Foreign Nurses from the Philippines

kyutnurse · Apr 21, 2004

Thank you suzanne for your words of wisdom.

-Ria

abyondevillapat · Apr 21, 2004

hi everyone, neriners, i think i know the name of the agency that you are connected with, coz im connected with that agency also. my concerns are same with you. i dont have a hospital experince, and we should have right, i am working as a company nurse for six years, right now im connected with a good company, that's why im afraid to resign coz i still dont know when they, can really send us to usa. i have inquired to djobs, they accept nurses even without hospital experince , but they dont redeem... so we have to pay for the expenses that they shouldered then, we can transfer to that agency.

fellow nurses.. who are now in the usa, can you recommend any agency that recruit nurses,that dont require hspital experience.

hi everyone! this is my first time to join a forum and post a message. i have read some of the messages here and i find it very informative. i would like to address this message to all filipino nurses who are now successfully working in the us. i graduated bsn last 1995, had 2 years experience as service volunteer in phil. national red cross, then 1 year of pdn. i am currently working as a research and development clerk in a pharmaceutical company. i've been with this job for almost 7 years. it was last year when an opportunity knocked my door. an agency offered me a scholarship program (sponsorship in all exams, review and visa processing). i passed cgfns (july2003) and ielts (october2003). but i felt frustrated because they have only few employers. the ones that came (december 2003 and february 2004) were very particular with hospital experience. that's the reason why i was not called for an interview. the agency now requires us to go back to hospital while waiting, or attend their training program(which will cost arnd p17k), for us to be marketable.this was not cleared to us when we signed the contract with them. they have accepted us even without hospital experience. in our present economic situation, i can't afford to give up my job without the assurance that i will be deployed very soon. i have 2 kids to feed and i can't take the risk just like that. right now, i am exploring other options and i hope you would help me on some concerns:
1) is hospital experience really necessary? i heard some were able to emigrate and work there even without experience?
2) which is better? safer? faster? going thru an agency or direct hire?
3) is it really 12 - 18 months of processing for immigrant visa?
that's all for now. i would greatly appreciate if you could find time to send your comments or share your experiences. thanks and god bless!
~neriners~

Rep · Apr 21, 2004

Hi Abyon,

I would suggest that you look up in the internet regarding employment agencies that don't require hospital experience. If you want to work in the hospital, it would be difficult for you to find one if you don't have any hospital experience. Nursing homes are not strict on that yet. I myself have worked as a volunteer staff nurse way back then but presently working as a medical representative for several years already.

Also, If you are going to fill up the I-140 form, it just states there to list your job experiences regardless whether its nursing or not.

This is my opinion and I know there are more knowledgeable people here in the site who can help you also. Good luck!

suzanne4, RN · Apr 21, 2004

To get around the hospital experience requirement, you can fly to Saipan and take the NCLEX exam. This will give you a California license...............You are then eligible to go over to the US on a student visa and take a refresher course at one of the colleges for registered nurses. This would give you hospital experience again, and in a US hospital. This way you would be able to get a job in a hospital and not a nursing home.

Hope that this helps. :balloons:

Rep · Apr 21, 2004

Thanks Suzanne. You are such a great help to us foreign nurses!

suzanne4, RN · Apr 21, 2004

You are more than welcome.................

Sometime you just have to think "outside the box"------ :balloons:

yousev · Apr 26, 2004

hi maelee!!!! i'm also taking the local board exam this coming june. nininerbyos ka din ba gaya ko? magtagalog na tayo dito,hehehe... hayaan mong mabaliw magbasa yung mga foreigners. from what school r u? i'm about to go to the states after the result comes out. r u taking ur reviews at the review center? where? hope to be ur friend. good luck to us! nd may God bless us all!

yousev · Apr 26, 2004

hi maelee and to all fil.nurses there! Mabuhay! to maelee... i'm also taking the board exam this june. nininerbyos ka din ba? magtagalog na lang tayo...hehe... i'm about to go to the states after the result comes out (hopefully, after the oath-taking kung papalarin). from what school r u? are u having ur review in a review center or merely doing ur self-review? hope we can be friends. good luck to us! hope we can make it. and may God bless us always! take care.....

pinayhomegirl · Apr 28, 2004

hi i understand your confusion..im a fresh graduate here and unfortunately there is a shortage of nurses here! interestingly enough, there are thousands of nurses enrolling each year and if each nurse works here..it would be more than enough to cover the shortage being experienced here.

The problem lies here.. Most nurses want to go abroad because of the small salary they recieve there.. im lucky because im have a tourist visa and i can now process my papers here but for those who are in thr Philippines, they still have to wait a year or 2 just to get here and work and believe me its worth it

Being a nurse in the philippines is very ironic! you spend loads of money in you education but if you decide to work there..you won't be able to support your family..

i hope i had shed light on your querries..just email me if you have any more question? bye

pinayhomegirl · Apr 28, 2004

hello po...sa lahat ng mga nurses sa pinas.. email nyo po ako...me visa n b kau? sadly, close na po ang year na to to get immigrant visas..(check out the ppapers) october kasi ang start ng business year sa states so bale after october na ulit "magpapamigay ng visa" hehehehe. na reach n po kasi ang quota.. sana lahat kayo ay makupunta dito.. we are the greatest in number sa nurses (foreighn) followed distantly by india.. pag me querry kayo e e-mail nyo ko

btw, im a thomasian.. kakagraduate ko lang last year pero nandito n me

NannaNurse · Apr 29, 2004

English please

pinayhomegirl · Apr 30, 2004

sorry about that..:chuckle

English please