DPH wants to impose 90-day NCLEX for scholars

The Department of Public Health wants to require would-be nursing scholars to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses within 90 days after their program completion.

In a position paper on the nursing scholarship bill submitted to the House Committee on Education, DPH Secretary James U. Hofschneider said the nursing scholarship recipients must agree to take the NCLEX “within 90 days of completion” of either an associate or bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Failure to pass the NCLEX within the period would be considered a default on their obligation and a cause for administrative action for repayment.

Committee chair Rep. Justo Quitugua said his committee will rewrite the bill based on the input from concerned agencies.

He noted, though, that the committee is deemed to provide a more lenient provision on the NCLEX deadline. He said the 90-day deadline may not be prudent as students’ completion may not fit the annual schedule of the exam.

“The committee is not comfortable with the 90-day period. We’ll release our findings on this matter very soon,” he said.

So far, Quitugua said that three agencies—DPH, Public School System, and Scholarship Office—have submitted their opinion on the proposed bill, which was introduced by Rep. David Apatang last month. The Northern Marianas College and the Attorney General’s Office have not turned in their opinions.

Hofschneider, meantime, in his letter to Quitugua, said that his department supports the bill, noting that his office had brought up the issue in the past with policymakers.

Commenting on the bill, House Bill 14-221, Hofschneider suggested raising the grade point average to 3.0 instead of 2.5 as a condition to receiving the scholarship.

Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos, in a separate letter, made the same recommendation.

The DPH said the GPA level increase would “better prepare entry level nurses for higher degrees in nursing such as the BSN and MSN.”

DPH further requires that a letter of formal acceptance into a Nursing Program should be a requisite, in addition to the letter of acceptance to the university or college. This, it said, is to avoid students that “intend” to enroll in a nursing program and decide to switch majors after getting the scholarship money.

DPH further prohibits the inclusion of online nursing programs, noting that the program must have real patient interaction and clinical assessments.

“It would be close to impossible to equate the competency of a nurse who learned how to draw blood from reading about it online, versus a nurse who learned through reading and hands-on clinical experience,” said the department.

Hofschneider said he believes that attracting more local students into the nursing profession would alleviate the current chronic nursing staff shortage, mitigate dependency on off-island hires, and help in the overall effort to build a stable professional nursing workforce involving local students.

Inos, for her part, said PSS fully supports the bill, which she said was modeled on the teacher scholarship program of PSS that was created in 1997.

In addition, Inos proposed that DPH be required to delete the provision “any work experience” for CNMI residents who have graduated with a degree in nursing.