Fellow Filipinos who took up Nursing

luckyfortune · Feb 2, 2009

Hi Lisa_usa,

I'm also Filipino and moved here to the US in 2002. I had a BS in Marketing Management and decided to go back to school too. I proudly finished Nursing in 12/2007. I'm now a Registered Nurse :)

Here are my suggestions:

1) Make sure you do have at least a year of residency to avoid paying out-of-state tuition fees. In my case, I live here in California and waited for a year before I took my pre-requisites. I also had a green card before but I'm now a US citizen.

2) Before taking up classes, I do suggest for you to find jobs in healthcare. Nursing is a labor of love and it's not that easy. It can be very challenging and stressful but very rewarding. I worked in an Oncology clinic before I took classes for my pre-reqs. In that way, you would be able to get the feel of the medical industry. It's good to know that you really like it.

3) You may also check out all possible nursing schools in your area. Talk to counselors and compare all of the schools' pre-requisites. I did the Associate's Degree in Nursing here and it was a 2-yr program. It took me a year and a half to take the pre-reqs. So about 3 1/2 years total.

4) Eventhough I had my BS in the Philippines, I wasn't able to credit any course. I think it would depend on the school or university you apply for. If you apply for the BSN program, you may credit some of the GED courses (such as Psych, etc). I went to a community college and I had to take A &P, Microbiology, Algebra, 2 English classes (I think), humanities course depending on what they require. Also, some schools would require you to take English classes here. I don't think any of the English classes you took in the Philippines can be credited. But you can ask the counselors. I also took one Algebra class (Elem. Algebra). Schools have their own required courses before applying for their nursing program. So before you take any class, make sure you can credit those to most of the schools you want to apply to. My school also required some assessment tests (English/Math) to be taken before you apply to the Nursing program.

5) Also, paying an agency to credit your transcript may not be necessary. Again, talk to the counselors.

6) I do have a friend who lives in Iowa who is now working as a CNA but she is taking classes for the LVN program. Some schools also offer that. Some has LVN then RN programs.

7) You need to do some networking to meet people who are in the profession. It's good to know how it is to be nurse. It's a demanding job and financially rewarding too. But if you are just into the financial part, it might be hard to survive the challenges. You also need to have internet access for most of the time while searching for the schools (but I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem).

8) If you have kids, be prepared to do some time management too. I had my first baby while in school and she was about 6months old when I started. It was very difficult and it took me a very long time to adjust. Also, the testing part in Nursing school is way different in the Philippines (I think). It took me a while to adjust with the testing part. It's not easy. Everything is critical thinking and English is our second language. So eventhough we had our Management degrees in the Philippines, it will take time to get used to the Nursing questions. But we work hard so I'm sure you can make it too!

I hope all these could help you with your journey in Nursing. I would be happy to answer any of your questions if I can. Check your Nursing organizations there in Ohio. I'm not quite familiar with your state.

Oh lastly, if you are married or with kids, don't forget to communicate with your husband and kids or your family. They will help you get through with Nursing! Best of luck with your nursing career plans! :)

mtopolinski · Feb 4, 2009

To Luckyfortune,

Thank you for the suggestions it will surely help me for my plans of taking up nursing. I guess it would be a perfect time for me in furthering my education because i have no kids yet so it is easier for this way. Yes i am married and my husband supported me for this so i am so thankful and excited going back to school. I am a little bit confused of taking up either LPN or ADN to become an RN. Does ADN and BSN is considerd an RN? i have been told that ADN today is not that competitive compare to a BSN and mostly hospitals will only hire a BSN graduates. is this true? in your part, what did u take up to be an RN? and one more thing how long does it takes to finished all the pre-reqs. of either ADN or BSN?

Thank you again luckyfortune. hope to hear again from you soon. God Bless.