WHEREAS, the National Council Licensure Examination is administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and is designed to test knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to the safe and effective practice of nursing at the entry level; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, the National Council Licensure Examination is only provided in a computerized adaptive testing format and is also available in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Overseas, candidates may also take the examination in Australia, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and the United Kingdom; and

WHEREAS, nurses from foreign countries who desire to work as registered or practical nurses within the United States, including Hawaii, need to:

WHEREAS, in order to travel to the United States to take the National Council Licensure Examination examination, nurses trained in other countries must first obtain a nonimmigrant B-2 visa; and

WHEREAS, by offering a National Council Licensure Examination testing center in Manila, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing will overcome a tremendous hurdle for nurses trained in the Republic of the Philippines, who otherwise would need to apply for and obtain nonimmigrant B-2 visas to visit the United States to take the National Council Licensure Examination, and greatly facilitate the recruitment of critically needed registered and practical nurses to work in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the State must take a proactive approach to the recruitment of qualified nurses in order to fill the State's nursing shortage; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that the Legislature urges the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to establish a testing center in Manila, Republic of the Philippines, to accommodate the great numbers of foreign trained nurses wishing to take the National Council Licensure Examination in order to work in the United States and to facilitate recruitment of qualified registered and practical nurses to work in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the Director of Health, the Chairperson of the Board of Nursing, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States, and the Philippines Consulate General in Honolulu.

Report Title:

NCLEX Nursing Examination; Test Center in Manila