in any health care setting. It includes, but not limited to, nursing care
during conception, labor, delivery, infancy, childhood, toddler, preschool, school age,
adolescence, adulthood, and old age. As independent practitioners, nurses are primarily
responsible for the promotion of health and prevention of illness. A members of the health team,
nurses shall collaborate with other health care providers for the curative, preventive, and
rehabilitative aspects of care, restoration of health, alleviation of suffering, and when recovery is
not possible, towards a peaceful death. It shall be the duty of the nurse to: (a) Provide nursing care
through the utilization of the nursing process. Nursing care includes, but not limited to, traditional
and innovative approaches, therapeutic use of self, executing health care techniques and
procedures, essential primary health care, comfort measures, health teachings, and administration
of written prescription for treatment, therapies, oral topical and parenteral medications, internal
examination during labor in the absence of antenatal bleeding and delivery. In case of suturing of
perineal laceration, special training shall be provided according to protocol established; (b)
establish linkages with community resources and coordination with the health team; (c) Provide
health education to individuals, families and communities; (d) Teach, guide and supervise students
in nursing education programs including the administration of nursing services in varied settings
such as hospitals and clinics; undertake consultation services; engage in such activities that require
the utilization of knowledge and decision-making skills of a registered nurse; and (e) Undertake
nursing and health human resource development training and research, which shall include, but
not limited to, the development of advance nursing practice; Provided, That this section shall not
apply to nursing students who perform nursing functions under the direct supervision of a qualified
faculty: Provided, further, That in the practice of nursing in all settings, the nurse is duty-bound to
observe the Code of Ethics for nurses and uphold the standards of safe nursing practice. The nurse
is required to maintain competence by continual learning through continuing professional
education to be provided by the accredited professional organization or any recognized
professional nursing organization: Provided, finally, That the program and activity for the
continuing professional education shall be submitted to and approved by the Board.

4. What are the qualifications to become a Nursing Service Administrator?

Section 29. Qualification of Nursing Service Administrators. –

A person occupying supervisory or managerial positions requiring knowledge of nursing must: (a)
Be a registered nurse in the Philippines; (b) Have at least two (2) years experience in general
nursing service administration; (c) Possess a degree of Bachelors of Science in Nursing, with at
least nine (9) units in management and administration courses at the graduate level; and (d) Be a
member of good standing of the accredited professional organization of nurses; Provided, That a
person occupying the position of chief nurse or director of nursing service shall, in addition to the
foregoing qualifications, possess: (1) At least five (5) years of experience in a supervisory or
managerial position in nursing; and (2) A master's degree major in nursing; Provided, further, That
for primary hospitals, the maximum academic qualifications and experiences for a chief nurse shall
be as specified in subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section: Provided, furthermore, That for chief
nurses in the public health nursing shall be given priority. Provided, even further, That for chief
nurses in military hospitals, priority shall be given to those who have finished a master's degree in
nursing and the completion of the General Staff Course (GSC): Provided, finally, That those
occupying such positions before the effectivity of this Act shall be given a period of five (5) years
within which to qualify.
5. It is a reality that nurses are currently in-demand abroad. In your opinion,
What are the possible reasons why nurses leave or quit their jobs in an
organization? What are the ways to increase retention of nurses in an
organization? And how can the nursing profession be uplifted in our country?
Filipino nurses are in great demand abroad
According to Yale Global Online, a sizable percentage of the adult workforce in the Philippines
pursues overseas employment opportunities, creating a revenue stream that supplements the
national economy.
A lagging job market at home and the need for workers in certain industries and nations abroad
contribute to the export of labor. Employers around the world compete for the educated workers
fluent in English.
About 20 percent of registered nurses in California are from the Philippines, and demand for
Filipino nurses may rise as the United Kingdom pursues Brexit and anticipates replacing 12
percent of its non-British medical staff at the National Health Service.
For 2016, elsewhere in Asia was the leading destination for more than 80 percent of Filipino
workers. The Philippines, lacking reliable access to family-planning programs, has a high fertility
rate, and the population climbed from 26 million in 1960 to 105 million today. Family-planning
policies could help stabilize a hyper-competitive domestic job market and contribute to economic
growth.
Despite all the hard work that our nurses do, their salary barely makes up for it. Considering that
they save lives, it’s quite glaring how poorly compensated most of them are in our
country. According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in the local labor
market, an entry-level registered nurse receives a salary of ₱8,000 – ₱13,500 per
month. Registered nurses hired at hospitals commonly receive an average salary of ₱9,757 per
month. In the government, the average salary per month is around ₱13,500 while in the private
sector, the rate average is around ₱10,000 per month.
Compared to other public servants in the country like teachers and police officers who are now
enjoying a fairly good compensation, nurses are still getting exploited or compensated poorly at
best.
Naturally, it’s a no-brainer for registered nurses in our country to venture overseas for a shot at a
better life (and work environment). The pay scale for nurses overseas are literally ten times more
than here in the Philippines:
 Country Average monthly salary Peso equivalent

US $3,800 ₱200,000

UK £1,662 ₱114,000

Canada $4,097 (CAD) ₱168,000

New Zealand $3,900 (NZD) ₱139,000

Despite all this, many of them still chose to stay and serve the country. For the average person, it
may seem like normal occupational hazards, but in reality, the overall working condition for nurses
in our country is a far cry from how it should be. The excessive nurse to patient ratio alone isn’t
even their fault, to begin with, and they are part of a large statistic of the plight of healthcare
workers in the country.
Perhaps, nurses are leaving not just because of the promising opportunities overseas, but also
because of how underappreciated their profession is in the Philippines?

What are the possible reasons why nurses leave or quit their jobs in an
organization?
Overworked and underpaid
The biggest challenge that nurses face in our country’s health care set up is the high nurse to patient
ratio, especially in rural and public hospitals. Top this off with an extremely low salary with
minimal benefits that drive qualified candidates away.
This leaves hospitals and nurses currently working in these centers short-handed, thus creating the
chaotic set up for nurses now where it’s common for them to work longer hours without getting
paid extra and take care of more patients that they could handle.
Besides the fact that most nurses are not adequately compensated, they are also often exploited by
hospitals in return for earning a nursing experience (volunteer).
While working an extra 1 to 3 hours in an office set-up on an extremely busy day can be normal,
it’s basically a normal scenario for nurses every day.
Nurses don’t exactly clock off immediately when their 8-hour shift is up. On a typical day, they
work beyond their working hours endorsing all their patients to the next shift without getting paid
for their one or two hour overtime service. On some days, nurses have been known to work 16
hours straight due to an unexpected absence of a colleague.

Increase risks of untoward incidents due to staff shortages

It’s a fact that most public hospitals in the Philippines struggle to provide sufficient care to all their
patients. Not just because of the lacking facilities but also because of staff shortage. While there
is an abundance of Registered Nurses in the Philippines, not all hospitals make use of this.
The lack of human resources basically affects the delivery of quality healthcare to patients.
According to the Philippines Department of Health, the ideal nurse to patient ratio is 1:12, but this
is hardly true in many hospitals, even in private ones.
In Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, the nurse to patient ratio in the male surgical ward is
2:59. The ratio is 2:64 in the women surgical ward, as well as the stroke unit. Meanwhile in
National Kidney Transplant and Institute (NKTI), in a regular ward where there are 25 to 35
patients, there are only two nurses on duty.
In reality, an ideal care scenario isn’t exactly applicable in most cases, not because of the lack of
equipment and facilities, but due to the lack of nurses. The ideal nurse to patient ratio alone can’t
even be met by most hospitals (except for the prestigious ones).
The Philippine set-up for nurses couldn’t get any worse, especially now as doctor and nurse
shaming become more common. Many nurses fail not because our nurses back home are
incompetent, but because the environment that our healthcare system has laid out isn’t exactly
ideal for patient care.

What are the ways to increase retention of nurses in an organization?

Strategies to Retain Nurses
The first step to develop a retention strategy is identifying the factors that motivate
nurses to stay. Among these are a positive working environment, high standards for
quality care, respect for each employee and opportunities for professional growth.
Two problems, floating and scheduling issues, are frequent causes for dissatisfaction
among nurses, but solutions can be found to reduce thos e problems.
While full-time specialty nurses may prefer not to float, it can be done successfully,
resulting in engaged, confident nurses and consistent patient care. Here are some tips:
1. Place new hires on other units during orientation so they become fami liar with
how those units function.
 2. Make floating easier by providing a manual that outlines procedures and what
to expect when working on different units.
3. Create a floating pool of nurses who are cross -trained to work in a number of
units. This option can be attractive to nurses who wish to learn a variety of
specialty areas or who want to work part -time.
4. Launching a well-run float pool is a way for hospitals to manage the variances
in patient volumes and staff availability.
5. Use of self-scheduling is another nurse retention strategy that allows nurses to
choose the day and shift they’ll work. Self -scheduling demonstrates to nurses
that the hospital administration understands their needs. It solves the problem
of arranging schedules around requests for days off and vacations. Plus, it can
motivate nurses to stay on the job longer, while attracting new employees.
When nurses have more involvement in their schedules, the entire process becomes
less stressful. However, self-scheduling comes with its own challeng es. To avoid
problems, a solid plan is necessary, along with short - and long-term goals such as
nurse retention and improved recruitment and clear rules and processes.
Additional strategies for boosting morale and keeping nurses on the job include:
1. Recognize great work: Demonstrate appreciation for excellent work by
recognizing the efforts of outstanding nurses.
2. Be available: Administrators should get out of the office and walk the units to
observe what’s going on, and to show nurses that supervisors are there for them
when needed.
3. Reward loyalty and mentorship: Offer monetary incentives for longevity, as well
as for experienced nurses who provide mentorship to new hires.
4. Focus on orientation: Consider extending the length of orientation and
personalizing it to meet the individual needs of new nurses. Take extra time
with new hires to help them adjust and feel comfortable.
5. Encourage career development: Provide tuition reimbursement to nurses who
wish to pursue advanced degrees, such as LPN -to-RN or RN-to-BSN.

How can the nursing profession be uplifted in our country?

Professional Development for Nurses: Professional development is critical to the nursing
profession because it emphasizes the importance of the following:
 Continuing education.

 Assessing learning needs.

 Upholding competency.

Nurses should continue learning throughout their careers. They need to stay up-to-date on patient
care, healthcare trends, treatments and techniques.