In trying to build our case on why we deserve a test center in Nigeria, Nursingworld Nigeria reviewed the statistical data NCSBN provides annually on its website on candidate performances on the NCLEX RN exams.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is the organization through which U.S boards of nursing act and counsel together on matters of common interest including the development of nursing licensure examinations like the NCLEX.

The National Council Licensure Examination or NCLEX exam is mandatory to assess one's eligibility for entry level practice licensure and a prerequisite to working as a Registered Nurse in the U.S.

The NCSBN 2018 Quarterly examination statistics distinctively showed that Nigeria is the only African country that has been consistent among the top five countries of candidates writing the NCLEX. Between April- June 123 candidates, July - Sept 170 candidates, Oct - Dec 189 Candidates, 2018 year till date YTD 601 candidates

The NCSBN 2017 records also showed that Nigeria had an incredible 880 first time candidates who wrote the exams with 410 passing. The only other African country next to Nigeria in terms of student population was Kenya with 560 candidates

Nigeria was listed among the top five countries again in respect to volume of first time candidates with 124 and 149 candidates between July and December 2017

Irrespective of the brain drain these figures represent, irrespective of the poor remuneration of nurses in Nigeria, Nigerian nurses are determined to save up and bear the financial brunt for an opportunity for better practice and pay in the U.S

To put this in focus, to enroll for the NCLEX exam, you must first register with PEARSON VUE, an organization that helps develop, manage and deliver the NCLEX Test program. This should cost about 80,000naira.

Then you would need a credential evaluation service (CES) report done (full education course-by-course). CGFNS provides this service for 130,000naira. This is exclusive of cost for the following that you would need sent to CGFNS
1. Secondary school diploma certificate and courier fee 25,000naira
2. Nursing license verification by Nursing council and courier fees 50,000naira
3. School of Nursing transcript and courier fees 35,000naira

Before now, you should have registered with a board of nursing in the U.S which should cost about 40,000naira. You would also need a criminal background check done for about 20,000naira

If you are able to foot all these bills, you would still need roughly 500,000naira for an Etihad Return flight from lagos to the philiphines or india which is the closest NCLEX test center. This amount is exclusive of visa application fees which you could be denied visa, transportation, hotel accomodation, feeding etc

In all, it would cost over a million naira just to write the NCLEX exam that one can easily FAIL and have to RETAKE, incurring further charges and fees.

Its glaringly obvious that the bulk of the total sum is spent on flight fares to write the exams. If you extrapolate these figures where 880 Nigerian nurses wrote the exams in 2018, this translates to a loss of over 800 Million naira with India's GDP being the major beneficiary.

Its obvious U.K, U.S, Canada, Australia, Germany might not issue one a visa just to go write the NCLEX; Traveling to the other test centers located in American Samoa, Guam, Hong kong, Japan, mariana Islands, mexico, Puerto Rico isn't guaranteed either; India or Philippines automatically emerge as the most feasible and cheaper alternatives.

We deserve better from the NCSBN. Nigerian nurses over the years have spent a fortune just to write the NCLEX and we deserve some respite from this prejudicial test center locations currently in place. We have exhibited a high pass rate among our pairs in the exams, subsequent exam takers should not be made to suffer same financial deprivation and injustice in flight fares and abroad expenses just to write the NCLEX.

The exam would be more affordable if a center is approved in Africa, particularly Nigeria which has produced the highest number of test takers in Africa.

We make a passionate appeal to the NCBSN to dig further into their statistics and let the figures speak for themselves. We have contributed our quota over the years in our quest for U.S Licensure, We deserve a test center in Africa. Nigerian nurses who continue to attempt the NCLEX exams in large numbers deserve a test center in Nigeria.

Kindly lend your voice to this cause and sign the online petition created by Nursingworld Nigeria on change.org, 

If we could get a thousand signatures and more, this would represent a moral and persuasive force which can initiate change in the hearts of policy makers at the NCSBN to reconsider/ rescind its stance and direct PEARSON VUE to run NCLEX test centers in Nigeria.

It takes less than a minute to sign the petition.

Yes, One minute: that is all it takes to make a DIFFERENCE

Jude Chiedu 

FWACN, MSC Nursing (in-view), BNSC, RAEN, RN, RM

For: Nursingworldnigeria.com