I am currently a sophomore in highschool here in the US (permanent resident). Although some may say that it's too early to plan for what I wanted to be, I am firm with my decision that I wanted to be a Doctor. I really don't know what Pre-med course to take yet, but my mom said that taking Nursing would be better since I can have a fall-back if my plans of going to Med school won't push through.
Just to give you a little background, I am an A student with a 4.0 GPA. I am rank 25 in our class here in CA. I wanted to attend in a UC or State Univ for college but it will be so expensive for me (I think) even with the help of a student loan since my mom is a caregiver (single mom). My mom told me that I could just study in the Philippines and go to a good school (like University of Santo Tomas, FEU) that offers a good nursing program.
I am just worried that when I finish my Nursing degree in the PH and go back here in the US, I won't get a job (or settle of being just a caregiver) or even repeat EVERYTHING just for the sake of working in a hospital. I don't want that to happen.
So, any suggestions? Thoughts?
I am planning to go and inquire in Philippine Universities this summer so that I know what requirements do they have.
I hope someone can answer my questions.
Is Nursing a good pre-med choice?
Would I find it a hard time applying for a nursing job here in the US when I get back?
Would I find it a hard time passing the board exam here in US? (any experiences)
I'm filipino, and came here when I was 9 years old. I attended grade school, high school, and college here. I would advise you to attend school here. Even though you can take the NCLEX in the Philippines, licensing can be more difficult. Licensing requirements are also different for each state. It takes longer to have you transfer all your paperwork and such. If you graduate do your clinicals here, you would already be exposed and be learning the equipment, the computer charting, the flow of the unit, how the IV pumps would work, etc.
Also, some states require you to send transcripts and school records for verification before they can give you a license to practice which can be more difficult if you graduate in another country. For example, I worked as a nurse traveler and applied for a NY license. I had to call my school, send them a document to have them sign and they had to be the ones to send it directly to their state board. It would be more difficult and take longer if you were in another country and trying to communicate with the school there about getting your records here, etc. Think of the long term. Take it here. You work with the hospitals here. Your clinical sites would already know who you are by the end of the four years and might even graduate with a job offer. There's really no reason to take go to school in the PI. If cost is the issue...just go to a cheaper school...attend the community college, then do an RN to BSN program after you start working. Research your options here. Look at the starting salary and if needed take out student loans. You can pay them back when you graduate since you won't have any problems with finding jobs. DO NOT attend a for-profit school. These schools are the worst and take advantage of students and take all their money and graduate with a crap degree. Stay away from names like "University of Phoenix, Carrington College, etc." Look up if the school is private for profit and stay away. These schools do a lot of advertising and dont' care about their students. Carrington college charges $50,000 for a two year nursing degree (i am gonna pay about $70,000 with a masters at a private) --- do the math. Both cost a lot, but a masters from an internationally recognized school would be worth $70,000 than the two year, for profit chain. but it shows you just how much these for-profit colleges take advantage of students.
If you want to go to medicine, nursing is not the degree. Also think of salary. Depending on the area, nurses actually don't get paid that much. I always wonder why a lot of filipino parents push their kids to be nurses. To them, it's like the ONLY choice in college. That and being a doctor. Mine did...hence why i took nursing..and was gonna go into medicine too (but life happened)...but sometimes I always wished I had taken something else...like engineering, pharmacy, math teacher, etc. Nursing might guarantee you a job, but it is not a well-respected field. Message me if you still have questions.
Aik0
36 Posts
I'm filipino, and came here when I was 9 years old. I attended grade school, high school, and college here. I would advise you to attend school here. Even though you can take the NCLEX in the Philippines, licensing can be more difficult. Licensing requirements are also different for each state. It takes longer to have you transfer all your paperwork and such. If you graduate do your clinicals here, you would already be exposed and be learning the equipment, the computer charting, the flow of the unit, how the IV pumps would work, etc.
Also, some states require you to send transcripts and school records for verification before they can give you a license to practice which can be more difficult if you graduate in another country. For example, I worked as a nurse traveler and applied for a NY license. I had to call my school, send them a document to have them sign and they had to be the ones to send it directly to their state board. It would be more difficult and take longer if you were in another country and trying to communicate with the school there about getting your records here, etc. Think of the long term. Take it here. You work with the hospitals here. Your clinical sites would already know who you are by the end of the four years and might even graduate with a job offer. There's really no reason to take go to school in the PI. If cost is the issue...just go to a cheaper school...attend the community college, then do an RN to BSN program after you start working. Research your options here. Look at the starting salary and if needed take out student loans. You can pay them back when you graduate since you won't have any problems with finding jobs. DO NOT attend a for-profit school. These schools are the worst and take advantage of students and take all their money and graduate with a crap degree. Stay away from names like "University of Phoenix, Carrington College, etc." Look up if the school is private for profit and stay away. These schools do a lot of advertising and dont' care about their students. Carrington college charges $50,000 for a two year nursing degree (i am gonna pay about $70,000 with a masters at a private) --- do the math. Both cost a lot, but a masters from an internationally recognized school would be worth $70,000 than the two year, for profit chain. but it shows you just how much these for-profit colleges take advantage of students.
If you want to go to medicine, nursing is not the degree. Also think of salary. Depending on the area, nurses actually don't get paid that much. I always wonder why a lot of filipino parents push their kids to be nurses. To them, it's like the ONLY choice in college. That and being a doctor. Mine did...hence why i took nursing..and was gonna go into medicine too (but life happened)...but sometimes I always wished I had taken something else...like engineering, pharmacy, math teacher, etc. Nursing might guarantee you a job, but it is not a well-respected field. Message me if you still have questions.