MOBITZ

I hope you dont mind me asking, but, is it required by your employer here in US? As far as I know, part of your orientation is to pass your BCLS and ACLS which is fully accredited by American Heart Association. I was a victim, I took ACLS before coming here, I was promised that the certificate that they will give us is accepted here in US, when I came here I have to repeat everything. I am not familiar with caregiver institute, but I am just informing you that, hospitals here in US provides CPR, BLS, AND ACLS training to their employees all year round, and it is free. think about it.

I renew my license online, others uses money order, now i am not sure about you being in the Philippines. I guess same manner when you paid your NCLEX test. I dunno about working within two years, email you BON I am sure they will answer you.

I am sure that the US embassy is just protecting your interest, I am just wondering what your employer did to make the embassy react that way. I have to admit this is way out of my league, seeking the help of a professional will probably be a better option. As far as I know, before the embassy granted us the visa, they review our contract beforehand, to make sure that foreign worker's like us are protected. That we get the same benefits our american counterparts gets.

Do you have relatives in US, you have your visa and you are good to go, if your employer have some issues with the US embassy, i dont think they will grant you a US visa. they would have addressed the issue when they interviewed you in the Embassy. Call the Embassy, get their opinion on this. luvanurse, Mobitz

Bitoy, would you consider going to the LPN program first? some of my new RNs took up LPN courses first then took the RN program. Some of them are now doing their BSN online, that way they can support themselves. We have one LPN student who finished college in Visayas, he wanted to enroll in the RN program but he has to wait for like a year, now he will finish school this august and is now preparing for his RN program. Good thing about it is that they also considered subjects taken in Philippines. Are you in Washington DC? have you checked schools in Va? I just dunno if that will cost you, i mean they might charge out of state tuition, and yep its gonna be a drive. I am not familiar with Alexandria since that is northern part of Va, but they might have good schools there. But I know in Charlottesville they have UVA hospital and they have a very good nursing program, and they might accept more students since they are big universities. In Richmond we have VCU and in Petersburg (Southern part of VA) which is an hour from my place, they have SRMC. I see their adds in the Newspaper so they might have a slot. also, in SRMC , they have a accelerated 12 month RN program, I am not sure if these is correct.(need to call them) Moving might not be an option considering your visa is H1b, maybe your wife can study first then when she finish, she will be the one to support you. You see if you go back to Philippines it might take you 3 years to finish your BSN, here you can be an RN in two years, and just take your BSN online, study and earn at the same time. I think I have just exhausted all our options:idea: hope i helped you, if not confuse you! luvanurse, Mobitz

I support Bitoy all the way, If you want to be a nurse and go to Philippines to get your BSN degree, go ahead. I think that is a wise move. We have a lot of universities that offer a good nursing program. My friend who is a clinical instructor in Manila, said that she has students from United states who are now enrolled in their BSN program. Some of us worry too much about his Visa status and his financial capabilities. He is a smart man, and he will not consider taking up nursing in PI if he does not have the resources. Philippines is a beautiful country, I have loved every minute of living in my beloved motherland. To say that "Philippine sucks" is out of bounds. Rips my heart to pieces when i see comments like this. As for moving to another country, much as i love PI, Love won't pay my bills, i can't live with my parents all my life, i have to move on. do something. As for MDs who take up nursing, what is wrong with that? I know the hardships these doctors have to go through, years in college and in medical school and then residency, and they are not paid enough.I should know, my sister is a doctor, she finished her residency and passed her test to be a consultant but still, I am paying for her car. Staying in Philippines and be one of the millions of Filipinos unemployed is not being patriotic. To leave the Philippines and contribute to better this country, that is Patriotism. To leave the Philippines and call it names, and say it sucks and never look back........hmm i rest my case. I wish you luck bitoy, There are a lot of Good nursing school in PI, choose wisely. luvanurse, Mobitz

I feel your sentiments ultm, choosing the best nursing school is a task that you have to endure. So many things to consider, tuition fee, location, quality of education, facilities, housing, yadayada. and your choices may be limited since you are a second courser. Like what they said, most schools in PI do not accept second coursers, not even transfer students. ( a policy that i do not support), if you want to enroll in their school you have to start from scratch. (look at it this way.....you will be a freshman again:D ), I say, if you really want to be a nurse..just be realistic. choose a school that you can afford, make sure it is accredited by ched, reputable. facilities may not be comparable with Hilton Hotels:jester: (after all,you are there to learn and not be spoiled) If you want to be a nurse, study hard, work hard for it, make some sacrifices. On your previous posts, you have mentioned some schools nd made some comments. You maybe right, they may not be the best, but we cant deny the fact that these not so perfect schools have produced successful nurses all over the world. ( Now I am wondering, Is it the school or is it the student that makes a good nurse?....) You see ultm, as a practicing nurse, i can share a lot of disappointments, i can say that a lot of times i have thought of leaving the profession, why? lots of things, overworked, short staffing, pressures from doctors, patients, relatives and you will see a lot of attitudes from your fellow nurses. classic burn out i would say. ( and i know you can relate because...you said yourself, you want to leave your maritime career and pursue a nursing career) Think hard my friend, choosing a good school in nursing is not the only hurdle. It's just the start of a long difficult journey. Nursing is not for everyone. ( hey I am not discouraging you to be one huh), I just want to say that it takes a lot to be a nurse, so if you decided that you want to be one, your primary reason should be, "you really want to be a nurse" and not because of anything else. Some enter the nursing profession because of other reasons, and i have seen unhappiness. Please, we don't want another whiners and complainers. I've seen a lot of burn outs and it's not a pretty picture. I don't know if i helped you or not, all i can say is goodluck. do not be afraid to make some changes in your life, no matter how difficult. hope this helps, luvanurse, mobitz

I agree and disagree, I got my BSN in one of the reputable university in Philippines and I am quite confident that I have a strong clinical background, but to say that we are superior, than our american counterpart? I would have to disagree to that. I am training new RNs, both with ADN and BSN here in US and I am impressed with their clinical skills. I guess its a universal thing, some will be good in clinicals and some will be not, regardless on where you got your nursing education. I have trained filipinos too and like their american counterpart, some are good and some aren't. luvanurse, Mobitz

If my understanding is correct, achood will be working for the first time as a nurse. Well, all I can say is, relax and enjoy your orientation, I am sure that they will train you before they turn you loose. A lot of US hospitals have training program for new nurses. they have preceptorship program. like my small hospital, we have, med surg classes for new nurses, also we have critical care classes for nurses who want to work in ICU.

Now Im thinking, 7,000 island high tide , 7,100 island if it is low tide....is it? gosh i maybe wrong!!..lol

I don't think that would be necessary since our BSN program is purely in English. We use the same text book, same nursing theories, nursing principles. We don't even use tagalog in our documentation. Since primary school, our education is based on english curriculum. When we came here in America, we were precepted the same way as our american counterparts. The medical termilogies that I encounter here in America are the same terminologies that i have encountered on my four years of nursing school. Now, I am not saying we have perfect english, no mam, because I know for a fact that some of our filipino nurses may have different accents, Philippines is an Archipelago, we are made up of 7,000 island, (come to think of it, the state of Virginia might be bigger than Philippines). Each island have different dialects, different accents. I grew up in Manila and Manila is a melting pot of filipinos from different islands. In order to understand each other we use Tagalog and English to understand each other.

Never, thats discrimination here in America, Employers will not even ask your age or marital status, as long as you have a nursing license and you are qualified for the job. FYI, we have nursing students in their 40's and enjoying nursing school. In other countries, they may have some age limit, so, you might want to check. Goodluck with nursing school. luvanurse Mobitz

Welcome back to nursing:welcome: Most of the hospitals will offer solid orientation, we call it preceptorship, which could last 6 to 12 weeks, and of course if we feel that the new hires needs more ..then we extend their orientation. We sometimes call preceptorship as "BUDDY SYSTEM", and this is how it works, as a new nurse/new hire, you will have a mentor/preceptor, that will work the same shift with you, both of you will take care of the same patients. As your preceptor, she will try to teach you all the things you need to know about the hospital, its protocols, policies and procedure and others.She will always be there as your resource person, strong clinical support, YOUR BUDDY. Now, for nurses who are trying to go back to bedside nursing, and havent been practicing for years, there are a lot of hospitals , big hospitals,that offer refresher courses. and I am pretty sure that you will find a good one in LAX area. Search the web. You said that you took a refresher course in PGH, you are good then, I mean, it's still nursing, same principles, same procedures, same rationales. You just need to work on your self esteem. If I were you I will try to work as a CNA in a Med Surg Unit, that would be a good exposure. Also, read books, nursing magazines (helps a lot). A lot of hospital will be willing to hire you after you pass the boards, they will even offer perks like sign on, relocation assistance and others. And once you're hired, do not expect to be an expert nurse in 6 weeks, ... patience, and of course practice. luvanurse, Mobitz

Typical rural nursing (i am sure some would disagree),I work in a community hospital, and most of the people I work with knew each other since first grade. I was the new kid in town once and i know how it feels. they are watchin every move i make, they always keep me in place whenever i question procedures which i believe not within the policies and procedures of the hospital(I should know better than question these nurses who have 15 to 20 years of service to the hospital but thanks to evidence based practice, things have change a lot in my small hospital) My first year was rough, but I never gave up!. In our hospital we do have costumer service workshops, and I thought, if i apply the things i've learned to our unit, not only to my patients but with my co workers as well, things will change. Everytime i come to work, I smile, greet my co workers and of course the grumpiest nurse will get more smiles and hellos from me, and when I am done with my work i always ask my fellow nurses and NAs if they needed my help. Key word is "extra mile" I am willing to do the extra mile and help my co workers, or some will say "bump up the light". It worked for me and hopefully this will work for you to. Now we have a lot of new nurses in our hospital and I always stress to them, being a new nurse is tough, but they have our support now, the old nurses. We will guide them,help gain experience but please, when its their time to be the "old nurses" please don't eat their young. If these will not work for you, Im thinking, you are not the problem, its them, your boss and some of your co workers ganging up on you. , ask for a transfer to other units, if not, explore your options with other hospitals. Dont let them burn you out, get out of that unit. (after of course exhausting all your options). About the backstabbing, whining and complaining... did i say, Welcome to Nursing...