NINETY-nine per cent of the Jamaican nurses who sat the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration in October last received passing grades, the health ministry said in a press statement yesterday.

It added that only one of the 137 nurses who sat the examination in 2001 failed.

“This is a considerable improvement over the last few years which had pass rates of approximately 87.5 per cent. All 126 of the nurses from schools supported by the Ministry of Health were successful. These include the Kingston School of Nursing, Cornwall School of Nursing and Excelsior Community College. The other candidates were from the University of the West Indies and the Northern Caribbean University,” said the statement.

The Regional Nursing Body that has its headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana, sets the examination, which is aimed at standardising nursing practices throughout the Caribbean and is mandatory for nurses trained in both public and private schools.

Graduate nurses throughout the region must pass the regional examination before the local nursing council in their countries can register them. Nurses who are certified by the Regional Nursing Body may obtain a licence to work in any of the countries that subscribe to the Regional Body.

The 126 nurses trained by the Ministry of Health are currently undergoing orientation at the four Regional Health Authorities to which they have been assigned:

* South East Regional Health Authority…………61

* North East Regional Health Authority…………20

* Southern Regional Health Authority……………21

* Western Regional Health Authority…………….24