Philippines Fresh Grad Hoping to work at CA

Published

Specializes in CVRU.

Hi there everyone. I am an American citizen who have been studying abroad and graduated with a BSN degree from the Philippines (Saint Louis University to be exact). I am flying back to NC this week without taking the local board exams, seeing how I will not be practicing here in the Phil. I was wondering if:

1. Can I apply and take the NCLEX exam at NC and then move to CA and work there?

2. Would I need to take the local board exams here in the Phil to be qualified to take the NCLEX? (for CA)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED MS.

if you're going to live in california then take your boards there. You can also take the nclex in the Philippines.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

hi.... You don't need to have your Local License... they don't require it here... and if you are planning to move to cali its a good move to take it in NC and just apply for reciprocity in Cali... and don't try to apply on CALI for your NCLEX you'll just waste your time, they hardly approve foreign graduate applicants nowadays... they are beiing so tough and so strict they are prioritizing their Locals... GOODLUCK !!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
hi.... You don't need to have your Local License... they don't require it here... and if you are planning to move to cali its a good move to take it in NC and just apply for reciprocity in Cali... and don't try to apply on CALI for your NCLEX you'll just waste your time, they hardly approve foreign graduate applicants nowadays... they are beiing so tough and so strict they are prioritizing their Locals... GOODLUCK !!!!

Sorry, but you're incorrect in at least a couple of accounts.

-- CA does require a copy of the local country's nursing license, but one might be able to waive it by providing them with proof of US citizenship, just don't know how long they will keep accepting that excuse.

-- Endorsement (reciprocity) into CA still means that one must meet the minimum CA BRN requirements. You can read in the World forum, under the "Nurse Registration" tab of those getting denied by this "back door" route of getting an out-of-state RN license then finding out they are now stuck with that out of state license and can't get into CA (unless they graduated pre-2005) or are able to meet and take the deficient courses.

-- CA is NOT being tough on the internationals (especially those from the Phils), but rather thanks to the CHED, PRC and PNA, they simply ignored the concurrency rules set in 1987 in which CA had started to enforce since Nov. 2011 and since then, only a handful of Phils applicants have gotten thru the CA BRN, leaving several thousands stranded.

-- Even the Phils Nursing Assoc of America (PNAA) including the Calif. chapter agrees 100% with the CA BRN in enforcing the concurrency rules. Click here to read the thread: https://allnurses.com/nurse-registration/position-statement-concurrency-901106.html

-- It doesn't help the Phils applicants in which the CA BRN has made public on their website of the few PH nurses caught presenting false documents and they found a forgery ring in operations.

So the idea is that CA is not making the locals a priority, but rather the Phils are simply not meeting the standards as set forth for the past 20 plus years and allowed it in the past but not any more.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved to the Nurse Registration forum as training outside the US will mean you will always be regarded as an International trained nurse.

As mention CA do their own assessment and many International nurses regardless on where they trained are having issues, this is in the similar vein that some US nurses have issues especially if they received extra training with Excelsior

Up Vote Up Vote ×

To the OP: you may wish to read more of the frustrations and disappointment of trying to apply into CA as well as work in CA.

Go to the CA nursing forum and you'll find how many recent PH applicants have gotten jobs in CA as a new grad, whereby, as a new grad, the deadline to apply for the new grad program means usually within one year of your graduation, not the month and year one passes the NCLEX-RN.

For even the locals as a new grad, they are facing a near 50% unemployment rate within the first 18 months passed their graduation date. Most jobs are going to those that did their clinicals in their hospitals and even those that did their preceptorship in a hospital were not hired.

Your other option is to take the LVN exam in CA, try to enroll in a LVN-RN program in CA.

Btw, why do you plan to take the NCLEX in NC then try to endorse or work in CA if CA is your most desired place to start working as a nurse? Going that route only means a loss of time and waste of money having to pay for extra English proficiency exams and course evaluation and paying double application fees (once in NC then again in CA) with no guarantees of being approved in CA and losing the application fees in CA even if they deny the application.

Kabayan, just so you know, even the top 5 recent schools in the Phils have not been able to get their students to be approved in CA (unless either the student "adjusted" their cases or Heaven forbid, if a school "in error" made an adjustment to make their courses look concurrent).

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Just take your exam in NC...I have friends who also graduated in the Phils last year and until now they have a hard time with the application..In fact CaBON will require you to have your cases from your clinicals (5 OR cases, 5 DR, 5 assists, etc)..then they will also require your rle book.......

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Just take your exam in NC...I have friends who also graduated in the Phils last year and until now they have a hard time with the application..In fact CaBON will require you to have your cases from your clinicals (5 OR cases, 5 DR, 5 assists, etc)..then they will also require your rle book.......

That's a good idea to take the exam in NC, but if the OP wishes to still plan to work and practice in CA, she's better off trying to licensed in CA from the beginning even if that means trying to enroll in the difficult to get into and expensive schools to take up the deficiencies.

The NC or any other states RN license is not an automatic ticket to get approved in CA and she would still need to get all the deficiencies completed before the third year of the application date or the CA BRN will abandon it and have to start over from the beginning (new request from the school for new transcripts, cases documentation that may not be held by the school after so many years, etc).

Yes, in a way, it's good to take the NCLEX as soon as possible and while things are fresh in the mind and maybe find a job in NC to gain experience before making the trek back to CA, but she would still need to make up any educational deficiencies, no matter how years of paid hospital experience she would have gathered. As work experience is not the same as the classroom settings and cannot be counted towards any deficiencies.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CVRU.

First of all, just wanna say thank you for the detailed feedback and insights.

Actually, CA is really just one of my options, but if it is that difficult and time consuming, I might have to consider other states such as New Jersey. BUT, that's after I get some experience and earn some money at NC, only then will I move.

As an alternative option, Maybe I should just apply for NCLEX for the state desired (New Jersey) at NC and work at NC while waiting to pass.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion