does having MAN/MSN degree a faster way to land a US nursing job?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Apr 29, 2009

If you have experience and can find a hospital willing to employ you at the level of a MSN then it may help however if you have no US experience that may hinder you looking for a employer. Just having a MSN will not make it any easier without the job.

mench_32 · May 2, 2009

Hi baldo Rn,

Im also a Filipino , with CAlifornia license RN in here in USA. Actually, being an MSN or MAN graduate does not make you easier to come over here in america to work as an RN. To be here, you must passed your nclex and find a employer to sponsor you to work over here. This time of retrogression here in USA, even Filipino immigrant with US- RN licensed already here have difficulty finding jobs in the hospital because most of the hospital here would not credit philippines worked experienced.. they only credit hospital experienced here in america, thats why many are ending working in the hospice or nursing homes. Its true...MAN or MSN holder does not lauched jobs that easily.

idiopathic BSN RN · May 2, 2009

i think your doing fine.. but you should do something productive like attending seminars or trainings, or applying in the hospital..

just think it in the positive way.. retrogression gave as opportunity to finish all the exams and experience that we need and to fulfill so that when retrogression is gone we are ready for our visas..

baldoRN · May 3, 2009

thanks for all your replies...I'm focusing now on my TOEFL exam which is a requirement for CES.

is it true that non-US hospital experience is not credited in the US?

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 5, 2009

is it true that non-US hospital experience is not credited in the US?

Just based on anecdotal evidence from Filipino and other foreign nurse friends and colleagues, there are some who had their experience in a foreign hospital recognized by a US hospital. I know a couple of Filipino nurses who worked in the OR in the Philippines (one worked at PGH, the other worked at a hospital in Cebu) who were hired as OR nurses when they came here. I also know an Indian nurse who worked in the OR in Saudi Arabia who was also hired in an OR here. There were 2 Indian nurses who were ICU nurses in India who were hired in our ICU about 4 years ago. Both these nurses struggled quite a bit with keeping up with our ICU routines but are now doing really well. When our hospital was recruiting in the Philippines 6 years ago, one nurse was slated to work in the ER and we were told, he was an ER nurse there in the Philippines. However, when he arrived, administration didn't want to give him a "culture shock" so he was reassigned to a General Medical Unit when he arrived. We have ICU nurses from Australia who work in the ICU here.

Some people say the key word is "verifiable experience" and if that is possible with Philippine hospitals, then, the experience may be recognized here.

baldoRN · May 5, 2009

the experiences they have may be 3-5years in those fields so it is acknowledged as "experience" by the US hospitals. and I've read that "volunteer/training are not counted as "experience"...with the influx of RNs here in the Philippines, before being a volunteer or trainee, you must pass several exams and interviews. and that's after waiting for a long queue. expect more for staff position.

that's why i thought of gaining MSN/MAN degree to a bit ahead of the competion.

mench_32 · May 5, 2009

Hi NP Gilly...

personally im a bit disappointed with the RN hiring here in california...Im a newly immigrant here in ca from philippines, been here for 1 year and im a currently california RN licensed holder. I have 8 years experienced as a medical surgical nurse,OR,ER,PICU and surgery. The hospital i worked in the philippines is 250 bed capacity ISO hospital going to the level of JCAHO.Not to boost, i had my masters degree in nursing with supervisory/ teaching experience in the nursing academe (hospital based). I applied several hospitals here in our area(sacramento) unfortunately all my application in hospital in here was turndowned since they looked up my california hospital experience. How can i have my california hospital experienced when im just new in here...thats why im applying....thinking they would consider my 8 years experience in the philippines as a nurse...considering that the hospital i been employed is 250 bed capacity with ISO status leading to JCAHO...honestly its one of the biggest hospital in the philippines. Im a bit dis appointed. The only reply i dont like is that they said they will prioritize graduates here in america....thats truly discriminating..not equal job oppurtunities for everyone!!!what do you think??? Im so upset....what can you advised me?

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 5, 2009

the experiences they have may be 3-5years in those fields so it is acknowledged as "experience" by the US hospitals. and I've read that "volunteer/training are not counted as "experience"...with the influx of RNs here in the Philippines, before being a volunteer or trainee, you must pass several exams and interviews. and that's after waiting for a long queue. expect more for staff position.
that's why i thought of gaining MSN/MAN degree to a bit ahead of the competion.

Volunteer/Training experience should not be counted in your work experience. That's not to say there are probably some who lie in their resume and add it as work experience. Again, unless it is verifiable, the experience does not count. US hospitals typically call all individuals the applicant provided as professional references and some prefer to call previous employers as well. That can be technically difficult if the experience is in a foreign country like the Philippines.

Less than a year of paid clinical experience in my opinion does not make one competent in a particular field or area of nursing. There is no arbitrary number for having adequate experience in a specific specialty or hospital unit but to me, two years should be enough for a nurse to attain a certain degree of confidence in the clinical nursing role.

Just a thought, maybe the experienced nurses who have been working in the Philippines in a specialty role for a couple of years or so should be the ones applying for a visa, like the H1B for example. The 65,000 H1B visa cap, as most have mentioned, have not been met for 2010. That way, as experienced nurses leave, openings will be available for new grads.

Hushdawg · May 6, 2009

thanks for all your replies...I'm focusing now on my TOEFL exam which is a requirement for CES.
is it true that non-US hospital experience is not credited in the US?

That is NOT true.

It all depends on the individual hospital. So be prepared to have something attached with your resume to introduce the hospitals you have worked for.

You should work with the hospital directors to get them to write letters, especially if you have been a volunteer nurse.

Hospitals in the USA normally do not accept volunteer nursing as experience because in the USA volunteers are not responsible for the patient whereas in the Philippines they are... it would be good to have some documents to express this to your prospective employer.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · May 7, 2009

Hi NP Gilly...
personally im a bit disappointed with the RN hiring here in california...Im a newly immigrant here in ca from philippines, been here for 1 year and im a currently california RN licensed holder. I have 8 years experienced as a medical surgical nurse,OR,ER,PICU and surgery. The hospital i worked in the philippines is 250 bed capacity ISO hospital going to the level of JCAHO.Not to boost, i had my masters degree in nursing with supervisory/ teaching experience in the nursing academe (hospital based). I applied several hospitals here in our area(sacramento) unfortunately all my application in hospital in here was turndowned since they looked up my california hospital experience. How can i have my california hospital experienced when im just new in here...thats why im applying....thinking they would consider my 8 years experience in the philippines as a nurse...considering that the hospital i been employed is 250 bed capacity with ISO status leading to JCAHO...honestly its one of the biggest hospital in the philippines. Im a bit dis appointed. The only reply i dont like is that they said they will prioritize graduates here in america....thats truly discriminating..not equal job oppurtunities for everyone!!!what do you think??? Im so upset....what can you advised me?

Hi mench! If economic circumstances were different from what it is now, I have no doubt in my mind that hospitals would be snatching you up and offering you a position given your qualifications and your legal eligibility to work in the US (Green Card). However, news is that California is badly hit by the recession and the hospitals in Sacramento in particular are on a hiring freeze. By the way, what is stopping you from leaving the area and looking elsewhere in other parts of California? I heard that while the Bay area is saturated with many RN's, Southern California may still be hiring. My brother and his wife are both RN's and they live in the Inland Empire area of Southern California. My brother moved from Michigan 2 years ago and didn't have difficulty finding a job at the time he moved (although he did graduate from his AAS in Nursing in Michigan and had 2 years of ER experience in Detroit). He tells me that there are still openings in his area of California. He works for a Kaiser Permanente hospital and his wife works for Loma Linda Medical Center. Just a thought.