International Nursing Graduate, never licensed, planning to work in Florida as RN

[Cjpmadrigal]

Hi everybody! Here's my story.

I was born and raised in Maryland and moved overseas for college. I moved to the Philippines and got my four year BSN. I never got license to practice as a nurse and it has been 7 years since graduation. What happened was, after graduation, I ended up working for Chase Bank overseas as a trainer. I worked for Chase for about 6 years.

I have since moved to Florida and am looking to practice as an RN. I need to in an extremely comprehensive review class that will prepare me for the NCLEX so I can practice in Florida. I know things have changed a lot since I graduated and the equipment that we used might be different. Also, I am lost as to how to get my credits evaluated and where to go.

So far, I have only found one program that caters to International nursing graduates who have been out of practice for a long time. I need tons of intensive training to even have a shot at passing the NCLEX.

The program I have found is 4 months long and requires me to stay in North Carolina. They have boarding and classes 5 days out of a week. The problem is that it costs $12,000 and do not accept student loans. I'm literally starting with nothing. I don't have that much money at all. The program itself starts in August and I don't know if I'll be able to raise 8 - $9,000 in this time frame.

Do you all have any idea about any other programs that are similar, more affordable and within Florida?

I really like the nursing program because it has a guarantee that you will pass the NCLEX. I have bumped into nurses in hospitals with in Florida near where I live who highly recommend the program. They really cater towards International graduates who have been out of the game for way too long. I'm afraid that if I just tried to jump into any of the nursing review programs out here that are more affordable, I will be very lost. I need something that's going to break things down for me from years 1 to 4 of my nursing course.

To be very honest, I am just so overwhelmed right now and really need your Insight. Another option I was thinking about was to try to get into ultrasound sonography classes so I can do that instead but I don't know which will end up to be more expensive and which is more practical. Like I said, I'm starting from barely anything. I have no credit since I left the US when I was almost 18. This just makes it a lot more difficult for me to try to secure a loan. My bank won't even give me a secured card at this point so I'm not sure where to go. I have heard of Pell Grants and such but I don't think the nursing program accepts them. They only take money from debit accounts and cash.

I'm starting to get a little flustered so any help you guys could give me would be much appreciated. I just want to be on the right path and not waste any more time. I've been in Florida for about 3 weeks now and have been reading my NCLEX review materials but I am just so lost.

I don't really know that my NCLEX review books will help me much at this point because there is so much that I have already forgotten. Have any of you encountered this situation? Do you have any step by step items that I can follow to make this a lot easier? It's a really difficult transition and I would appreciate any help. Thanks!

[fyxy24]

Find any job first to support you such as working as a Med Tech in a Nursing home or any job that you would think will help you financially. Before getting to the field as an RN, you would have to go get your eligibility to sit for NCLEX RN exam on the state where you will be applying. This is the very first step. To get the eligibility, you have to apply for it and that would cost some money. Start from going to their website, fill out forms needed and make sure to get your credentials from your foreign school that you have attended and pass all the requirements to BON. While waiting for your eligibility, get some job to support you to process your papers and a review class. I don't think you need to go and repeat the Nursing program since this would cost much. You just need to refresh what you've learned years ago. I know it's still there. You just gotta awaken it!