NCSBN sets date for implementation at new international testing sites for NCLEX® Examinations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2006

The announcement of additional international tests sites is very good news indeed. It does not address the fact that most of the foreign nurse graduates who apply for this exam, are educated in the Philippines.  Of these nurses, many are located in the Philippines and find it difficult to finance the trip abroad to test.

Many of the new test site countries are not issuing Visas to nurses from the Philippines and have rigorous procedures for these nurses to obtain travel permissions to test.

For example, Taiwan and Saipan, are countries where the nurses must prove their financial stability by showing bank statements and other financial documents.  

We are grateful for the open policy of Hong Kong and hope that other countries will provide a more open policy for nurses from the Philippines who will be trying to get authorization to travel to take the NCLEX®. 

We are also hopeful that the NCSBN may review the Philippines as a possible site for the NCLEX® in the future.

Chicago - The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), www.ncsbn.org, will begin NCLEX® testing at the newly selected international Pearson Professional Centers on April 1, 2006. Appointments for testing on, or after April 1, will begin on February 15, 2006.

The new centers will be located in Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, Canada; Frankfurt, Germany; Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai, India; Mexico City, Mexico; and Taipei, Taiwan. Appointment availability for Pearson Professional Centers in Chiyoda-ku, and Yokohama, Japan will be announced at a later date. These new sites are in addition to centers in London, England; Seoul, South Korea; and Hong Kong, which have been operational since January 2005.

Intended for the purposes of domestic nurse licensure in U.S. states and territories, additional sites were chosen based on the same rigorous criteria that the three current sites were evaluated on before their selection. The evaluation included security and geographic representation outside of the current member board of nursing locations. All security policies and procedures currently used to administer the NCLEX examination domestically will be fully implemented at these new international locations.

Administration of the NCLEX examination abroad does not contradict or circumvent any current board of nursing process or requirement. All international candidates are required to apply to the board of nursing in the state or territory where they wish to be licensed before registering for the NCLEX examination. The NCLEX examination fee for all candidates is $200. Candidates who elect to take the NCLEX at an international site will pay an additional $150 when they schedule their examination. State and territorial NCLEX examination fees remain at their current levels and are not being used to subsidize the international testing initiative.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) is a not-for-profit organization whose membership comprises the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five United States territories – American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Mission: The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), composed of Member Boards, provides leadership to advance regulatory excellence for public protection.

Media inquiries may be directed to the contact listed above. Technical inquiries about the NCLEX examination may be directed to the NCLEX Examination information line at 1.866.293.9600 or nclexinfo@ncsbn.org.