good training experience

rn4ever? · Nov 15, 2006

If you have experience working as a Registered Nurse in a foreign land, it's good. But worry not if you don't have one because the hospital that will hire you in the US is sure to train you before it actually makes you work in their floor. They will not take any chances and assume that you know things because being sued is just too costly than to train and retrain a nurse.

yetski · Nov 16, 2006

I just want to share my friend's exp. to everyone. He went through that training in the Phil. dialysis center last year because he wanted to have exp. for dialysis.
To cut the long story short, he went to the US last year to take the NCLEX there and went through AOS and wanted to apply for a dialysis center but the cert. he got wasn't credited and they said to him that he must do the training w/ their center instead and that it is free anyway and they will hire him w/ or w/o that training from the Phil. and will still have to do trainings w/ their dialysis center.

hi, I am just wondering what hospital is it? :) (just for future reference)

lawrence01 · Nov 16, 2006

It wasn't a hospital but a dialysis center. What we are trying to say is that most do not accept trainings done here and US hospitals, dialysis centers, etc.. will train you.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Nov 16, 2006

I think it's wrong for those hospitals to charge that much money for training. That's where I would draw the line as far as experience. When you pass the NLE, that means you can practice as a RN and the hospitals there should hire you with pay. You shouldn't have to pay them to be trained.

It is good to have experience if you are planning to work abroad, there is no doubt about that. You have a higher comfort level in terms of caring for patients because you are given time to hone your clinical skills. But having experience means working as a staff nurse and actually assuming the responsibilities that go with the staff nurse role. Don't let those hospitals fool you into paying them for their certification or training which will count for nothing here in the US. Ask yourself, will that certificate you paid good money for help improve your patient care or will it merely contribute to the already huge revenues those hospitals make. Might as well not have the experience and get all the training you will need when you arrive here in the US.

I'm surprised PGH is part of that, what a shame! I was a nurse there for 3 years from 1992-1995 and sure, I gained a lot of skills from working there. But I didn not have to pay them for anything back in those days!

batasMTR_RN · Nov 16, 2006

HERE IS THE CASE... experienced nurses, regardless of the years and those newly grad burses from the Philippines are all considered NEW GRADUATE NURSES. They will all go through trainings... some hospitals have RN RESIDENCY PROGRAM which include lectures, preceptorship which usually run for 13 weeks..... they will spend for your trainings...

Rep · Nov 16, 2006

I think it's wrong for those hospitals to charge that much money for training. That's where I would draw the line as far as experience. When you pass the NLE, that means you can practice as a RN and the hospitals there should hire you with pay. You shouldn't have to pay them to be trained.
It is good to have experience if you are planning to work abroad, there is no doubt about that. You have a higher comfort level in terms of caring for patients because you are given time to hone your clinical skills. But having experience means working as a staff nurse and actually assuming the responsibilities that go with the staff nurse role. Don't let those hospitals fool you into paying them for their certification or training which will count for nothing here in the US. Ask yourself, will that certificate you paid good money for help improve your patient care or will it merely contribute to the already huge revenues those hospitals make. Might as well not have the experience and get all the training you will need when you arrive here in the US.
I'm surprised PGH is part of that, what a shame! I was a nurse there for 3 years from 1992-1995 and sure, I gained a lot of skills from working there. But I didn not have to pay them for anything back in those days!

Well, you know things have change since you left. Itt is sad and true that hospitals now charge nurses for the experiences they want and hosptials encoureage nurses even though they are understaff to do volunteer work instead of having them in the payroll.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Nov 16, 2006

Hospitals now charge nurses for the experiences they want and hosptials encoureage nurses even though they are understaff to do volunteer work instead of having them in the payroll.

In that case, if any of you plan on working in the US, forget about applying to those hospitals and just pass all the required examinations, then, take the chance of applying for a job here without any experience. I have worked with nurses from the Philippines who had no experience prior to coming to the US and they are adjusting just fine. A lot of the skills you may have missed out on can be learned during your floor orientation here.

That's one way to send a message to those hospitals that you are not about to be fooled into their unethical scheme. By the way, do other foreign countries (UK, Ireland, KSA) require these certifications from Philippine hospitals prior to getting hired?

khirbz · Nov 17, 2006

I think having extra training here in the philippines will just boost your confidence in dealing with patients especially if you're a newly grad. Some nurses who already passed their nclex had their in hospitals while waiting for their visas. Its good to have a little experience here in the philippines than having none at all. Me, myself i would like to be trained here first.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Nov 17, 2006

I can see those hospital's point now as I read more posts. If a new grad have already applied and passed the NCLEX, how much of a commitment does that nurse have in terms of staying for a while in that hospital? As soon as their visa arrives, then they're out of there. I see that practice as the hospital's way of protecting themselves. They wouldn't hire a nurse and spend resources on training them if they will be leaving indefinitely while their visas are being processed.

Not to put anyone's comment down but, how much of a confidence do you really get from 6 months of working in the Philippines when the way nurses work here in the US is so much different from there? I have to admit, I learned a lot of things from working at PGH. I became good at inserting IV's, drawing blood samples, working with respirators, inserting foley cath's since I worked in ICU there. But that experience spanned 3 years total! I can attest to the fact that it helped that I already knew those things when I arrived in the US. But the equpments and medical supplies here are different and you have to be more mindful of sterile technique and such that you will end up having to re-learn things over anyway. In addition, there are also new grads from US schools that have not yet developed the proficiency to perform these procedures and were just being taught to do them as a new hire in our hospitals here. Like somebody else mentioned, you are not expected to know everything when you arrive here. It's best to admit what you don't know something and get the appropriate training so you don't end up making an error.

I think what new grads who expect to work in the States should try to practice on is their conversational English. I'm not being mean but nursing involves a ton of social interaction so it's important that we are proficient in English. This should be the only language that is spoken while in the work setting. It sometimes appalls me as I walk down the halls of my hospital and I hear Filipino nurses loudly talking in our native tongue while in the patient care areas. That is just plain insensitive and tacky!

We should also work on being more assertive as nurses. To me assertiveness is being able to express our true opinions about things without being aggressive about it. It's about tactfully expressing our disagreements with others and questioning things that we feel are not being done the right way. I think we tend to be assertive among our own fellow Filipinos but not as much when it comes to our interaction with those of other races.

I do feel that as nurses the key to our continued success in a foreign land such as the US is to be able to earn the respect we deserve from our American peers and maybe the above points are key to earning this respect.

batasMTR_RN · Nov 19, 2006

well said.... i agree

Not to put anyone's comment down but, how much of a confidence do you really get from 6 months of working in the Philippines when the way nurses work here in the US is so much different from there? I have to admit, I learned a lot of things from working at PGH. I became good at inserting IV's, drawing blood samples, working with respirators, inserting foley cath's since I worked in ICU there. But that experience spanned 3 years total! I can attest to the fact that it helped that I already knew those things when I arrived in the US. But the equpments and medical supplies here are different and you have to be more mindful of sterile technique and such that you will end up having to re-learn things over anyway. In addition, there are also new grads from US schools that have not yet developed the proficiency to perform these procedures and were just being taught to do them as a new hire in our hospitals here. Like somebody else mentioned, you are not expected to know everything when you arrive here. It's best to admit what you don't know something and get the appropriate training so you don't end up making an error.
I think what new grads who expect to work in the States should try to practice on is their conversational English. I'm not being mean but nursing involves a ton of social interaction so it's important that we are proficient in English. This should be the only language that is spoken while in the work setting. It sometimes appalls me as I walk down the halls of my hospital and I hear Filipino nurses loudly talking in our native tongue while in the patient care areas. That is just plain insensitive and tacky!
We should also work on being more assertive as nurses. To me assertiveness is being able to express our true opinions about things without being aggressive about it. It's about tactfully expressing our disagreements with others and questioning things that we feel are not being done the right way. I think we tend to be assertive among our own fellow Filipinos but not as much when it comes to our interaction with those of other races.
I do feel that as nurses the key to our continued success in a foreign land such as the US is to be able to earn the respect we deserve from our American peers and maybe the above points are key to earning this respect.

purple_rage17 · Nov 20, 2006

I
I think what new grads who expect to work in the States should try to practice on is their conversational English. I'm not being mean but nursing involves a ton of social interaction so it's important that we are proficient in English. This should be the only language that is spoken while in the work setting. It sometimes appalls me as I walk down the halls of my hospital and I hear Filipino nurses loudly talking in our native tongue while in the patient care areas. That is just plain insensitive and tacky!
We should also work on being more assertive as nurses. To me assertiveness is being able to express our true opinions about things without being aggressive about it. It's about tactfully expressing our disagreements with others and questioning things that we feel are not being done the right way. I think we tend to be assertive among our own fellow Filipinos but not as much when it comes to our interaction with those of other races.
quote]
Very well said PinoyNP...I totally agree that we should focus on the English proficiency first... both written and oral... I had a hard time understanding spoken English but I learned it through watching American TV shows like Desperate Housewives and the Apprentice. First I watched it with subtitles then after about 10 episodes without it and voila, I can understand it completely! I'm still working with my spoken English though, any tips? Thanks.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Nov 22, 2006

Any tips? In my case, I always try to form my thoughts in English. I find it harder if I think in Filipino and then try to translate word for word because my statements do not come out quite right. I also wasn't shy about socializing with people who can only speak in English, that way I am forced to speak English only. In addition, I get to pick up on idiosyncracies of American English. To be honest, I had the same struggle with the language when I first arrived. Don't get me wrong, we speak English in the Philippines, just not the same way Americans speak it. And I had the most trouble understanding African-Americans. I am much better at it now, though.