Filipino nurses get 100% passing rate in UK exam

A total of 28 Pinoy nurses passed the OSCE conducted by Northampton University Hospital in UK.

Filipino nurses showed that they are among the best in the world by getting a 100% passing rate in an exam given in United Kingdom.

A total of 28 nurses recruited by Western Sussex Hospital National Health Service (NHS) Trust took the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) conducted by the Northampton University Hospital, and all of them passed it.

The Philippine Embassy in London led by Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom Evan P. Garcia expressed warm congratulations to the nurses for bringing honor to the country.

The successful Filipino nurses are Maria Mitra, Karen Orayan, Mary Ann Tariman, Jonvi Delos Santos, Jeremy Tayag, Marc Valledor, Kathleen Ayson, Mary Samante, Katrina Ablay, Jeffrey Gallardo, Sherwin Mabbayad, Rona Talampas, Jacky Limpangog, Karlo Baricuatro, Katherine Sales, Sarah Jane Balite, Marnell Vinson, Lavania Vinson, Joel Lobitana, Dennise Severino, Maria Acenas, Mary Paragamac, Angelique Altobar, Steven Ray Cura Basal, Sheila Baclayon, Belly Timtim, Kian Patrick Gaingalao Toledo, and Kathleen Locsin.

The OSCE is the final hurdle that the Filipino candidate nurses need to pass to be able to register with the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and practice their profession as full-fledged nurses in the United Kingdom. Before this final stage, the candidate nurses had to first pass the International English Language Test System (IELTS) with a tough minimum score of 7.0 in all the test areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

IELTS passers are then allowed to take the Computer-Based Test of Competence (CBT) while in the Philippines, before being admitted to the United Kingdom for the OSCE which requires actual demonstration of a mastery of procedures in rendering nursing services, based on UK Standard Operating Procedures.

The Filipino candidate nurses had to undergo at least one month of further intensive training at the Worthing Hospital at Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, West Sussex provided by the Western Sussex Hospital NHS Trust, under the supervision of Ms. Fiona Keeling, Head of Nursing Outpatients and Access, and Lead for International Recruitment. During their training, they received heart-warming support from Filipino-British Nurse Nechie Sia, who hails from Bacolod.

Mr. Jonvi Delos Santos, one of the successful candidates and who will soon start his duty in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, said, “We had to be extremely focused and dedicated in our training and the support of the senior Filipino nurses here helped us gain the needed confidence. The Filipino community in Western Sussex also made our adjustment easier and made us felt very much welcomed.”

Labor Attaché Reydeluz Conferido and Welfare Officer Esperanza Cobarrubias, represented the Embassy at the recognition ceremonies. They conveyed to the successful candidates the warmest wishes of Ambassador Garcia, and his challenge for them to continue the long tradition of providing excellent service as well as the world-famous “Tender Loving Care (TLC)” of Filipino nurses that is very much appreciated by British patients.

The success of the candidates has inspired Western Sussex Hospital NHS Trust to recruit 50 more candidate nurses from the Philippines in the weeks ahead. [via DFA]