Turbota

I'm thinking .... good advice

Well, the more I read all these negatives here on the forum, the more I realize that this whole Philippines nursing school may be just a big waste of time and money. And I had no idea that there was a big glut of nurses here in the US at this time. And I had no idea that it may be difficult to get licensed here in the US after going to school in the Phils. _________________________________ My wife realizes that she basically wasted 4 years of her life getting her BS / Computer Science degree since she really don't want to work in the field now ... I would hate to see her waste another 3 years or so going to some nursing school in the Philippines and then not being able to get a nursing job when she was finished.

Your reading way too much into all this. We have been together for 8 years already (married for 6), and never once has she been a Gold-Digger .... And no, I didn't meet her in a bar in Angeles City either. And I didn't meet her on the internet either. And as far a long distance relationship, what makes you think that I am going to be living here in Florida for the whole time she is going to school in the PI ... We sold our house in Bacolod before leaving, but we have a very nice condo in Bacolod right now for us to live in. And I am a retired pilot, so I don't have a real need to stay here in the US the whole time she is gone.

The real problem we have about going to school here in the US is .... You have to take all these prerequisite classes beforehand, and that don't guarantee that you will even be accepted into the nursing course once you complete them. Well ... you folks have convinced me Maybe she can find a good Welding school

steppybay .... Well, maybe this whole nurse deal is not worth the trouble. Maybe I am just living in the past ... But, as you very well know, there was once a time that many Filipina nurses came to the US for jobs in hospitals. In fact, I would bet that the majority of all Asian nurses in the US are originally from the Philippines and went to nursing school in the Philippines. Maybe the nursing schools in the Philippines are not as good as they used to be? I guess ... The times, they are a changin'

TheAverageMan ... My wife is originally from Bacolod. In fact when we got married in Bacolod, we had a house built in Ayala North Point. Sold it before I brought my wife to Florida ... I lived in the PI for 5 total years myself. Anyway, my wife is also a graduate from AMA Computer College in Bacolod. I will send you a PM ... My wife may want to talk to you on the phone in the future if that's ok.

That's an idea

Yup ... Looking at my history, you can see that I was asking a similar question about nursing school when I first joined this forum back in 2010. She put the whole idea on hold since then, but has made up her mind that she want's to pursue this nursing deal again. You know, everyone here thinks that she is making a very bad decision to attend nursing school in the Philippines ... What I don't understand is that there are many many Filipina nurses working at hospitals here in Florida that graduated from nursing schools in the Philippines. Has something changed all that much since all these Filipino nurses started getting jobs in the US? Again, I will say that I sat right there in the counselor's office at 2 colleges here in Florida and heard the same thing .... That is might be difficult for my wife to get accepted into a nursing program when there are such limited spots available, and there are lots of people trying to get one of those vacancies in the program. The way they select these people for the nursing program here in Florida is by 3 things ... 1. The student's grade point average from there high school (previous college grades are not considered) 2. Grade point average for these prerequisite classes you have to take [before] you are even considered for the nursing program 3. Overall grade you get on some medical test they give everyone before they select the students that are going to attend the nursing school So, you spend at least a year or more taking these prerequisite classes, and you may not even get selected for the nursing program once you complete them. Again, it is a FACT that there are a lot of RNs here in the US that graduated from nursing schools in the Philippines .... Have things changed that much since all these Filipino nurses came to the US for jobs in nursing? ________________________________ [before] my wife actually goes to the Philippines and starts any nursing course, I am going to call the Florida Board of Nursing and tell them of her plan and state what school she plans on going to over there and see if there will be any problems with this idea. Since it's the Florida Board of Nursing that will determine if my wife can set for the NCLEX-RN test, they certainly should be able to tell me if she is going to have a problem upon her return from the Philippines ... don't you think You folks don't seem to give any encouragement to any of this ... And if any of you are in fact nurses that currently have jobs in hospitals here in the US, I will bet that you know of quite a few of your fellow RNs that were trained in the Philippines ... am I right? _______________________________ I have another question for you .... Do you feel that Philippines trained nurses are sub-standard to US trained nursed?

No desire to ever live in the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia. As far as having her foreign transcripts evaluated, she has gone through this before. She has a BS in Computer Science from a school in the Philippines. She once had to send the transcripts to a company in Miami (Josef Silny) to have evaluated at the request of another school here in Florida ... She was lucky in that they evaluated her degree as equal to a BS in Computer Science from an accredited US university.

May have problems in some states, but it don't seem to be a big problem here in Florida. My wife would be happy to attend the University here in Florida for the purpose of getting her BSN, but the problem is that at any given date, there are 250 students trying to get accepted into the nursing program that has only 50 vacancies .... not easy So, the student takes all the various prerequisite courses first, just to find out later that she was not picked for the few available seats in the BSN course ... Bad odds

Just to add .... My Filipina wife was applying for a BSN program at a university here in Florida. A requirement for admissions was that she had to have here transcripts from her school in the Philippines evaluated by a company in Miami called "Josef Silny" (she had a BS degree in Computer Science). We were very happy that her degree from the Philippines was evaluated as "equivalent to the bachelors here in the US".

Seems like the requirements to work as an RN are all different from state to state for nurses that have graduated from nursing schools outside of the US. My wife was born in the Philippines, but is now a US citizen. We live in Florida. She wants to go back the Philippines and get her BSN degree there. Once she returns to Florida with her Filipino BSN, I believe she has to have her Philippines college transcripts evaluated before the state of Florida will allow her to take the NCLEX-RN test. Do you know if the state of Florida requires anything else from an RN that graduated out of country before they are allowed to be licensed as an RN in Florida? Thanks,

Thanks ... I had no idea. I will try looking for that forum Any idea what the forum is titled?

Thanks 'caliotter3' for the input. Is applying for an RN license different for persons graduating from a school in the Philippines vs a person graduating from a school in the US? They both have to pass the NCLEX-RN exam, but what more would be involved for a new graduate from a credited Filipino college vs a US graduate? _____________________________________ Like I mentioned above, my wife was told that she may not get accepted into the BSN program at the college here where we live because you have 200 students trying to get in a program with only 35 available openings. So, you take all the extra pre-requisite classes first, just to find out later that you were not accepted into the nursing program ... big waste of time and money.

ok123 .... Good questions, unfortunately I don't have your answers. My Filipina wife is in somewhat of the same situation as you are in, however, she has never been a nurse of any type before. My wife is also a US citizen and has a BS degree in Computer Science from a school in the Philippines. We both live together here in Florida. She wants to attend De La Salle university in Bacolod City and try to get her BSN. Then come back to Florida and try passing the NCLEX-RN. I hope we can both get someone here to help answer the questions we both have. Ron and Ann,

I posted this in another forum, which I now realize was the wrong forum for this question ... so I am reposting it here. My wife (age 32) was born in the Philippines (where she spent most of her life), but is now a US citizen. We are currently living in Florida. She has a BS degree in Computer Science from a school in the Philippines, but now wants to be an RN. Do to the many people that are trying to get into the BSN program at Florida Southwestern State College here in Fort Myers, Florida, my wife was told by the school that it might be very difficult for her to get accepted into the 4-year RN program since there are so few seats available. So, my wife is thinking about going back to the Philippines and enter into the RN program at De La Salle University in Bacolod. Once she graduates with a BSN from the Philippines, she wants to return to Florida and take her NCLEX-RN and obviously try to find a job as a nurse. 1. Is this scenario sound like a good approach to becoming an RN here in the US / Florida? I ask this because my wife has talked to some other Filipinos that went to nursing school in the Philippines that are now nurses here in the US ... but things might have changed since these Filipinos became nurses here in the US. Thanks,

My wife was born in the Philippines (where she spent most of her life), but is now a US citizen. We are currently living in Florida. She has a BS degree in computer science, but now wants to be an RN. Do to the many people that are trying to get into the RN program at Florida Southwestern State College here in Fort Myers, my wife was told by the school that it might be very difficult for her to get accepted into the 4-year RN program since there are so few seats available. So, my wife wants to go back to the Philippines and enter into the RN program at De La Salle University. Once she graduates with a BSN from the Philippines, she wants to return to Florida and take her NCLEX-RN and obviously try to find a job as a nurse. 1. Is this scenario sound like a good approach to becoming an RN here in the US / Florida? I ask this because my wife has talked to some other Filipinos that went to nursing school in the Philippines that are now nurses here in the US ... but things might have changed since these Filipinos became nurses here in the US. Thanks for any info :)

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,

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. again, thank's for all the honest responses :) god love each and every one of you. ron,

Thank you all so much for all the replies. 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. 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 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). 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. 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. BTW ... My previous American wife in the U.S. was an RN with a Masters degree in nursing. She had a very well paying "administative" type of job at the the St. Loius University Hospital. I was a pilot and I can tell you that she made almost as much money as I did ... But I guess times have changed since I was married to her. 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. Ron,

With all these negative posts about newly graduated nurses who are either working for next to nothing at some Filipino hospital or having zero to very little luck finding a nursing job in the U.S. after they graduate here in the Philippines, I am having second thoughts about my Filipina wife going to nursing school. Being an American citizen living here in the Philippines with my Filipina wife, she now has the idea of attending nursing school here in the RP before we apply for her IR-1 Immigrant Visa to the U.S. She has the idea that if she gets her BSN degree here in the Philippines, she will be able to get an RN job in the U.S. once she immigrates there with me and gets her "green card". She already has a BS degree in Computer Science from a Filipino college, but feels she can do much better in the U.S. if she can get a job as an RN. I am getting second thoughts about all this ... God bless all of you, and I hope things get better as time goes by. Ron, Bacolod City

Thank's for the fast reply ... You state that "If she does her nurse training in the US" ... Do you mean her On-The-Job (OJT) training in the U.S. after she gets her RN degree here in the Philippines? I know a doctor needs to do an internship at a hospital after they graduate from medical school in order to be a fully qualified doctor ... I thought an RN could go right out and work as an RN after they graduate from nursing school and pass that exam they have to take here in the Philippines. Do RN's also have to take some kind of test in the U.S., even after passing the test they take here in the Philippines? Sorry for my stupidity in this whole nursing thing. BTW ... I wonder if my wife having a U.S. Immigrant Visa and a "green card" would help her get a nursing job in the U.S. easier than an OFW nurse trying to get an RN job in the U.S.? Ron,

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? Thank's for any and all info Ron, Bacolod City