I am internationally educated (Philippines) and i'm finally a California Registered Nurse

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I want to post this because today I finally got my California RN license and I want to give my success story for those that are in a similar situation, internationally educated and needing to retake some classes for California and because I remember searching all over this site like 2 years ago trying to figure out how to do this.

I am an American citizen that graduated from the Philippines in 2014 with a BS in nursing. I knew that since I am from California I would eventually have to retake MS and OB nursing because of my deficiencies. So I decided after graduation that I would apply to another state. I first applied to Florida since they allow international students to take the NCLEX without taking those classes. I failed 3 times, which is the limit in that state. I then applied to Texas since they also allow me to take the NCLEX right away and I pass it. I then tried to transfer my license over to my home state of California. But I was still required to retake those classes. I searched for a school before I came across Dominican University of California, they have an IEN (internationally educated nurse) program made specifically for students or nurses needing to retake those classes. It was perfect since I don't live too far from the school. From what I learned from my classmates is that it is difficult to find a school that would allow us to take classes. I had classmates come all the way from across the state just to take those classes. The classes weren't too hard and I passed the last class last month on December. And today I finally received my license.

I wanted to share this because i'm sure there are a lot of international students that want to work in California but don't know what to do. From the day I came back to the states till now was about 3.5 years. It took a bit longer for me since I took the NCLEX first, which I had to take 4 times, before retaking those classes. You might be able to get it done faster, maybe 2.5 years depending on what order you do this but regardless you still have to transfer your paperwork, get your ATT, pass the NCLEX, and if you want to work in California you have to retake the classes you are deficient on. Expect it to take a while, paperwork takes a while to be sent and evaluated. The NCLEX is difficult but manageable. You might feel lost but you're not the only one. But don't give up, you already graduated you just need to do a couple extra steps. I cannot tell you how stressed I was trying to get this done, I felt like giving up because I just didn't know what to do. But it's possible to get this done, getting a CA RN license as an international student. And for the record I do not consider myself a really smart student. So if I can get this done i'm sure most of you can as well.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical Nursing.

Congrats. You deserve to get your California license after all the hardwork and sacrifices you made. God bless on your nursing career!

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thank you so much for this, God bless

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please what does MS stand for

I know to Uk Trained ADULT nurses that registered with Florida

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Please how many hours do Florida and Texas require in OB and MS?

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When you endorsed to CA, did they require you to submit copies of your clinical cases??

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