griffon

Hi tomcam, Congrats on passing nursing school. Now it's time to consolidate the last few years of tears, frustration and sacrificing sleep, for one last push to passing the NLE. I think you first have to decide what type of learning best describes you. Are you better listening to lecture after lecture and taking a big exam afterwords (pentagon review)? Or would you like to take a quiz/exam after each lecture section to shift your brain from listening to analyzing mode (Balita Review)? Or are you more an independent type who doesn't need a review school, since you are motivated enough to stick with a study plan (self study)? Either choice you choose I would eliminate any independent study groups. Because I've noticed most times these study groups becomes an excuse to party. Trust me there will be enough partying after you pass the exam. You need to prepare yourself for the hardships ahead. You will be mentally and physically exhausted after the 8 hours of review x5 days a week. Leave at least 2 days a week to workout and treat yourself to a movie or something fun. The Saunders is an excellent book to review med/surg and somewhat the pathophysiology. But the NLE also has US and Filipino theories, research, adult, OB, pediatric and geriatric care, ADPIE, community, IMCI, drugs, fundamentals and clinical procedures. I would add the Balita, Udan and baby Perry Potter book to the lineup and memorize the Handy Notes (med/surg, OB and fundamentals). When I took the NLE the scope of the exam was huge, but the analysis wasn't that deep compared to the NCLEX. The NLE will only be a hard/difficult exam to those who don't prepare for it properly. The feeling you never want is to fail the exam. You will end up blaming everyone; your school, your friends and eventually yourself for not studying hard enough. To live with this self-doubt for the next 6 months until the next exam in June 2010 is horrible. I saw it in my friends who didn't pass. You've gone this far in your education. It's now time to prove to everyone that those 4 long years weren't wasted. Good luck.

Ranking the applicants through their board ratings is just one tool the managers use to help thin out the list. They do they same thing in the US. I was asked to supply my transcripts, since the NCLEX doesn't have a board ratings, with my application. Some hospitals will even post on their website a minimum GPA is required to even apply. There are too many new grad nurses fighting over too few new grad nursing slots in the US as well. So don't think the process is unfair. It's just a simple supply/demand problem. Too many nurses, too few open positions. If you don't believe there is an over supply of new nurses across the USA. Please check out the different states under the "Region" tab above. You will read about the heartache American nurses are going through after several months of not even receiving an interview, much more a job offer. So do the best you can on your NLE. Remember to study and brush up on your readings and skill set. Because you are always selling yourself in every interaction.

It's great that your agency has this program. I would really look into the fine print and make sure you are not charged a huge cancellation fee if you, the hiring company, the US govt, or the agency could not place you. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for everyone to get ahead and make something with their lives. I just believe that to be successful you need to be able to have a back up plan that is viable. Just in case Plan A doesn't work. At this point, both AUS and Saudi are open to new grads. Why don't you pursue one of those countries in the mean time. The US may not lift retrogression in 1 year, 2 years or even 10 years. In either case your paperwork for the US will be waiting in line for you and you will be making money in another country and getting real world nursing experience. So when you do step foot on US soil you will be there not as a inexperienced nurse, but as a veteran nurse with general knowledge as well as a specialty under her belt. Good luck with your career.

Please keep the racial overtones to a minimum. I, just like you, can read and write and can come to my own conclusions. Where did I say or even imply "US will be hiring an endless supply of foreign nurses"? How? The US has known about the nursing shortage for years. Was there not a line when you applied for nursing school? Has that line suddenly disappeared to get into nursing school? Members of this board state we are in a recession, hence the need to make more money, work more overtime. Despite that they argue nurses will take a 2/3 pay cut from bedside nursing to teach. For the nurses who don't have a masters/doctorate degree they will somehow find the strength to go back to school and then teach in their retirement years. They realize they will be making less money even before they spend the next few years getting their advanced degree. The question remains will there be enough of these altruistic individuals? When you factor the influx of new teachers will be producing more nurses then why is there NOT a labor report stating there will be a SURPLUS of nurses sometime in the future? You have nursing schools at full capacity and turning away students, US schools will need to expand, costing millions nationwide on a yearly basis. Also the lag time of 3 to 4 years before a student can become a nurse. Who will fill the nursing gap until then? Do you think America will spend the millions to do this in their current economic crisis? Or do you think they will simply add more visas? Which do you think is more feasible? Neither you nor I know the definitive answer to that question. But it gives us something to ponder about. Don't confuse TOTAL unemployment with the nursing unemployment. Foreign nurses are not taking away jobs, but are filling the vacancies. The family members coming over with the nurse are not allowed to work. So they aren't taking away the American jobs either. Even when you employ every able bodied nurse and hire every nursing graduate the labor stats still show America will need up to an ADDITIONAL 1 MILLION NEW nurses by 2020. How's that for a reality check!!

So I don't reinvent the wheel. I'll just direct you to a huge thread concerning Australia. You will find people who have actually gone through the process and can give you a 1st hand account of their struggle to get to there. I hope you keep us posted so we can live vicariously through you, as well as learn from your real world experience so it can help others. Good luck. "Newly grad Filipino nurse wanting to work in Australia/New Zealand" https://allnurses.com/forums/f75/newly-grad-filipino-nurse-wanting-work-australia-new-zealand-287930.html

first point: i'm afraid you might not have a full grasp of how bonds function. the u.s. puts out bonds for individuals/corporations/countries to buy to keep the economy churning - to say the least. if let's say china buys those bonds from the u.s. then two things happen. one, the u.s. economy churns and is kept afloat because china puts in money into the u.s. in place of the bond, and two, china earns from the interest paid by the u.s. to get those bonds back. in layman's terms, this bond now sort of becomes an iou that earns interest for anyone who buys it. they are the ones who have helped the economy stay afloat. without the foreign inflow of money, america would be a different place. the fact foreigners have slowed down in funding our debt and the extending credit crisis is a big theme to the solvency of the usa. second point: i applaud anyone who does missionary work. i've had my share of humanitarian missions during my time here in the philippines and it wasn't easy. you went into the matter of missionary work, which of course is done by most because they are called to do so, their personal calling. so it goes without saying that the amount of money they can make is not the issue. philippine republic act 9173 section 21 (b) provides for a venue in which foreigners are allowed to practice their nursing profession as: "licensed nurses from foreign countries/states on medical mission whose services shall be free in a particular hospital, center or clinic" so being missionaries, they are free to work in the philippines as they please. if you are suggesting the symbolic gesture of granting a us nurse an rn status in the philippines by passing the philippine nle then i agree with you. a tit-for-tat gesture as you may. but it rings hollow. much like how congress finally voted for offshore drilling for oil, but drilling has to be beyond 100 miles offshore. unfortunately the oil is less than 50 miles, which makes it economically unwise. it seems futile to me in both respects. if a us rn would work in the philippines for 40 hrs a week for a mere $40. that would leave little time to do the humanitarian missions you described. what you made in 40hrs here you could have made in 1 hour in the us. this is also beside the point, since there are very limited jobs for an rn in the philippines. third and last point: i don't recall saying, much less insinuating, for americans to stop spending. it goes against the very principles of economic logic. having graduated with an economics degree from an american university in the united states as an american citizen, it would be a great injustice for me to suggest so. please read my post again. i feel this is not the right thread to go in depth about the perils that brought america, economically, to where it is today and to discuss how to bring it back to where it used to be. we would stray too far off topic. i am, delightedly, open to economic discussions in another thread about the matter if need be. hushdawg says he can live happily at $500 which is roughly p25,000 a month. my research shows (from within this forum, and personal interviews of hospital nurses throughout a 3 year span) an average of p7000 monthly earnings for a registered nurse in manila. the p25,000 lies at the managerial level/masteral/specialist nursing positions. my point is that under r.a. 9173, there is a provision for specialist foreign nurses to work here as well. so if you can land a job at that level of nursing, the laws will allow you to work in the philippines. so the question wasn't at the $500, but at the $150 level. i have no doubt there are thousands of nurses who would jump at the chance to make p25,000/month. but if there are only a few jobs at the p7,000. there are far less positions opened at the p25,000/month level. so filipino rns don't lose hope. as long as there is a demand for nurses in america you have a chance to make it there. just keep your skill levels up-to-date. if that means leaving for other countries while your petition is working its way through the us visa program then so be it. your petition number will come up. america's own employment numbers sees the profession growing over the next 20 years. some say your employer may back out. some say it's cheaper to hire us rn's. that's something you have no control over. but there are things on your side. america has too few nurse educators. the demand is to stay in the hospitals then make only 1/3 of their salary at the university level. coupled with the retirement factor of these highly valued nurses, all this means is fewer educators mean fewer nurses will be graduating in the us. hospitals/ltc/dialysis centers that petition you are legally locking you into a contract for 2-3 years at a set rate. this is an edge for you. since us rn's are allowed to leave anytime they want, which makes keeping a stable workforce harder. if companies know they can lock the foreigner in for a long term contract this will diminish the upfront costs of getting you to the us and educating you to their standards. i only see the us educated population of nurses diminishing in the future. the only way i see it getting better is to pour 100's of millions of dollars into more education facilities and matching the hospital pay rates thereby making it more attractive to high level nurses to teach. but as we all know the us is in a recession and the cheaper way out is to hire foreigners. with president obama coming into power he is more lenient and vocal when it comes to foreigners. he clearly states that he will open the doors to skilled workers. where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should" -- barack obama, statement on u.s. senate floor, may 23, 2007

Hi sheenahRN, Your goal is to stay in the nursing field you may have to look outside the Philippines. Please look at the other threads concerning other countries for insight. The countries that stand out are Australia and Saudi. From what I gathered Australia will require you to finish a 3 month bridging program, but it's expensive. You lack the 2 years experience to bypass the bridging program. Saudi Arabia can help fill that requirement. You only need to meet very few requirements passing the NLE, female and over 22 to be accepted (for the most part). Take a look at the thread for more information. https://allnurses.com/forums/f235/saudi-moh-237578.html

It's good you passed your first course in biology. You will be one step ahead of the non-science majors. Take a look at the schools listed here. They all offer the similar package of finishing your program in an accelerated format. I'm bias toward PWU since I am a product of that university. They treat 2nd coursers as professionals, so you feel a stronger connection to the faculty. You don't feel like a student drone. The PWU nursing program is time tested and is over 60 years old. I had no problem with my 2nd course BSN being accepted by the California board of nursing to sit for the NCLEX. It's good your boyfriend is a US citizen. If your relationship progresses towards marriage, he can apply for a fiancée visa for you and you can marry in the USA between 6 months to 1 year. A spouse visa actually takes 2-3 years if you were to be married in the Philippines. As for nursing jobs, just look at online job posts like yahoo jobs or monster jobs and you will see the availability of open slots in a given area. While I couldn't find an open new graduate position in the San Francisco area I had no problem locating one in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. So available jobs will depend on the area you want to live in. Welcome to the wonderful world of nursing.

Hi dorkyalmonds, There is a thread you can look at below. It has the information you requested as well as opinions of schools. Good luck in your choice and your career. https://allnurses.com/forums/f235/good-nursing-school-philippines-151626.html

This looks like a simple problem of supply and demand. Only a few areas are saturated with too many nurses. Ex. Northern CA and north eastern part of the states. So there is a clear demand for more RNs. The problem is there are not enough teachers and too many students. This is due to the pay scale for educators being too low compared to the hospitals. So US nurses are not becoming educators. Solution: hire more foreign educated nurses who are more than happy being teachers. By hiring more educators will mean more nurses, but to see an increase in the nursing ranks will take time. A nursing student will take at least 2 to 4 years before they are able to practice. So it begs the question "What do we do with the current need of nurses now?" Do we rely on the standard method of just forcing OT on the current overworked nursing staff? This method just hastens the departure from the profession and provides less than optimal quality care. I see limited options to cover the nurse/patient ratio in the interim before more US trained nurses will eventually get hired. I see the hiring of foreign educated nurses as a way to fill the void to maintain quality medical care. If not foreigners to help out, who is left to fill the void? I thought the family members that come over on the HB-1 visas are not allowed to work. Only the primary person listed can work. I hope someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong. To answer your question on the US debt. I believe the majority of the bonds are being bought up by Saudi Arabia, China and Canada. We buy the Middle East's oil to run our industries and fuel our large SUV's. We indulge in the cheap labor practices of China so we can buy cheaper goods. They in turn take the money and reinvest in the US debt. If this cycle continues, who knows what else will happen. The US debt issue is a big problem. To put it in a nutshell, America will have to change its lifestyle. We can't rely on cheap foreign oil. We must rebuild an energy industry to make it more earth friendly and renewable. We have to start buying more US made goods. Not just US brands, but goods actually made in the US. We have to limit our own personnel credit card and some long term debt. We can't rely on our credit lines to buy things, but on simple cash (this doesn't mean cash for houses or cars). When we don't have the cash to pay the full credit card bill at the end of the month. The debt is being financed by foreigners who get rich off our 18% interest payments. Will that mean more money out of our pockets? The answer is "Yes". Bottom line is we need to keep the money we spent on foreign oil, foreign goods and foreign backed interest payments in the US. This is a start to helping the country. Now as for the reciprocity question. There is a program in the Philippines that will allow foreigners to work here on a short term basis, but not for the long term. You have to look at the reality of working in the Philippines. Given a chance would you honestly work in the Philippines on a long term basis? If you think you can't find US nurses to teach nursing students for $5,000/month. Do you honestly see a US nurse accepting a Philippine job offer for $150/month?

fyi - to all rns thinking about canada. i hold no interest in whichever country you will choose to work. but i do believe in making an informed decision. good luck to you all. ----------------------------------------------------- pinoy nurses: canada's program 'exploitative' kimberly jane tan, gmanews.tv manila, philippines - a group of filipino nurses has asked canada to scrap its live-in caregiver program (lcp), saying it is exploitative and oppressive. the filipino nurses support group (fnsg), an organization of over 800 nurses in canada's provinces of british columbia and quebec, said the program has resulted in filipino nurses being made to work as domestic workers and 24-hour home support workers. "the lcp imports filipino nurses into a program of modern-day slavery, economic marginalization, de-skilling, and stalled development," it said in a statement on monday. since the 1990s, filipino nurses have come to canada not to work as registered nurses but as caregivers. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/128435/pinoy-nurses-canadas-program-exploitative

just wanted to add the definition to what is the "age of majority" it's now considered 18 years old. as a result of too many hours studying for the nle (which by the way had only 1 question about ra's) ..... republic act no. 6809 . an act lowering the age of majority from twenty-one to eighteen years. section 1. article 234 of executive order no. 209, the family code of the philippines, is hereby amended to read as follows: "art. 234.emancipation takes place by the attainment of majority. unless otherwise provided, majority commences at the age of eighteen years.

markEmark, The board will look at your application after you pass because it will need to be paired up with your criminal background check from the Federal/state bureaus. Beyond the BRN noting that you passed the exam and that you are not a criminal, it's at their discretion as to the depth of their "re-evaluation". Clear your head of these thoughts of whether you'll be receiving your license or not. The situation is you received eligibility by the BRN and you can sit for the NCLEX. If they question your "eligibility" after the NCLEX or if they don't, it doesn't matter at this point. The best thing to do is pass the exam. You will know if CA has a problem with issuing your license. They will send you a letter. The facts are you are physically in the USA. It's too late to get back to the Philippines and gather the necessary documents or signatures for NLE. It's almost Oct. I'm guessing the deadline for filing for the NLE for Nov has probably already passed. So stop worrying. One step at a time. Good luck.

Victimized? You make it sound like people intentionally mislead others into applying with a list of "wrong" requirements. I don't think that was anyone's motive. This is a forum to exchange ideas and information. People talk about what they experienced or the experience of others we know. Several classmates did not believe in the NLE requirement and left for the USA to take the NCLEX. They were denied by the CA BRN and have since returned to Manila to take the November NLE. Unfortunately they are at least 6 months behind the rest of us. If others would like to take the chance and submit their application to the US BRN without the NLE then so be it. Some will get through and others may not. The worse case will be a delay in their application process and a delay in that USA nursing job.

Hey! I was just wondering if the provincial hospitals can be an alternative to volunteering. I know that some have gone that route. I doubt their small salary would even cover your monthly expenses, but it beats volunteering where all of your money is coming out of your pocket. Not to mention the "training fee". And not to mention too, the bad treatment one endures from the stories we've heard. This isn't the best choice after graduating, but it's the best alternative given the circumstances. You get experience working in a hospital and you are paid (more or less). Isn't that what the foreign hospitals are looking for - paid experience? Anyway, I think cyberfanatic is simply putting to words what the nursing profession actually goes through. He is sharing his experience as they happened (getting treated poorly, being abused and being overworked and not paid and not recognized) which we can only hope doesn't happen to us as well. While we wish for things to get better for new nursing graduates, we also have to be proactive in trying to find solutions. If there are horrible scenes in the nursing profession in the bigger cities like Manila, San Juan, Makati, Mandaluyong, Cebu, Davao and so on, I think it could be a real alternative to go back to our hometowns and our provinces and work honestly and professionally, get treated with dignity and get paid as well. If worse comes to worst and our own provinces are as bad, then I guess we have to go deeper into the jungles and boondocks of the Philippines. Good luck to us all.

i'm also interested if anyone has a chance to get some more info please share it here. thank you. fatima advanced skills training center (fatima training center) we do not permit the posting of all of the contact information for the centers like this. it can easily be looked up on the internet. thanks for your understanding on this. suzanne4

:shbdy: happy birthday suzanne!!! thank you for your continued support and expertise through this maze we call nursing.

Dave787, she's right. The government is just keeping the status quo. They seem to be doing the least amount of work to show the public that they are supposedly working for the people. These pacts they pledge with ASEAN are a call for caregivers and not for RNs. If the Philippines really wants to open the licensing to foreigners and allow them to practice as general RNs then I'm all for it. I don't see a reason why they would keep foreigners out. PRC already allows for RN specialists, but not for general RNs. I wonder what the PRC or government is afraid of. It can't be because of the multitude of open RN positions in the Philippines. We both know there are probably several dozen/hundreds of applicants for every position. It can't be because of the oh-so-lofty salary of 6,000 to 9,000 pesos/month. Because we know that this barely covers daily transportation and food expenses. Can it be for the training? The training where our own government allows their hospitals to CHARGE us to volunteer? Training programs that other nations seem fit to redo with their more advance ways of doing things? What is the use of new laws/regulations if they don't follow them? It saddens me to know how many suffer for the elite to remain in power. As citizens we need not only demand that our country change for the better, but also to oversee the changes/laws they have made are upheld. The recent scandals and questionable deals our country has made spells outright hypocrisy. You wonder if a dictatorship is better for the country, where only the same handful of people steal from the public. Hopefully they will steal enough and leave the crumbs for the rest. While in today's government where there are a fresh group of politicians every few years who not only take the majority of our taxes, but also the crumbs.

Actually foreign nurses are allowed to practice in the Philippines. Sec. 21. Practice Through Special/Temporary Permit.-A special/temporary permit may be issued by the Board to the following persons subject to the approval of the Commission and upon payment of the prescribed fees: (a) Licensed nurses from foreign countries/states whose service are either for a fee or free if they are internationally well-known specialists or outstanding experts in any branch or specialty of nursing; (b) Licensed nurses from foreign countries/states on medical mission whose services shall be free in a particular hospital, center or clinic; and © Licensed nurses from foreign countries/states employed by schools/colleges of nursing as exchange professors in a branch or specialty of nursing; Provided, however, That the special/temporary permit shall be effective only for the duration of the project, medical mission or employment contract.

The Philippines has found a way to keep nurses here. They have put into law the minimum salary that nurses who work for the public govt are to be paid of no less than salary grade 15. Which is around 16,000 pesos/month. This is a decent wage for a new nurse. RA 9173: Sec. 32. Salary.-In order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to service and professionalism of nurses, the minimum base pay of nurses working in the public health institutions shall not be lower than salary grade 15 prescribed under Republic Act No. 6758 The problem is they don't enforce it.

So you've seen incompetence from 1 person or maybe even a handful of people and now you want to change the NCLEX to include a skills exam. Hold on now, sounds a little drastic. It sounds more like a training problem within your organization. Hospitals have training or orientation programs not only for new hires but also for seasoned workers. Every place does things a little different. Our own nursing based practice is designed to utilize new data for better patient care. When new information shows a better way of doing things then we will adapt to the new technique/information. An example of which was AHA adult CPR was changed to 30 compressions for every 2 breaths. But were we wrong in the previous method of 15:2? If you ask the victims who survived their tragedy the answer would be NO. Knowledge changes and our jobs as nurses are to educate others. I've spent multiple years in corporate America and encountered my fair share of less than stellar performance from my fellow co-workers. Most of the time the problem was not with the person, but it was the system or the culture of the organization that was different than what they are used to. Have a little patience, not everyone is at the same level. I really believe everyone wants to do a good job. They just need to be shown the company's way of doing things to get it "correct". The "foreign trained nurse" shows initiative. She's at least asking questions when unsure of the answer. The worse is when people don't ask or have no clue they are doing something wrong. That's where you should be afraid. If a nurse or doctor or any other medical personnel, regardless of where they were trained, are a danger to themselves or to others than that information needs to go beyond the proverbial "nurses station" and directly to management/HR for retraining, disciplinary action or removal. "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." --- Albert Einstein.

hello everyone, i just have to get a realistic feeling about the wait time to get the eligibility letter for ca nclex. i followed up with ca and received an email saying it will take 12 to 20 weeks to process my application. the other day marked 8 weeks with at least 4 more to go. the hard part is my friends received their eligibility in less than 8 weeks in 2007. my fiancé received her eligibility within 5 weeks. we both graduated from the same place and at the same time. we sent in the application and turned everything over at the same time. but hers is here and i'm still anxiously waiting. i'm the us citizen and she is a filipino citizen. so if i can get some feedback about the real wait time i can then get refocused back to the task at hand, which is to pass the mythical nclex. thanks. how long did it take for you to get your eligibility from ca???

Yes. As of January 2008, taking the exam (NLE) in the Philippines will not just make things easier, but moreso, mandatory. Let me try to explain why. There is this confusion about foreign graduate requirements to sit for the NCLEX. The requirement to take the local board is relatively new. I understand years ago it was mandatory to have taken and passed the local boards. Since then the ruling was changed. In the recent past (Dec 2007) nurses were allowed to sit for the NCLEX without taking the National Licensure Exam (NLE). It was as simple as writing a letter to the BRN. Now let's step over to Jan 2008 and the requirement was changed again. Almost all foreign graduates must take the local boards, unless you hold a single US citizenship or other extenuating circumstances. An example is a person in the forum was able to bypass the NLE requirement because her military family was reassigned outside of the country before the test date. The NLE requirement was not noted anywhere in the CA BRN. All it says is to write an explanation letter as to why you didn't take the NLE. If CA BRN would add to their website/application that you must pass your local exam before you can sit for the NCLEX, I think that little bit of information would be very helpful. The problem is the information is taking a while to disseminate to the foreign school graduates. The panic or concern you read in this forum is because the wait time for the next exam isn't until Nov. and/or people are no longer in the Philippines. The NLE is only offered 2 times a year. You couple that with having to be onsite to register for the NLE, which is at least one month before the exam and you are looking at an expensive vacation. After the exam there is an added 2 months to get the results (and you thought NCLEX 7 day results were bad) and up to 5 months to get your hard license to show the CA BRN. So you are looking at a delay of almost 1 year for the NCLEX before they can approve and Pearson Vue can get you an available slot. To those in ATT limbo I know how you feel. Keep yourself healthy and fit for the good book says "this too shall pass". :watherthunderstormc Take this as time to strengthen your skills and get other things in order. So when you finally reach for that dream job in whatever country you end up in you will hit the ground running. Good luck to all. :onbch:

You're welcome. Good luck in getting your paperwork sorted out. Professional Regulation Commission BOARD OF NURSING P. Paredes cor. N. Reyes St., Sampaloc, Manila 1008 Tel. No.:+63 2 7351534 or +63 2 7363619 Fax No.: +63 2 7354476 Email: [email protected]

hi, i’m all three. i’m a us citizen, a dual citizen and a naturalized us citizen. the law, r.a. 9173 indicates the requirement for applicants: sec. 13. qualifications of applicants. — in order to be admitted to the examination for nurses, an applicant must, at the time of filing his or her application, establish to the satisfaction of the board of nursing that: (a) he or she is a citizen of the philippines, or a citizen or subject of a country which permits filipino nurses to practice within its territorial limits on the same basis as the subject or citizen of such country: provided, that the requirements for the registration or licensing of nurses in said country are substantially the same as those prescribed in this act; it clearly states that you must be a philippine citizen. the question is in the second part of being eligible, where it states “… or citizen ... which permits filipino nurses to practice within its territorial limits…” that can be interpreted if the us allows the philippine education to be acceptable for us practice than you are also eligible to take the nle. i’m not a legal expert, but the usa can also interpret that in the same way and you should get a ruling from the philippine regulatory committee (prc) clearly stating you cannot sit for the local board exam. as individual state(s) and philippine policies concerning applicants can change. it would be prudent to get a document from the prc saying you are un-qualified to sit for the nle at this time due to your citizenship. this can minimize the question, "why didn’t you take the local exam" in the future. i could have dropped my dual citizenship and foregone the nle. but i wanted to take the nle exam. i spent so much time and effort in nursing school that the nle was the culminating act of my education here. it also proved to me i was good enough to meet the local standards and soon i will test it against the us standards via nclex. good luck.