Nursing school abroad. Can I come back and get my license?

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I will be attending St. Cabrinis Nursing school in the phillipines and want to know if anyone from the phillipines has come to USA (more so California) and became a Nurse here. I just dont want it to be a waste of schooling if I dont get to come back and follow my career. And if its true, passing the NCLEX is it? Is there more to it to be licensed here in the states with a foreign BSN?

Please any thoughts will help. Its a huge life decision for me.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Good luck.. I think you'll have a lot of paperwork and red tape at the very least. US nursing school grads are having a really hard time finding work.. with extra hurdles that just may make your journey all the more harder.

Do your homework on this..

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

There is a great deal of delays and paperwork involved.

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The requirements will vary from state to state. You will likely need to submit paperwork to the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) before you can be qualified to sit for the NCLEX examination. Then you will need to apply for a RN license through a state Board of Nursing.

Here in Virginia, most foreign RNs are reporting a wait of 1.5 - 2.5 years until from the time of the first application to CGFNS until the award of a RN license. This is just to get a state RN license. You will likely need to have a US RN license before applying for jobs.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the International forum

If you train outside the US you will always be considered a foreign trained nurse and meet that state's requirements for foreign trained. This will vary (as mentioned in previous post) and can take anything from 4-12 months to get eligibility to sit NCLEX

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Wow. Ok thanks for the feedback. I guess my main priority is to search for more schools here in San Diego before I decide to head to the phillipines. I really wish there was a quicker way to get in, I just get so ancy waiting to get into a school that I wish there was something I could do about it.

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