THE Department of Public Health appeals for an expanded U.S. National Council Licensing Examination testing facility on Saipan, as a new company takes over the administration of the nurse certification test in the 50 U.S. states and five territories.
Effective October, the Arizona-based Vue will administer NCLEX under a contract with the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc.
Health Secretary James U. Hofschneider, in a June 19 letter to Vue, said there is a great demand for increased NCLEX testing capacity on Saipan and there is a backlog of candidates.
He said the Commonwealth Board of Nurse Examiners has over 1,500 applicants that still need to be screened for eligibility for licensure by examination.
“We encourage you to please expand your testing ability on Saipan to meet the current and perhaps future demand for NCLEX testing of foreign nurse graduates,” he said.
“We would like Saipan to be the center of NCLEX testing for the Western Pacific, Asia and the Philippines,” Hofschneider told Vue.
The two-page letter, obtained yesterday by Variety, also wants to confirm reports that Vue plans to administer the NCLEX test in company-owned and operated testing centers throughout the states and territories.
“The establishment of a new business such as yours is very good news for our island community and we welcome you to the commonwealth,” said Hofschneider.
Vue provides a variety of services including testing center-based and Internet-based test delivery to the certification and licensure markets, with operation centers in the U.S., the Netherlands, Australia, China, India and Japan. Prometric, the company currently administering NCLEX, has a special arrangement with Northern Marianas College where the testing is done.
Hofschneider said this arrangement is “grossly inadequate” as Prometric allows only three computers for testing, and allocates five consecutive scheduled hours per NCLEX examinee.
“This translates into only six exams per day, unless the center is opened 24 hours a day,” said Hofschneider.
Acting NMC President Barbara G. Moir said Prometric places very tight limits on the number of computers allowed to operate at each testing center.
Guam’s Prometric center, for example, is limited to only five computers.
“If we were able to operate on a seven-day-per week basis, around the clock, the number of students that theoretically could be served would increase to 105 per week,” Moir said in a June 11 letter to Hofschneider.
Moir said Vue’s testing capacity may be less restrictive than that of Prometric, or comparable.
