Any US citizen studying Nursing in the Philippines?

RNHawaii34 · Dec 27, 2007

as mentioned above, since you are now a us citizen, you would need to apply for a student visa to be able to study there, it is not an automatic thing that you will be able to do.
you will be required to get the bsn there for you to be able to work in the us as an rn, you must meet the educational requirements of that country and they only recognize the bsn for licensure.
you will also always be considered a foreign grad when applying to any state for licensure; licensing and immigration are two very different things.
suggest that you have a look at some of the other threads on this very topic, as this one is more than 18 months old and there are many that are more current.
you are going to find things tougher there as you are going to be starting all over in many cases, it is hard to get your hours transferred, the same way that it is hard to transfer between nursing programs even in the same city. if you are already in a program, suggest that you remain there. you go out of the country, and it will be much longer before you will be able to write the nclex exam and test. when you train out of the us, you cannot start the licensing process until you have a completed set of transcripts, and many other states have additional other requirements that need to be met, so it could be much longer for you before you could start working here, definitely not faster.

and oh!!! i forgot to add on something...it is expensive too!!!! you might think its cheap because we use us dollars..., but in my case? after adding everything up? tuition, uniforms, daily expenses, rent, utilities, bus fare, food, etc..blah blah? it probably cost more than what i would have spend in a local adn program here in the united states :lol2:

SN12 · Dec 28, 2007

Wow! thanks for the info.

suzanne4, RN · Dec 29, 2007

you are quite welcome.

marwan · Dec 30, 2007

Yeah, I did the math too and even with free board (stay in parent's home), it will cost me more than completing an ADN program in the US. The cost of books is crazy. Here in the US, you can buy second hand, almost new books on the internet. I was also told that if I'm serious about going to nursing school there, I should have ample supply of gloves for patient care and my own bottles of hand sanitizers.

My suggestion is, investigate, investigate, and investigate! I know for sure that some essential nursing skills are done differently in the Phils. Worst, some of these are not taught at all. The problem with the many nursing schools there is that they let even those "sure fail" students to progress through their senior year. For these schools, they don't really care as they are after the tuition fees paid. Interestingly, students who failed the NLE are applying as caregivers or nannies! Wow, a very expensive way to earn a work visa to countries in need of nannies! It's not a surprise that Phils is a major exporter of highly skilled, highly educated nannies abroad. I hope the government should realize what it's bragging about. I hope the government should use its powers to intervene in the affairs of the schools. It should act as a police and ensure that all nursing schools or ALL schools are operating on their highest level of quality. I wonder if that will happen. I can only hope and pray that it will in my lifetime...

confused23 · Jan 27, 2008

Yes and yes. In fact, a lot of Filipino nurses are working there. A number of them graduated here.

pankz88 · Aug 28, 2008

I need some help I don't know what to do. I plan to go back in the Phil to study nursing. Is this a better/good choice for me? what are the risks, advantages, and disadvantages? and what are the steps that i should do. I just got my US citizenship last year I think. Thanks in advance for the help!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Aug 28, 2008

Please take the time to read some of the threads in this forum as much has been discussed about it

You will always be classed as foreign trained nurses and meet BON requirements. Not sure where you live in the US but some BON/BRN require local license and if you have dual citizenship then you have to take the local boards in the Philippines which I believe is only sat twice a year.

pankz88 · Aug 28, 2008

I live in California and I do not have dual citizenship.

yelloobee · Nov 15, 2008

I need some help I don't know what to do. I plan to go back in the Phil to study nursing. Is this a better/good choice for me? what are the risks, advantages, and disadvantages? and what are the steps that i should do. I just got my US citizenship last year I think. Thanks in advance for the help!

Hello! I'm a US citizen that decided to study in the Philippines.. I was born and raised in the USA for 20 years before I moved out here... and 4 years have passed and I am graduating in April 2009. And this country has become my second home. Ill be sad to leave.

Choicewise- it would be very dependent on your situation.. and how ready you can accept change. For me it was easy because I decided to come out here because I wanted change and to know more about my family roots. I readily accept change

Steps to take: Research on schools. So many nursing schools are sprouting up like mushrooms, but the education and teaching is not so good. I suggest that you check out the passing rates of the students who take the Philippines Boards and the reputation you may hear or read about. A few top schools here in the Philippines are UP, UERMMMC ( my school! ), St Paul, Trinitiy .. they have websites. They are mostly in manila

Somethings to consider-

Tuition costs might be cheaper, but like a earlier post mentioned, you have to consider uniforms, living arrangements, and learning how to budget the US $$ to the Philippine Peso.

Teaching is different here, but the information on NUrsing is the same, you just need to study and read alot.

Places to live- boarding houses near the schools are often available , if you have family out here then be ready to either commute or get a car.

Things to do: Lots of things to do in the Manila area night life is great, you need to learn how to balance and prioritize, time mangement is key.

Weather: its either Hot, Rainy, Rainy and Hot

good Luck to you!