MD in the Philippines?

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 22, 2017

Moving to Nurse Registration forum.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 22, 2017

Hi I was wondering if anyone had any information on going to school in the Philippines for MD or NP and then coming back to the U.S. to test.

OK...

First of all, you should ask a MD forum about going to medical school overseas. AN's a nursing forum--we can't speak as to how MDs are educated and/or licensed.

As far as becoming a NP...you could go to school overseas. However, the curriculum of your NP program needs to meet the Board of Nursing Requirements of the state in which you want to be licensed in. Those requirements vary by state--some states are more stringent than others. New York may be happy with your nursing program and let you sit for testing, while California may review your transcripts and say, "sorry, but No."

Also, just because one state may decide to license you as a NP doesn't mean the other 49 and DC have to automatically do the same. That's because the Boards of Nursing will still review your transcripts even if you are already licensed and endorsing in. So even if NY licenses you, CA can still reject you if they're not happy with the program you attended.

Hopefully someone will come along that has done what you are asking about and can fill you in on their specific experiences.

Best of luck.

AJJKRN · May 23, 2017

While I am not up to date on the subject I can say that a fairly large majority of the Filipino nurses that migrated to my work place are MD's in the Philippines but work as registered nurses here...my assumption would be no...(I am also not aware of whether or not they challenged NCLEX boards).

I have also meet more than my share of (and mostly bitter) persons from other countries that are MDs back home - or have said they are - but their education is not recognized here in the states or is not up to par enough to get into a residency program. Persons from Russia, Australia, Africa...I've never asked my Filipino friends if they even tried or could get into a residency though. Others mileage may vary.

Again, not something like I am familiar with at all but just the experiences I have had in health care working in a teaching hospital...

honeybee_23 · May 25, 2017

For NP programs: there are no NP programs in the Philippines at this time.

For Med School: I can only say that I have met many people from the US who went to Med school in the Philippines and did their internship/residency in the US. I lost touch with them so I cannot tell you what the outcome was. Yes it can save you money but it's a much harder path with more hoops to jump through to prove that your education is enough and you might even have to take more classes.