Curious about nursing in Mexico

[NightNurseRN]

I am just curious about when someone says they were "a nurse in mexico many years ago", how is that compared to a nurse here? The person who said this to me is a home health AIDE here. She sometimes like to act like she knows more than she does it seems and it's getting irritating :) . Anyone have any input on this?

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

She very well could have been a nurse in Mexico and could very well know a lot. Different countries will have different requirements and might not transfer over to here so they might have to start over again here. Doesn't mean they were any less of a nurse in the other country or that they aren't as smart as nurses here.

[NightNurseRN]

That is not what I meant. This particular person definately does not know a lot. I was wondering I guess if being a say LVN in Mexico 30 years ago, is equal to being and LVN in the U.S. today.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

I have a friend who was a nurse in Mexico and who is now a phlebotomist. We used to work together at a community health center (me as a nurse, she in the lab) and I gotta tell ya - her clinical assessment skills were sharp. She talked about nursing in the hospital where she worked for years in Mexico and the skills she used there were the same skills I was trying to learn. One day she brought in a copy of her curricula and class syllabi from nursing school - again, not that different from mine.

Yes, there may be a difference in scope of practice and such. But my former-Mexican-nurse friend was/is sharp as a tack and not much difference in our individual skill sets and knowledge. I can't generalize that to all of Mexico, but I do know how good my friend was.

[merky]

Maybe she knows more than you are giving her credit for. There is much lost in translation.