REMOVES CGFNS REQUIREMENTS
Michigan Gov removes CGFNS requirement
Filipino nursing graduates seeking work in Michigan state in the United States no longer need to take a qualifying examination to apply for a license there.
Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law House Bill 4207, removing the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) qualifying examinations.
The Philippine Consul General Blesila Cabrera reported that this means Filipino and other foreign nursing graduates who wish to work in the state of Michigan can take the National Council Licensing Exam (NCLEX) without having to pass the CGFNS qualifying examinations.
"The new law on nursing in the state of Michigan is welcome news to thousands of Filipino nursing graduates in the Philippines who wish to apply for work as registered professional nurses in the United States as it has made it easier for foreign graduates of nursing, including the Filipino nurses, to apply and take the licensure exams for nursing in the state of Michigan without taking the usually required CGFNS Qualifying Examination," Cabrera said.
She reported that the law was the result of the efforts of the Philippine Nurses Association of Michigan (PNAM).
"The success of the PNAM in having the bill signed into law indicates the growing empowerment of Filipino-Americans in the American Midwest, especially on issues affecting the interests of the Filipino-American community," she said.
House Bill 4207 was signed into law last June 14 at the Governor's State Office in the State Capitol in Lansing , Michigan.
Witnessing it were PNAM President Ellen Dioso, PNAM CGFNS Task Force Chairperson Remedios Solarte, and Representative Y. Hoon Hopgood.
Hopgood introduced the Bill in the Michigan State House of Representatives