This is my first post, so a big Hello to everyone. :)
I am an American living here in the Philippines with my 27 year old Filipina wife (she is a Filipino citizen and has never been to the US before). She has a 4 year BS degree in Computer Science but now wants to become an RN. Obviously, I will be paying for this schooling if she in fact goes back to school.
Since she has previously graduated with a BS degree from a Filipino college, do you think she might be able to take a somewhat shorter than 4 year course in nursing? The reason I ask this is because she more than likely has already completed some of the basic prerequisite courses that any other BS degree would require such as the BS in nursing.
Actually I was planning on starting the paperwork through the US Embassy in Manila to get her an IR-1 Immigrant Visa so she could live in the U.S., but if she starts this Nursing program, obviously the nursing school is going to keep that from happening until she graduates.
Another question: If she graduates and gets her Filipino RN license, can she work as an RN in the U.S. once she immigrates to the US with me and recieves her "green card"? .... Or does she need to stay here in the Philippines and get some local nursing experience as an RN for a couple of years before immigrating to the U.S. with me?
Well you answered a lot of my questions. You are considerably older than your wife. I really can understand a woman's desire to be able to support herself in the event of widowhood (I'm a military wife).
But you failed to mention something important. An interest in nursing and people. Some of the least able nurses I've worked with were IT/Computer grads.
The world is no longer looking at nurses from the Phillipines with the same respect that they once did due to the proliferation of nursing schools there. The quality of the graduate nurses isn't even.
What do YOU want out of your marriage? Do you want children or is your wife your "child" to spoil and protect. Marriages suffer during nursing school, the homework and stress affects both partners in a marriage.
Nursing isn't the golden ticket anywhere in the world. It's time the people of the Phillipines realized this.
thank's everyone or the frank answers to some of my questions.
just go to any filipina chat room or one of those filipina dating sites and you will quickly see lots of scammers. the majority of these girls will ask you to send them money within the first couple of days of chatting with them. also, there is no doubt in my mind that the majority of them are also looking for a fiancee' visa out of the philippines. having a foreign husband or boyfriend to be used as a "walking atm machine" is also a big plus to these girls and there dirt poor families living out in the province.
in my case, i didn't meet my wife on the internet. she was working a receptionist (front desk clerk) at a high-end resort when we met. this was the job she got after graduating college. we lived together for 2 years prior to getting married. we have now been married for an additional 2 years. in fact, when i first met her, i told her that i was not in the philippines looking for a wife. i had absolutly no intentions of ever getting married again ... the single life was just fine with me. she has not been a "gold-digger" and is really an honest and caring person.
i am convinced that she did not marry me for a green card, but i can tell you this ... pass out free passports, free u.s. immigrant visas, free airline tickets and free green cards to any filipino that wants one to go to the u.s., and i can promise you that you will clear out about 80% of the filipinos living in this country.
in my wife's case, sure she want's to go to the u.s., she don't want to be stuck here the rest of her life if i die. she would be silly not to keep her options open.
someone mentioned children ... i told her from the very start that after having 3 kids with my first wife, i got a vascectomy, so having additional children is out of the question. this is something she has learned to accept.
one thing very important statement was said here was: "some of them have a passion for nursing, and they truely want to help people. those type of people love nursing and have a passion for it and they don't care where they end up working as a nurse. others are in it because they feel that they will have a ticket for a green card if they pursue nursing. those type of people are just in it for 1. the money, and 2. for a green card".
i agree with this 100% .... in my wife's case, i don't think the "passion" for nursing is there. from everything i have read on this message board, i believe i have now talked my wife out of pursueing a career in nursing.
anyway, i want to thank each and every one of you great people for all that you have told me. i didn't come on this message board to give you my marriage life-history, but by me giving you some facts as to why my wife has had thoughts of becoming a nurse, i believe has helped you understand my situation ... and in turn, has allowed you to provided me with some real eye-opening information on the subject.
someone stated: that it might be best or her to get her rn degree in the u.s. avoiding the "rediculously high interntional fees" .... i was led to believe that getting a bsn right here in the philippines would be alot cheaper than going to nursing school in the u.s.
yes, as what i heard, it's really cheaper to study nursing here other than us.
someone else stated; why does she want to go to nursing school, when she has a decent education allready? .... well, she thinks she can make more money in the u.s. as an rn than with her bs in computer science.
i think she's right.. that is, if she finds a job... after graduation she needs to take our board exam here, then nclex.
i think the bottom line is that she feels she will need an real occupation such as being a nurse in the u.s. in order to support herself if i ever die. she feels that the degree she has now won't help her at all in the u.s. (it sure hasn't helped her one bit here in the philippines).
boy, she does really loves you.. thinking of your death already and what her life would be..
does she want to live in the u.s. all her life? ... i have spent a boat-load of money on a new house in an ayala premere gated subdivision here in the bacolod area (the house is obviously in her name since a foreigner cannot own real property in the pi), and i really don't feel like living back in the u.s. right now becuse of the money i have pent on this house, but, my wife has a plan: ..... she don't want to be stuck in the pi if i die. i am older than her, so it stands to reason that i will die before her. that's why she wants to become a u.s. citizen. she want's a way out if she needs it. in her "perfect world", i guess she want's to get her rn here in the pi, then go to the us for awhile and work for a couple of years while awaiting her citizenship. then back to the pi to live in the house we had built here. then when i die, she has a way out and back to the u.s and won't be stuck here the rest of her life.
if i may ask, why did you guys get married in the first place? she's really a good planner you know.. thinking what her life would be after marrying an american and asking that person to finance her studies so that one day she can earn money when you die.. enough about dying already..
i guess i can't blame her ... she keeps telling me that there is no opportunity or future living here in the pi, and that's why so many filipinos want to find a way out if only they could. i guess i can't blame my wife for feeling that way. general apathy and a sense of helplessness seem to be the common problem for the majority in this country.
yes that is true.. there is no opportunity here for people who just sit by their window and waiting for blessings to come
the big question i have in all this is; if nurses are paid so poorly in the philippines, and finding a nusing job in other developed countries such as the u.s. are now so hard to find ... why are so many filipinos / filipinas still going to nursing school here? i live in bacolod city, and we have many nursing schools in this area. these young nursing students are everywhere! i have never seen so many in one place before as i have seen here. god help these young students if a good paying nursing job are few and far between for the majority of them after they graduate.
the answer to that is that there are many parents/people who are blinded by money. thinking it's their ticket out here in the philippines not thinking what would happen to them after graduation and thinking they have relatives abroad that can help them get employment.
just to give you a picture about nursing here.
some of her minor subjects might be credit to lessen her workload like filipino, english and pe subjects but not her pre-requisites. like for example, a biology subject is prerequisite of chemistry and physics which she needs to take every semister. then there's this n201, which is a pre-requisite to n202, n203, n204 and n205 which is also taken every semisters. please don't ask for shorcuts because it will be her lost!
now the nursing life:
first year life is ok, then 2nd year, just few exposure with the clinical area and some lectures that takes about 8-9 hours. then 3 day clinical exposure and some case studies. i guess, i will anticipate that your wife will ask you to buy her a laptop. hahaha.. anyway.... don't worry, even without a laptop, she can find her way out if with just a pc. then the 3rd year life. the most toxic life in a student nurses' life. there goes the case studies, more paper works, 24 hour duty a week with exams in the morning and case studies to finish. then the grand case presentation. boy, at that time, i was staying 7 days a week with my groupmates and just go home to take a bath then go to school or my groupmate's house! then the 2nd sem of 3rd yr life. there goes the start of thesis life... staying with groupmates 24 hours/day and 7 days a week. well, we had a very complicated thesis problem that requires us to go on duty for 16 hours. one with our own duty, then the duty for our thesis which requires us to go on duty with another group. but same goes with other group, they stay together most of the time because of the group work. since we still have other paper works, lectures and duty so we need all the time we can get to work on our paper.
then there goes the thesis defense the next sem.. grrr... more and more duties, computations and whatsoever with the group.. i even went home 2x/ week. exaggerated isn't it? hahaha.. that's true! but don't worry, everything goes well on the last sem of the 4th yr life... less paper works and more on review. hmmm... that would be, staying and extending time with the review classess for the board exam. then after graduation, still study for the board exam for just 2 months and take the board exam. then yehey! rn!
there goes our nursing life.... this is a picture of nursing life.. the nursing life i had back there...
Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
I don't know your wife personally, so I wouldn't pass judgement regarding her true intentions. The way I see it, your wife is already living quite comfortably by Philippine standards as you described. She also could easily travel or get whatever job she could qualify for in the US as she is entitled to a Green Card by virtue of your marriage. But I also see her point that you are older and she is very young and the chance of her being widowed early in her future could leave her with nothing to live on. I guess nursing could be her saving grace because although the current economic climate in the US makes it so that being a nurse doesn't really offer a guarantee that one gets a job right away, she has more than a few years to go before she graduates and maybe by then things will be different, at least in the States. But there's definitely a couple of things that need to be ironed out before you guys make the plunge.
One, nursing is not for everyone. There must be a reason she chose a degree in computer science in the first place rather than go for a nursing degree the first time around. How much does she know about what day to day stuff nurses do and is she prepared for the hard work involved in being a nurse? It's easy to be lured by a promise of a "good paying job" but she has to also realize the kind of stress, the odd hours, and the physical work the job entails. Second, I can see her point that education in the Philippines is cheaper and she is probably trying to do you a favor by not spending a lot on her education. However, you guys need to be careful where she goes to school in the Philippines. You could be spending time and money attending a program that will not prepare her to pass the required examinations in order to practice in the US. Although there are a few good nursing schools in the Philippines, majority have failed to produce graduates competent enough to even pass the licensure exam in the Philippines. Be especially weary of schools that offer "shortcuts" to a nursing degree especially in her case.
I wish you luck in whatever you plan on doing and as the mature person in this marriage, you definitely need to give your input in making the final decision. She is very young and obviously has not experienced a lot in her young life but you also made a choice to be in this relationship.
Not everyone has a calling.. If one person takes nursing because of money, I can feel that he/she will not stay long in this kind of profession.. I tell you this, nursing is not just a job, there is something in it that after the 8-12 hour toxic duty, forgetting to go to the bathroom, NPO for the whole shift, aching body, splashing of secretions all over your uniform, you can still say.. "I love being a nurse." I know that.. Because I tell myself that everyday.. Can't imagine my life not being a nurse or taking up other profession.
But who knows, she might enjoy nursing or something... You still have the final decision.... If I were you, just weigh the pros and cons first. List all the positive against the negative. Then decide..
again, thank you all for all the information you have given me. i can tell you one thing ... this nursing career my wife was thinking about is 'on the back burner' now.
i would like to say that i posted some of these same questions on another message board (an ex-pat forum) and was told that there is still a need for nurses in the u.s.
here is what one member wrote back to me:
quote: "ron - do not be confused by those filippinos who lament nursing job prospects especially in the us. your situation is very different. they can only come on a special work visa granted by the govt. to hospitals in rationed numbers. your wife can come legally with you. nursing is still in great demand, a real shortage still occurs. i am doing a residency in a major atlanta hospital and i see it daily. go on any hospital website and check the employment listings. there will be pages of open, unfillable due to shortage, nursing jobs. given the aging society, demand will continue to outpace supply for the rest of our lifetime".
_______________________________________
so, there is another viewpoint ... is there still a demand for rns in the u.s? ... seems like there is some conflicting info here.
That's not totally true, go to our hospital and you will see NO LISTINGS available for any position. The majority of the areas aren't looking for "New grads" there are very few places and those are few and far between. I've even read on other boards that most WONT hire new grad nurses abroad. I was shocked to read that even seasoned nurses from abroad aren't considered for RN II positions, that they're considered new grads, but of course new grad positions are few and far between, and most hire within and locals. Good Luck
Yes, that is true.. Recession is really pain in the back.. employers will prefer to hire their own citizen other than an internationl nurse. This is true and applicable in other countries such as Canada.
It is also true that there are a shortage of nurses in some places, BUT there still might be shortage, the admin wont hire new RN. This is applicable in everywhere.. Same here in the PHil. Do you really think there is enough nurses in the HOspital with so many new graduates unemployed? hahaha.. we still go on duty for 12-16 hours. THis is happening everywhere.. One of the problem there is no budget.. people had been cutting their budget hiring new nurses is not an option FOR NOW...
Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
again, thank you all for all the information you have given me. i can tell you one thing ... this nursing career my wife was thinking about is 'on the back burner' now.
i would like to say that i posted some of these same questions on another message board (an ex-pat forum) and was told that there is still a need for nurses in the u.s.
here is what one member wrote back to me:
quote: "ron - do not be confused by those filippinos who lament nursing job prospects especially in the us. your situation is very different. they can only come on a special work visa granted by the govt. to hospitals in rationed numbers. your wife can come legally with you. nursing is still in great demand, a real shortage still occurs. i am doing a residency in a major atlanta hospital and i see it daily. go on any hospital website and check the employment listings. there will be pages of open, unfillable due to shortage, nursing jobs. given the aging society, demand will continue to outpace supply for the rest of our lifetime".
_______________________________________
so, there is another viewpoint ... is there still a demand for rns in the u.s? ... seems like there is some conflicting info here.
ron,
for right now, the job prospects for rn's both local (us) and those coming from foreign countries are very dismal. the economy affects everything - hospitals are seeing a decline in elective admissions and surgeries partly due to many americans losing their health insurance. hospitals are tightening their budget, cutting programs, and limiting hiring of new nurses. that's the situation right now. your wife, should she decide to pursue nursing, will be in school for a at least 3-4 years if not 5. things may change in the us by the time she graduates. i am originally a nurse from the philippines and i've been in practice as a nurse in the us for 15 years. it is long enough that i've seen cyclical patterns in the employment climate for nurses. with your wife not having to deal with immigration issues, she definitely will have a leg up when the economy improves.
Nursing is still in demand overseas, here in the Philippines It's not! It's not for everyone, and it's not about the money! I got my first two years of work experience overseas coz no one would hire me here in the PI as a fresh grad! i had to deal with homesickness and all the discrimination from ungrateful patients abroad. Hence, I cam back home.
I don't know your wife so i can't pass judgments. Your wife is really young 27, and you I assume must be older than her by 20 years or something? being married before and had undergone vasectomy. I dont wanna be the devil's advocate here, but you have to be sure of your wife's intentions. From what you have posted here, seems to me she has planned everything beforehand, probably on the day right after she met you. Women (especially here in the Philippines) can be wolves in sheep's clothing and take advantage what ever comes their way! You built a house in a fenced subdivision under her name! and now you're paying for her education in nursing for in case you die??!!! geez! watch your back around her!
Anyway, if you're really down to keeping the relationship with her and pay for her nursing education. There's a program for degree holders like her who wants to take up nursing. It's a two-year course, quite expensive than regular nursing schools. After graduation she can take the NCLEX-RN right away. there's no use for her to take the local board exam since she doesn't have any plans of staying here in the Phil. After you hand her the US visa, she can fly with you to the US and look for a job.
God bless! Hope everything works well for you in this second marriage!
hmmmm... I guess she really needs to take the local board. Well maybe it depends on the state's board of nursing where she's applying. They likely to change and most of them requires a license on the country of origin. It's safer to take the local board first as it's her ticket everywhere.. well not really a ticket, a start.. And don't you think that 2 year program is not enough so on my own opinion I don't really recommend it since there are alot of pre-requisite in each level. ANyway.. just really my opinion and you still have the final decision on that.. Pray for peace of mind and that our Lord will lead you on the right path.. God bless...
Your wife is right in preparing for the future. Just don't enroll her to West Negros University as they charge the highest fees but have the lowest passing rate (only 27% in the recent November 2009 exams) among the local nursing schools in Bacolod so that speaks for their quality of instruction. I should know because I'm a graduate of this school. Since she is a second courser, I would like to recommend any other school but WestNeg.
It will only take 3 years since some of her subjects will be credited for her to graduate. If she is a US citizen by the time she graduates, then she need not take the local boards. Most of us filipino graduates are in a quandary right now because we cannot avail of green cards. Your wife is fortunate to have one as she can easily avail of an SSN # when she's in the US. An SSN # is required before one can have a permanent license. And you cannot work as a nurse without a license.
Fiona59
8,343 Posts
Well you answered a lot of my questions. You are considerably older than your wife. I really can understand a woman's desire to be able to support herself in the event of widowhood (I'm a military wife).
But you failed to mention something important. An interest in nursing and people. Some of the least able nurses I've worked with were IT/Computer grads.
The world is no longer looking at nurses from the Phillipines with the same respect that they once did due to the proliferation of nursing schools there. The quality of the graduate nurses isn't even.
What do YOU want out of your marriage? Do you want children or is your wife your "child" to spoil and protect. Marriages suffer during nursing school, the homework and stress affects both partners in a marriage.
Nursing isn't the golden ticket anywhere in the world. It's time the people of the Phillipines realized this.