Ladrones Islands August 2, 2006

I'M glad the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has finally listened to reason and agreed to suspend the oath-taking of nurses who "passed" the last nursing board exams. The various schools of nursing, not least the University of Santo Tomas (UST), which has been at the forefront of the protest, have been calling for the results of the exams to be voided and for the candidates to take them all over again.

What happened, for the benefit of those who did not follow the story, was that a good portion of the exam questions was leaked to a good portion of the examinees. How good a portion of the questions and of the examinees the PRC and the officials of the various nursing schools have some idea, but they do not know for sure. Initially, to try to solve the problem, the PRC hired a statistician to gauge the extent of the harm done by theleaked answers and to propose a way to circumvent it. Acting on his findings and recommendations, the PRC ruled to invalidate 25 questions in Test III (Medical Surgical Nursing) and the entire last category, Test V (Psychiatric Nursing). Those who passed the exam, minus those parts, were to be given their licenses as nurses this Aug. 22.

The leak came from R.A. Gapuz Review Center, which admitted that it gave its reviewers a document containing many of the questions in the exams. Ray Gapuz, founder of the center and a UST graduate (to the chagrin of UST officials), would explain later that it was an honest mistake. The questions were faxed to them by a source, and they distributed them to their students thinking they were review material. It was their policy toexchange review materials with contacts.

In a letter to the PRC, Susan Maravilla, Thelma Abelardo and Rene Tadle, UST assistant dean, treasurer of the UST Nursing Alumni Association, and president of UST Faculty Association of the College of Nursing, respectively, refuted the PRC's position. At the very least, they said, how did the PRC determine that only 25 questions in Test III and all the ones in Test V were leaked? At the very most, they said, even if that were so, why pass candidates whom you had no way of knowing were competent in surgical and psychiatric nursing?

The laws of the country call on the State "to ensure that the medical profession is not infiltrated by incompetents to whom patients may unwarily entrust their lives and health." The UST officials added that they were aware of the cost in time, money and energy taking the exam would be for the innocent, but they were also aware of the even morehumongous cost in reputation, credibility and employability of those who would pass under these terms. The cloud of doubt cast on their competence by these flawed exams would hound them forever.

I agree with the UST officials' position completely. I myself can understand the dismay of those who honestly and diligently prepared for the exams. At the very least, I can understand the added expense it will mean for them in these dire times. More so as those who take up nursing often come from families of modest means who dream of being able to pluck out self and kin from this pass someday. But the UST officials are right: The cost of their not taking the exams again is far steeper. Not just for themselves but for the nation as well. It won't just damage their reputations -- hospital patients might wish to inquire if they were being nursed by someone from Batch 2006 -- it will damage the reputation of the whole profession. Even New York, a city that is not likely to set muchstore by psychiatric nursing as its residents are well past being cured in that respect, may decide to recruit elsewhere.

I understand that some of the examinees have expressed their willingness to go through the exams again for that very reason. I heartily applaud them. The bitterness of the frustrated is better directed at the R.A. Gapuz Review Center whose "lapse in judgment" excuse is inexcusable. The more credible explanation for its lack of scrupulousness in scrutinizing the document passed on to it was its desire to increase enrollment byshowing the world it had a great batting average in producing successful examinees. The frustrated should have their reckoning with the review center.

But more than that, I agree with the UST officials' position because of one urgent and compelling thing. Which is that it's time we stopped cheating in this country. Which is that it's time we punished the guilty even if we cannot altogether reward the innocent. Which is that it's time we stopped becoming an out-and-out Ladrones Island, a den of thieves and malefactors, a snake pit of liars and cheaters.

Richly ironically, Prospero Pichay, who should be the last person to want to draw attention to cheating, has demanded that an inquiry be made immediately about the exams. He thundered: "We have been banking on our medical practitioners to be one of our greatest assets in competing in the global market, but the issue now casts doubt on their very competency."

But my dear Prospero, don't we have the same thing in the very heart of government? Have you bothered to ask yourself why cheating and lying riot more plentifully and violently these days than the inmates of the national penitentiary? You want to investigate, investigate the conduct of the last elections, not the nursing exams. The possibility of incompetent nurses can only affect our health and reputation, the reality of an illegitimate President affects our life and our children's future. To paraphrase you:We have been banking on democracy as our greatest asset in being taken seriously by the community of nations, but the issue of a usurper now casts doubt on our very existence.

Happily, the PRC has ruled to suspend acknowledging the results of the last nursing exams. Now, if only we can do that to the last elections.

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