Board of Nursing in the Philippine

History

On March 1, 1919, the Board of Examiners for Nurses was created by virtue of Public Act No. 2808. It was placed under the Department of the Interior with a physician as the chief executive officer. With the Reorganization Law of 1932, the supervision of the Board was transferred to the Department of Public Instruction.

However, on June 17, 1950, Republic Act No. 546 was enacted placing the Board under the Office of the President. On June 19, 1953, Republic Act No. 877, otherwise known as the “Philippine Nursing Law,” was enacted and for the first time, the Board was composed of three (3) nurses, a Chairman and two Members with additional powers and duties. Amendments to Republic Act No. 877 were effected through R.A. No. 4704 enacted on June 18, 1966 which increased the membership of the Board to five (5) and upgraded the educational qualification to Master’s degree in Nursing with an age limit of 65 years old.

A landmark law, Republic Act No. 7164 otherwise known as the “Philippine Nursing Act of 1991,” was enacted on November 21, 1991. This law removed the age limit for members of the Board, and required ten (10) years of continuous practice of the profession prior to appointment.

VISION

The Board of Nursing under the guidance of the Almighty, with its unquestionable integrity and commitment, envisions itself to be the ultimate authority in regulating the nursing profession in the Philippines and to lead nursing development to its highest level of excellence for the health and safety of the public.

MISSION

The BON shall unwaveringly pursue the advancement of nursing development in the country by:

  1. providing leadership, information, options, scenarios and lobby efforts to targeted decision makers and stakeholders

  2. ensuring adherence to professional, ethical and legal standards as mandated by existing regulatory laws to protect health and safety of the public.

  3. unifying the nursing sector through good governance.

  4. fostering linkages with the domestic and international stakeholders.

CORE VALUES

 - Love of God

 - Caring as the core of nursing

    - Compassion

    - Competence

    - Confidence,

    - Conscience

    - Commitment (Commitment to a culture of excellence, discipline, integrity and professionalism)

 - Love of People

    - Respect for the dignity of each person regardless of race, color, creed, and gender

 - Love of Country

    - Patriotism (Civic duty, social responsibility and good governance)

    - Preservation and enrichment of our environment and cultural heritage

OBJECTIVES

A. On Leadership, Information, Options, Scenarios and Lobby Efforts to targeted decision-makers and stakeholders.  

1. Ensure adherence to nursing standards of nursing education

       2.   Enforce the following standards of nursing services:

             2.1 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) policy

             2.2 Minimum base pay for nurses working in public and private institutions in accordance with Section 10 of RA 6758 (Compensation & Classification Act 1989)

3. Develop a mechanism of recognizing nursing specialties in the Philippines

4.   Provide information relative to nursing development in the Philippines

5.   Initiate legislative amendments to the nursing law

6.   Initiate a study to establish an incentive and benefit system in both private and public institutions 

7.   Incorporate the BON budget in the annual General Appropriation Act

B. On Adherence to Professional, Ethical and Legal Standards for the health and safety of the public.

1. Conduct clean, honest and credible Nurse Licensure Examination

2. Administer the Oath of Professionals to New Nurses

3. Initiate amendments to the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002 (R.A. 9173)

4. Conduct hearings and investigations to  resolve complaints regarding nurses

5. Enforce adherence to the requirement of obtaining permit/clearance from the BON to undertake in-service educational programs or to conduct review classes for both local and international examinations

6. Promulgate appropriate policies on:

     6.1 Production, utilization, and development of our Nursing Human Resources in the country

     6.2 Other measures that would facilitate nursing development in the Philippines

C. On Unifying the Nursing Sector through Good Governance

1. Establish cooperation among various nursing organizations

2. Sustain all efforts in the attainment of goals towards the realization of a nursing profession roadmap

D. Collaborate with stakeholders for nursing development

Domestic linkage

1. Support initiatives toward the development of A Nursing Human Resource Network

2. Maintain linkages with various stakeholders

3. Collaborate with the Department of Health on Studies on Nursing Production, Utilization and Development

International linkage

1. Maintain linkages with other regulatory boards of other  countries

2. Participate in development of Health Trade Services

E. Administrative Concerns including Personal and Professional Development of the BON

1. Adopt an organizational design suited to the powers, duties and  functions of the Board of Nursing.  

1.1 Benchmark with other nursing regulatory boards

1.2 Organize the BON

1.3 Define areas of responsibilities

          1.4     Develop a system of reporting target outcomes 

          1.5     Develop a Manual of Operations for the BON

          1.6     Set up an “Office” of the BON

2. Provide opportunities for personal and professional growth and development of members of the BON

    2.1 Attend selected seminars, workshops, conventions to enhance capabilities of BON Members e.g. legal management, policy-development, test construction, fiscal management, risk management, information technology and other related topics. 

    2.2 Safeguard welfare and health of the members of the BON

BON Contact Information

Professional Regulation Commission
BOARD OF NURSING

P. Paredes cor. N. Reyes St.,
Sampaloc, Manila 1008

Tel. No.: +63 2 7351534 or +63 2 7363619
Fax No.: +63 2 7354476

Email: info@bonphilippines.org