Education in PH or US

Rep · Jul 26, 2007

So I am an American citizen who is going to marry a Philippine citizen next year. She wants to be a nurse in the US but does not know if she would be best to start classes in PH and finish in two years and then move over on a marriage visa or if its best to take the classes in the US. If she takes class in PH, then she will be in PH for an extra year vs just coming straight over on the marriage visa.
I can wait the extra year, but just need to know if she would be better off taking two years of classes in the US when she gets here somtime late in 2008 on the marriage visa. Will a two year degree from a PH school be enough to get a RN job in the US?

It takes a full 4 years ( except for the 2nd coursers which has programs for 2 to 3 years) for a nursing degree in the Philippines. She is much better to take nursing in the US. Just my opinion.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 26, 2007

The two year programs in the Philippines are not accepted for licensure as an RN in the US. The degree from the Philippines must be the BSN, nothing less is accepted.

Definitely agree with Rep on this one, school in the US hands down if she has a choice.

Bgolden · Jul 26, 2007

Thanks for the quick replies. I thought it would be better to take the classes in the US, but she was thinking the two year plan would be bettter in the Philippines. I have a feeling the local schools are doing a good job marketing these two year programs in PH.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 26, 2007

You are right that they are marketing these programs, but the issue that they fail to address is that it must be the BSN to get a license in the US. A straight two year degree from there is not accepted for licensure in the US as an RN. The same way that you see the LPN schools there, they are not even accepted for immigration purposes in most countries.

Two year programs are accepted in the US, provided that they were completed in the US. The requirement is that they must be equal to the first level professional nurse in the country where they trained, and the Philippine government does not recognize the two year RN program there, so the US is not going to either.

Unless she is planning to go thru a second courser program that is two years there and grants the BSN, it will be impossible for her to work as an RN in the US. They are great in marketing in PI, but when it comes to actual facts as to how they do things in other countries, they are at the bottom of the list.

And to be very upfront about this, the quality of the training there in most programs is not up to standards in the US. There are currently more than 632,000 students in school there to become nurses, but not enough patients to go around. So with 15 to 18 students per one patient, the skill set is not up to par with where it should be. Would not recommend going to school there at all if she will be coming to the US.

RNHawaii34 · Jul 26, 2007

so i am an american citizen who is going to marry a philippine citizen next year. she wants to be a nurse in the us but does not know if she would be best to start classes in ph and finish in two years and then move over on a marriage visa or if its best to take the classes in the us. if she takes class in ph, then she will be in ph for an extra year vs just coming straight over on the marriage visa.
i can wait the extra year, but just need to know if she would be better off taking two years of classes in the us when she gets here somtime late in 2008 on the marriage visa. will a two year degree from a ph school be enough to get a rn job in the us?

nursing in the philippines takes 4 years. lately, i heard it will take 5 years. in the us, you can be a nurse in 2- 2.5 years ( thats for associate degree in nursing), and if she wants bachelors degree from a university, i beleive it is 4-5 years (?) . also, she can apply for associate degree which is only two years. or she can apply for licensed practical nurse which is 2-to 1.5 years, maybe depending on which school she goes to.

Hoss · Jul 27, 2007

Effective this June for SY 2007-2008, the BSN program requires 5 years of study. Even second coursers may look at 3 to 4 years of nursing study, depending on how their schools grants previous credits. The so called 2 year nursing program (LPN) does not allow them to take the Philippine Nurse Licensure Exam (NLE) as that requires a BSN diploma here in the Philippines. I am not sure what type of work the 2 year programs will offer the student after they finish, but it will not allow for BSN license in the Philippines.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 27, 2007

The two year programs there do not offer licensure as an RN in the Philippines, only the BSN will get them a license after they pass their exams.

That is what I am finding so funny. These schools are trying to gear things to working in the US, but they are not accepted even for licensure here. They need to meet the requirement that the RN is a first level professional nurse in your country and that requires the BSN title, not the two year Associate degree.

Just more marketing so that the schools can try to offer shortcuts and make money from people that do not know. Wonder what the excuse will be when the nurses find out that the degree is useless from there in other countries.

Lorodz · Aug 9, 2007

So with 15 to 18 students per one patient, the skill set is not up to par with where it should be. Would not recommend going to school there at all if she will be coming to the US.

its way exaggerated suzanne, in our school, when i was in 3rd year, our school strictly implemented one patient per student. And when i was in 4th year, the student to patient ratio is 1:2. I dont know with other schools, but our school has tied up with enough tertiary hospitals match our learning needs.

suzanne4, RN · Aug 9, 2007

its way exaggerated suzanne, in our school, when i was in 3rd year, our school strictly implemented one patient per student. And when i was in 4th year, the student to patient ratio is 1:2. I dont know with other schools, but our school has tied up with enough tertiary hospitals match our learning needs.

I wish that I could agree with you, you went to a very good program that does things the way that it should. Definitely, not the case with most. I would love it if I was proved wrong, but have too many facts and anectodal notes to know that I am correct.

There are now over 632,000 students in over 430 nursing programs in PI. There are nurses that have graduated and have never, ever inserted a foley catheter or NG tube. And or performed many other procedures. Also have documentation in my files as to nurses going into nursing offices and purchasing names of patients and their information, to complete their case documentation so that they can sit for the NLE exam.

And which program were you at? Sounds like one that I am very familair with, but many others do not follow that.

There was also a program on one of the smaller islands where the students had 55 credits per semester and never even completed any clinical time, it was just signed off for them that they were there. Your government needs to clean up things there and close down schools that have a horrible pass rate on the NLE exam.

Or what about clinical instructors that never had any work experiene before they started instructiing? This is happening all of the time there now.

And most importantly, when did you actually graduate?

g_l · Aug 10, 2007

its way exaggerated suzanne, in our school, when i was in 3rd year, our school strictly implemented one patient per student. And when i was in 4th year, the student to patient ratio is 1:2. I dont know with other schools, but our school has tied up with enough tertiary hospitals match our learning needs.

not all schools are lucky. here in manila, schools fight over the rle slots available. they usually end up with a 2:1 ratio. problem is i saw a lot of them spending time in conferences in the students' lounge. they just come out when there's a procedure to be done or the client needs something done.

pinoy_guy · Aug 10, 2007

its way exaggerated suzanne, in our school, when i was in 3rd year, our school strictly implemented one patient per student. and when i was in 4th year, the student to patient ratio is 1:2. i dont know with other schools, but our school has tied up with enough tertiary hospitals match our learning needs.

not all schools are lucky. here in manila, schools fight over the rle slots available. they usually end up with a 2:1 ratio. problem is i saw a lot of them spending time in conferences in the students' lounge. they just come out when there's a procedure to be done or the client needs something done.

hi lorodz & g_l,

can you share the name(s) of your nursing school(s)?

i teach, and i see at least 12 students to a patient. other nursing schools (where my colleagues teach) have 12 to 15 students to a patient.

during my nursing rotations, i have seen students from other nursing schools, and the student:patient ratio is also high(if not higher).

your 1:2 or 1:1 is very good. i saw this ratio more than 10 years ago...in the university of the philippines college of nursing (upcn). but then, they only accepted 70 students to a batch (if i recall correctly).

my friends are asking about nursing schools with good student:patient ratios, and i could not name any. (upcn does not accept 2nd coursers.) i would appreciate it if you can give me the name of your nursing school.

upcn is good, but i would not want to take up nursing there right now, if you plan to work abroad. there are talks that they will restrict their graduates from working abroad, because their studies are subsidized by the filipino people. same issue with pamantasan ng lunsod ng maynila.