Law Summary
Qualifications of Board Members
- Must be Filipino citizens and residents.
- Registered nurses holding a Master of Arts in Nursing preferably; current members without master's degrees remain unaffected until term ends.
- Mentally and physically fit, not older than 65 years.
- At least ten years of successful nursing practice.
- No conviction involving moral turpitude.
- Cannot be faculty or have pecuniary interest in nursing schools for one year prior to appointment.
Term of Office
- Members serve for 3 years or until successors are duly qualified.
- Initial appointments staggered (1, 2, and 3 years) for the first Board.
- Chairman and members may be reappointed once for another 3-year term.
- Serving members continue until their term ends and may be reappointed once.
- The member serving the last year of the term becomes chairman; in case of multiple members, the most senior becomes chairman.
- Vacancies filled only for the unexpired term.
- Oath of office required before duty performance.
Compensation of Board Members
- Members receive fees up to ten pesos per candidate examined.
- Annual compensation cap at eighteen thousand pesos.
Clinical and Public Health Nursing Facilities Requirements
- Schools must operate a base hospital with at least 100 authorized beds covering multiple patient types.
- Existing schools with recognized programs may operate a "home hospital" with 50 beds and affiliate with other hospitals to meet bed requirements.
- No hospital involved may have fewer than 100 beds.
- Deadline for compliance was January 1, 1971.
- Provision for student experience in nursing school hospitals and public health nursing agencies required.
Qualifications of Faculty Members
- Deans, directors, or principals must be registered nurses and hold a master's degree in nursing (with transitional provisions).
- Must have a minimum of three years teaching and supervisory experience.
- Clinical nursing instructors must hold a bachelor's degree in nursing with major in subjects taught and a teaching certificate; one year hospital experience required.
- Public health nursing instructors must hold a bachelor's degree with a major in public health nursing, teaching certificate, one year public health experience, and must be registered nurses.
General Entrance Requirements for Nursing Schools
- Applicants must have completed at least one year of college in recognized institutions.
- Required preliminary courses include physical, biological, social, behavioral sciences, and humanities, specifically chemistry, psychology, and zoology.
Scope of Nursing Practice
- Nursing practice involves responsible care and supervision of diverse patient types including medical, surgical, psychiatric, pediatric, obstetric, and geriatric.
- Requires application of biological, physical, and social science principles.
- Involves observation, evaluation, reporting, supervision of nursing care, performance of nursing procedures, direction, and education.
- Includes execution of physicians' legal orders regarding treatment and medication.
- Does not apply to nursing students performing under supervision or exchange professors.
Conduct of Nursing Examinations
- Examinations held not earlier than one month and not later than two months after official closing of the semestral term.
- Location typically Manila, but may be elsewhere with Board and higher authority approval.
Qualifications for Examination Applicants
- Filipino citizens or foreigners whose countries allow reciprocal practice for Filipino nurses.
- At least 18 years old at application; licensed to practice at 21.
- In good health and good moral character.
- Completed standard academic high school or equivalent.
- Graduated with diploma or bachelor's in nursing from recognized institutions with prescribed course curriculum.
Scope and Subjects of the Nursing Exam
- Written examinations covering medical nursing, surgical nursing, surgical specialties, obstetrics, pediatrics, communicable diseases, public health nursing, professional adjustments, psychiatry, fundamentals.
- Integration of anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pharmacology, therapeutics, and social foundations.
- Examination schedule requires Presidential and Civil Service approval and public announcement.
Examination Ratings and Re-examination Procedures
- Passing requires a general rating of 75% with no subject below 60%.
- Candidates failing may retake subjects scoring below 75% in a second exam.
- Failure in the second exam for any subjects requires re-examination on those subjects.
- Failure again necessitates completing a refresher course before further examination attempts.
Reporting of Examination Results
- Board must report results within 120 days post-exam to the Commissioner of Civil Service.
- Copies of subject ratings and test questionnaires provided to respective nursing schools and the Bureau of Private Schools.
Examination and Registration Fees
- Exam fee: Fifty pesos per applicant.
- Registration fee: Twenty pesos for successful examinees.
Effectivity of the Act
- The amendments take effect upon approval.
This comprehensive amendment strengthens the regulatory framework of nursing education, practice, and administration in the Philippines, emphasizing qualifications, institutional requirements, and standardization of licensing procedures.