In a previous thread that is now closed by the admin, it was mentioned that a foreign nurse will always be behind a US-trained nurse in the US health care culture. This reference was made in comparison to physicians who are international medical graduates (IMG's) as this group does get last priority behind US-trained physicians in terms of finding residency program slots across the United States.
My opinion is that the above assumption does not apply to US nursing in general. Once a foreign nurse meets the qualifications to work in the US (as in the case of a Filipino nurse who passed the NLE, CGFNS in states that still require it, NCLEX-RN, and obtained the legal immigration documents allowing the nurse to be employed) that nurse is on equal footing with a US counterpart who possesses the same background qualifications.
I understand that some healthcare facilities in the US do not recognize nursing experience in the Philipines and will hire the foreign nurse just like they would a newly graduated nurse from the US. However, the "second class" designation if you will, does not stick with the foreign nurse forever. A foreign nurse who has gained years of US experience is just as qualified to apply for management positions as their American counterparts. In fact many foreign nurses with Bachelor's degrees in nursing have furthered their career by obtaining master's and doctoral degrees in the US and have assumed high level positions both in clinical practice and in academic settings.
