This is an exciting news from NMC (Nursing Midwifery Council) UK about its changes in the English Language requirements. A good news for my fellow aspiring Filipino nurses who wants to become a UKRN. It is really a struggle for someone living in a country where English is not the majority spoken language. The tiring review and exhausting practice drills, one can only hope to survive and pass the English exam. We are delighted to hear these changes as the evidence has showed that some people working in the health and social sector are capable of demonstrating the competence in English language but cannot join the register because of the failed scores in IELTS and OET, the two English Language proficiency tests needed to be accepted in the register.
The move was initiated last year and was participated by people from different groups and unions gathered together to share their ideas and proposals on how to integrate the English proficiency and carry out the quality of care that we deliver to the patients. This was approved by the council on September 2022 and will be implemented by January 2023. There are 2 major changes happening. (1) The standardized minimum scores when combining/resitting the tests in IELTS and OET are now lowered half a bracket and extending the preparation for the resit from 6 months to 12 months. (2) The council will now accept supporting information from their respective employers of the English Language proficiency provided with evidence and with careful consideration before approval.
The changes will really help aspiring overseas nurses to apply as a UKRN following the same standard scores in the English proficiency without compromising the quality of the English language. We understand that to be accepted in the register, one has to prove that he can communicate well professionally as communication is the main part of being a UKRN. It provides more balance to the candidates taking the exams. The lowering of the minimum scores in combining/resit will filter the ones that are deserving and the ones that who are not really meeting up the standards. The impact of these changes will be beneficial to the workforce of the NMC and will augment more staff to join the register. This inspires people who have resit the exam for couple of times and are frustrated of the repeated negative results. The current scores in IELTS and OET are still the same, no changes.
The significance of this new minimum score using the combine/resit is it drops 0.5 score (IELTS) and half score (OET). This means that when combining scores one from previous test and one from current one, you may use the new scores as a guide to check if you are eligible or not. By simply following the standard score of passing, and by checking the minimum in the combined scores, you can determine the outcome of the result.
In Example 1, the current setting of this score presentation is failure as there is a 6/C (IELTS/OET) score in Writing. So even if the applicant has passed the 2nd take at 6.5/C+ (IELTS/OET), we still cannot rule out the minimum score based on the current setup. If the same scenario happens on Jan 2023, this will become totally different. Instead of failing, the applicant will pass the combined scores and can successfully join the register.
In Example 2, this is another typical scenario. The applicant failed in Reading on first take but was able to pass on the 2nd one. On the 2nd take, he failed the writing at 6/C (IELTS/OET), this is a failure if combined. But, if the same scenario will happen on Jan 2023, the applicant can pass the exam using the combined scores because the minimum of 6/C (IELTS/OET) score is now accepted based on the new changes.
This is truly remarkable and we are grateful that NMC has heard our voices. I hope that this article will help overseas nurses in their endeavors to become a UKRN. Also, I will look forward for more Filipino nurses to become more inspired and motivated to reach their dream of becoming a UKRN.
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