A rare reader’s view on the nursing scam

On the still controversial nursing exams, here’s a rare observation from a Cebuano who I would like to believe is one of a kind as he took the nursing licensure exams and later the Bar exams here at home and in New York, thus giving this male nurse a rare medical and legal perspective on the controversy. His letter is quite long, but it is self-explanatory, hence I believe his story should be read or heard.

"Dear Mr. Avila: Hi. First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Marco F. G. Tomakin, a nurse-lawyer from the Philippines but I am now based in New York. I graduated from Cebu Normal University (then Cebu State College) College of Nursing in 1995. I worked as a clinical instructor in the same university and went on to work as a staff nurse at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. While working as a nurse at VSMMC, I studied law at the University of San Jose Recoletos and passed the Bar exams in the year 2001.

"Eventually, I worked as one of the attorneys in the Cebu City Attorney’s Office and I even attended one of the CITOM meetings in which you were the Chairman then. You may not even remember me but the funny thing that I always remember about you is that I always got to see you in the Visita Iglesia during Holy Week at the Metropolitan Cathedral and every time we bumped into each other, you always gave me a light nod. (As if we knew each other personally, but thank you though, that earned me pogi points from my wife, hehehehehe). In 2003, my wife and I came here in the US as she already had a contract here. She is also a nurse working in the Emergency Department.

"I worked as a nurse also and while doing that, I reviewed and eventually passed the New York Bar exam. I am now working as an attorney here in New York, concentrating on civil and immigration law practice. As a nurse and as a lawyer, I have mixed feelings about the recent scandal involving the Philippine nursing licensure examination. As a nurse, I am saddened by the disgrace this scandal has caused to the nursing profession itself and I share the agony that the honest passers must have been feeling in the possibility of going through the whole sacrificial experience of taking the board exam again.

"I also feel the sorrow of the families of these passers who by now should have seen the fruits of their hard work in sending their children to school. However, a part of me views this leakage incident as an opportunity for all the stakeholders of the nursing profession to assess, intervene and evaluate the present situation of the nursing profession in the Philippines. All stakeholders, namely the Philippine Nurses Association, Professional Regulation Commission, the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing, nursing schools and nursing student groups, and everybody else interested in promoting the quality of the nursing profession, should get their act together.

"As a lawyer, I see this issue as a way to correct the present situation of ranking board passers as topnotchers. I don’t know if you agree with me or not, but I believe that the ranking of passers according to their numerical score is, if not unconstitutional, very prejudicial against those who just barely passed it. I placed ninth in the nursing licensure exams and had no problem in securing a nursing job thereafter. This is because my being a topnotcher itself is a huge factor for the employer in determining whether to hire me or not.

"Isn’t it unfair for the 75er, who according to government standards has achieved the minimum competency to become a nurse, not to be hired because there is another applicant who is incidentally a board topnotcher? Though employers may not admit this, but for sure, a board topnotcher has an edge over just a mere 75er in their selection and recruitment of employees.

"Why can’t the system be changed to the issuance of board exam results as either Pass or Fail? In that way, all passers are treated alike. In the US and in other countries, they do this kind of system. There are no board or Bar topnotchers yet they excel in almost everything they do. While in the Philippines, we all have these board topnotchers year after year, board exam after board exam, yet we are one of the poorest nations on Earth.

"This culture of ranking our passers has probably spawned and contributed to the incidents of Bar and board exam leakages precisely because some students, schools and review centers are overly eager to see their names and their graduates in the topnotchers and passers’ lists even to the point of cultivating corruption within the Professional Regulations Commission as painfully illustrated in the recent nursing exam scandal.

"This all-consuming greed, in turn, leads to more business for the schools and review centers and undeserved delusional honor for these passers and topnotchers. While not all are doing this, yet this miserable lot causes such dishonor to the honest ones and to the country itself. Changing the system necessarily would invite a wave of incessant and loud protests, yet a lot of political will and firm resolve is needed if we are to convince ourselves and the world that we are a nation of competent and honest professionals.

"Of course, there are still other institutional reforms that should and must be implemented. And a long list of changes is expected. But we have to start somewhere. The elimination of board topnotchers could just be one of them. My wife and I might be going home for the Holy Week next year. Who knows I might again see you at the Cathedral during the Visita Iglesia and get that little nod from you again! More power! My best regards, Marco F. G. Tomakin, RN., Esq."

Thanks for your very inspiring letter, Mr. Tomakin. Let me say that I’m proud of you for achieving two major professions in the United States. It is not easy to pass the Philippine Bar exams, much less the New York Bar exams, while at the same time passing also the nursing licensure exams. It is for this reason why I had your letter reprinted in full because you’re the example of a Filipino who, through hard work and sheer dedication, got into two major professions.

As for your suggestion, let me just say that old habits die hard. I fully agree with your observation that applicants should be given equal opportunities. But then, even there in the US, they also would like to hire the best minds in their establishments. But I, for one, believe that the brightest in anyone’s class isn’t necessarily the best. Truth to tell, the brightest in our class isn’t the most successful. That distinction falls on our most boisterous classmate. Thanks again for giving us your perspective on the nursing controversy.

* * *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns in The Freeman can also be accessed through The Philippine STAR website (www.philstar.com). He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable. Bobit’s columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com.