Only four of the 21 nurses who were hired from Fiji in 2022 have passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for registered nurses. At least four have returned home.
Director of Nursing at LBJ Hospital Simamao Tuatoo said the four who have passed NCLEX are bonded to work for LBJ for four years.
To take the NCLEX, the Fijian nurses have to apply through the New York Board of Nursing and if they are approved to take the exam, they will sit it here.
Tuatoo explained that four others have been approved by the New York Board to take the exam.
She said that the Fijian nurses are pretty much on their own as far as applying and paying the costs associated with the tests.
The Fijian nurses who have not passed the exam are working as Certified Nursing Assistants.
Tuatoo pointed out that the Fijian nurses are filling the void in local nurses. She said LBJ is no longer hiring nurses directly from the Philippines as the country has stopped the recruitment program and there hasn’t been any new nurses hired from Thailand.
