US Citizen going to the PI for Nursing Questions

suzanne4, RN · Aug 25, 2008

Take the time to do some reading here about what is happening with the schools over there in terms of nursing. There are many issues happening right now and the training is not what it used to be as well in most cases. You are also now going to have to complete a five year program, meaning a full four years including three full summer semesters as well to get the BSN.

And do be aware that if you happen to hold dual citizenship, you are going to be required to write the NLE before you will be given permission to sit for the NCLEX-RN back in the US.

You will also be considered a foreign grad so will have to meet the additional requirements for licensure no matter which state that you apply to for licensure as well as it will be months before you will be able to sit for the exam, it will not be immediate.

Suggest that you have a good read here before planning to do what you want. You are also required to write their entrance exam in most cases, it is not normally waived for you either.

And the student must register in person, that is mandatory. They will not let you start without that being done. And they are normally going to need all documentation from you before you can start. Chances of being able to start immediately as you are planning is going to be almost impossible to do.

ChunkyLover996 · Aug 26, 2008

You are also now going to have to complete a five year program, meaning a full four years including three full summer semesters as well to get the BSN.

Does that mean that foreign students have to do an extra year for a total of five as opposed to being a native/Filipino citizen and only having to do four?

And do be aware that if you happen to hold dual citizenship, you are going to be required to write the NLE before you will be given permission to sit for the NCLEX-RN back in the US.

I'm only a US citizen. Nursing Licensure Examination will be taken after the whole 5 years of schooling right? Once I pass the NLE then I can go to the US and take the NCLEX-RN, and when I pass, it would give me the licensure I need to be a RN in the states?

You will also be considered a foreign grad so will have to meet the additional requirements for licensure no matter which state that you apply to for licensure as well as it will be months before you will be able to sit for the exam, it will not be immediate.

What would the additional requirements be? Were they already mentioned above, needing me to pass the NCLEX-RN and the NLE? I got plenty of time to sit and wait for the exam.

You are also required to write their entrance exam in most cases, it is not normally waived for you either.

When you say "to write" you mean to take their entrance exam right?

And the student must register in person, that is mandatory. They will not let you start without that being done. And they are normally going to need all documentation from you before you can start. Chances of being able to start immediately as you are planning is going to be almost impossible to do.

Thats weak, gonna probably have to do an early graduation then.

suzanne4, RN · Aug 26, 2008

Take the time to do some reading here, the programs are now five years in length for all that train there, including Filipino citizens. Much has been written on this topic.

If you do not hold dual citizenship, then you will not be able to write the NLE. The PRC will not permit it. And if you are not a dual citizen, in order to attend school there, you will need to apply for a student visa to attend there. You will not be able to attend with the tourist visa that you would normally go over there on. You need to be very aware of this, and this is not normally issued immediately either. You will have to apply to the Philippine Consulate for it and have it in hand before you can leave for there, you do not obtain it when you get there.

If you train out of the US, you cannot even apply for licensure until there is a completed set of transcripts to submit to the licensing agency. If planning to work in CA, then you will be looking at four to six months before you are given permission to test. So that means no work as a nurse here.

Priority goes to native Filipinos first for entry into nursing programs there, so getting in may not be as easy as you think. There are also issues with the clinical training there with the majority of the programs as well. In the US, you normally have one student to one patient, right now with some of the programs there, it is 1 patient to about 18 students. So skills are not going to be up to what they should be when you graduate unless there are some radical changes made to the programs there as well.

Not sure what your Tagalog skills are like, but even with the English programs, they are not always done 100% in English as well.

If you take the time to read here, you will see that wishing to go over there to go to school at this time is not really going to be the best for you in most cases. There are over 950,000 currently enrolled in nursing schools there. Probably about 1/2 do not complete the program, and then only about 44% pass the NLE when they write it the first time. This should give you some idea as to what is going on there at this time. You would be much further ahead to go into a four year program over here and not have any of the headaches.

Best of luck to you. I would recommend showing this site to your parents as well so they can see what is actually happening over there now, not the same when they went to school there, if that is where they attended.

Hoss · Aug 26, 2008

Brace yourself for a few shocks!! Enjoy the 7:30 - 2pm class schedule in the USA, for that ends immediately upon enrolling in a Philippine College of Nursing.

My children started out 1st year at 6;30 am to be in class by 7, short lunch break and then finish at 6pm...Then off to practice their sport (tae kwando) 2 nights a week.

Academic Classes are Monday through Saturday, and on SUNDAY you must participate in the National Service Programs. (Community clean ups, etc)

2nd year, classes start at 6am 3 days a week, and 8 am 2 days a week and end about 6:30 pm Monday - Saturday. Sunday is your only day to catch up on the really rough courses.

2nd year starts mandatory summer sessions so no summer break!!

3rd year starts to get really brutal...you begin clinical focus in the government hospitals..sometimes a trip of 4-5 hours depending on the hospital location. Classes are jammed in between clinical rotations and start at 7 am and continue to 8pm on those days they are at school...Monday through Saturday!! You will pull many 11pm to 7am shifts, with very little sleep. Sunday is used to cram all of your research and return demonstration papers or catch up on all your assesments while on rotation. Sleep some nights is impossible as you have to hurry home from the hospital after a long trip and prepare for the first class in the morning!! As you will be "teamed" up with other students for research papers, there have been many nights of "sleepovers" of students at our house while they work the internet and type their scholarly efforts until 3 or 4 in the morning!!

Again, mandatory summer studies...no break between school years...and 6 days a week after your first year of 7 days a week schooling.

Thats the basics in your first 3 years of study. Haven't seen the 4th year yet but getting through the 3rd year is truely the crucible of nursing studies. Kids are dropping like flies as they fail to meet the grade point average needed for each course and are set back to repeat courses, forcing a 5th year of study to graduate a BSN....

You have GOT TO REALLY WANT TO BE A NURSE, and focus, focus focus for years on end to qualify. The competition is fierce and the hours are very hard on young people who love to sleep a lot!! Sleep will become that thing you used to do as a kid...but NOT as a Student Nurse!

As for English spoken, class may be that way, but the patients you must interrogate and assess may know only Tagalog or their native dialect only, with no English whatsoever.....There are 200 distinct languages in the Philippines!!

As Susanne pointed out, you may want to reconsider this approach and look to the US schools as an alternative.

Good luck!!

Hoss

redlabel · Aug 26, 2008

and those green card and US citizen who are planning to take nursing in Philippines be careful because there's a lot of illegal school offering a ladderized PN to RN program (not BSN) and they claim that you can challenge the RN Nclex once you've finish the program and they will even show you their tesda certificate. its better to enroll in school offering a BSN. don't go for a short cut nursing. and some said they have online PN and RN program, please don't waste you hard earn money to this crab school.

ChunkyLover996 · Aug 27, 2008

Brace yourself for a few shocks!! Enjoy the 7:30 - 2pm class schedule in the USA, for that ends immediately upon enrolling in a Philippine College of Nursing.
My children started out 1st year at 6;30 am to be in class by 7, short lunch break and then finish at 6pm

I wake up at 5:00 AMish everyday anyways just to read the current events and stuff and get ready for classes, after school I just waste time on the computer anyways, having a class go from 7 AM to 6 PM sounds fun to me when it gives you something to actually do thats productive. Totally down for that kind of schedule.

Academic Classes are Monday through Saturday, and on SUNDAY you must participate in the National Service Programs. (Community clean ups, etc)

Weekend homework is the norm, so why not weekend classes, more productive time for me = better. I usually waste my Saturdays on the computer anyways. I'd be willing to do some community service, help the people, isn't that part of what being a nurse is all about?

2nd year, classes start at 6am 3 days a week, and 8 am 2 days a week and end about 6:30 pm Monday - Saturday. Sunday is your only day to catch up on the really rough courses.

Again, sounds like a good thing to me, no wasting time. Sunday can also give me some time with family.

2nd year starts mandatory summer sessions so no summer break!!

What are summer sessions exactly? Is it like doing the regular school year, but it just extends into the summer?

3rd year starts to get really brutal...you begin clinical focus in the government hospitals..sometimes a trip of 4-5 hours depending on the hospital location.

CSA-B has its own private hospital next door so I think I won't have this problem.

Classes are jammed in between clinical rotations and start at 7 am and continue to 8pm on those days they are at school...Monday through Saturday!!

What do you mean by classes being jammed in between clinical rotations? What are clinical rotations?

You will pull many 11pm to 7am shifts, with very little sleep. Sunday is used to cram all of your research and return demonstration papers or catch up on all your assesments while on rotation. Sleep some nights is impossible as you have to hurry home from the hospital after a long trip and prepare for the first class in the morning!! As you will be "teamed" up with other students for research papers, there have been many nights of "sleepovers" of students at our house while they work the internet and type their scholarly efforts until 3 or 4 in the morning!!

I hate to sleep anyways, that old saying that we spend 1/3 of our life sleeping is so true yet time sleeping is time wasted if your able to keep going.

What is the rotation your talking about again? Research/cramming under pressure is also exciting especially when its with buddies and ya'll are depending on each other.

Again, mandatory summer studies...no break between school years...and 6 days a week after your first year of 7 days a week schooling.

Again, can you be more descriptive of summer studies? Is it like the regular school year but just extended into the summer?

but getting through the 3rd year is truely the crucible of nursing studies. Kids are dropping like flies as they fail to meet the grade point average needed for each course and are set back to repeat courses, forcing a 5th year of study to graduate a BSN....

All depends on the person/people and how determined they are to pass, the kids that dropped like flies didn't have it in them, but I'm game for it.

You have GOT TO REALLY WANT TO BE A NURSE, and focus, focus focus for years on end to qualify. The competition is fierce and the hours are very hard on young people who love to sleep a lot!! Sleep will become that thing you used to do as a kid...but NOT as a Student Nurse!

Yes, I REALLY want to be a nurse. I see it as this, I go through five years of Hell on Earth pushing my mental capacity and maybe even my physical abilities, and I will be set for possibly the rest of my life.

Old saying of "Pain is temporary, pride is forever."

I sleep when I can't keep going or if I got nothing else productive to do, so I can handle the hours.

As for English spoken, class may be that way, but the patients you must interrogate and assess may know only Tagalog or their native dialect only, with no English whatsoever.....There are 200 distinct languages in the Philippines!!

I'm gonna guess that in CSA-Bs private hospital there will be enough English between the patients and I to get something going, if all else fails I can ask for some help with a quick translation.

As Susanne pointed out, you may want to reconsider this approach and look to the US schools as an alternative.

I'm pretty set forth on going to the PI for Nursing. It's an opportunity of a life time for me. When else am I going to get to live in another country outside of the US for a productive purpose? I get to spend time with my the family, meet new people, and have a change of environment for me.

Also the waiting list for BSN courses in California/the Bay Area is around 2-4 years long, but thats not even a real factor of why I want to go to the PI for nursing.

Also, almost all of my original questions are still unanswered, especially the big one about the timing of things, looking for someone with experience in it.

suzanne4, RN · Aug 27, 2008

and those green card and US citizen who are planning to take nursing in Philippines be careful because there's a lot of illegal school offering a ladderized PN to RN program (not BSN) and they claim that you can challenge the RN Nclex once you've finish the program and they will even show you their tesda certificate. its better to enroll in school offering a BSN. don't go for a short cut nursing. and some said they have online PN and RN program, please don't waste you hard earn money to this crab school.

Any program to meet the requirements for the US is required to be approved by CHED, and they do not accept the TESDA programs. One big issue is that the Philippine Govt does not recognize the two year programs for licensure.

One does not challenge any RN exam in the US, you must actually complete an approved school of nursing program. It would be a matter of getting permission to test, and for the RN, most states are requiring the local license; it is impossible to sit for that exam in the Philippines without having the BSN from there.

If people want to take shortcuts, they are more than welcome to, but it will not get them a license to practice in the US. Also be aware that green card holders are not exempt from writing the NLE if required.

suzanne4, RN · Aug 27, 2008

I wake up at 5:00 AMish everyday anyways just to read the current events and stuff and get ready for classes, after school I just waste time on the computer anyways, having a class go from 7 AM to 6 PM sounds fun to me when it gives you something to actually do thats productive. Totally down for that kind of schedule.
Weekend homework is the norm, so why not weekend classes, more productive time for me = better. I usually waste my Saturdays on the computer anyways. I'd be willing to do some community service, help the people, isn't that part of what being a nurse is all about?
Again, sounds like a good thing to me, no wasting time. Sunday can also give me some time with family.
What are summer sessions exactly? Is it like doing the regular school year, but it just extends into the summer?
CSA-B has its own private hospital next door so I think I won't have this problem.
What do you mean by classes being jammed in between clinical rotations? What are clinical rotations?
I hate to sleep anyways, that old saying that we spend 1/3 of our life sleeping is so true yet time sleeping is time wasted if your able to keep going.
What is the rotation your talking about again? Research/cramming under pressure is also exciting especially when its with buddies and ya'll are depending on each other.
Again, can you be more descriptive of summer studies? Is it like the regular school year but just extended into the summer?
All depends on the person/people and how determined they are to pass, the kids that dropped like flies didn't have it in them, but I'm game for it.
Yes, I REALLY want to be a nurse. I see it as this, I go through five years of Hell on Earth pushing my mental capacity and maybe even my physical abilities, and I will be set for possibly the rest of my life.
Old saying of "Pain is temporary, pride is forever."
I sleep when I can't keep going or if I got nothing else productive to do, so I can handle the hours.
I'm gonna guess that in CSA-Bs private hospital there will be enough English between the patients and I to get something going, if all else fails I can ask for some help with a quick translation.
I'm pretty set forth on going to the PI for Nursing. It's an opportunity of a life time for me. When else am I going to get to live in another country outside of the US for a productive purpose? I get to spend time with my the family, meet new people, and have a change of environment for me.
Also the waiting list for BSN courses in California/the Bay Area is around 2-4 years long, but thats not even a real factor of why I want to go to the PI for nursing.
Also, almost all of my original questions are still unanswered, especially the big one about the timing of things, looking for someone with experience in it.

Clinical rotations are the time that you spend in the hospital or clinic taking care of patients.

Have you actually shown this to your parents?

What you are not understanding is that the majority of your patients are not going to be speaking English and you are going to need to ask them many questions to prepare your homework assignments for school, such as careplans, etc.

And not sure what you have been looking at, but there is not a long wait for nursing school in CA if you go in directly as a freshman. You are talking about those that are going back to complete the ADN programs that have the pre-reqs that are needed, they are not needed with the BSN programs. They are part of the program.

Highly recommend that you show this to your parents before you do anything further. Not sure if you are truly aware of what is happening over there in terms of schooling right now. Have you actually applied to a program and been accepted? That needs to be done before one can even get a visa to go to school there and you are going to need to do that.

gemini_star, BSN, RN · Aug 27, 2008

One major factor also to consider is the passing rate of the two schools. Have you looked over their passing rates for the last 5 years? If it is less than 50%, you might want to look for a better school or else you will be studying on your own, or double or triple your studying hours.

With the current situation of the nursing schools, it is the best gauge of performance in terms of quality education, facilities, and the instructors that they have.

ChunkyLover996 · Aug 27, 2008

And not sure what you have been looking at, but there is not a long wait for nursing school in CA if you go in directly as a freshman. You are talking about those that are going back to complete the ADN programs that have the pre-reqs that are needed, they are not needed with the BSN programs. They are part of the program.

Again, the waiting list an all in Cali isn't even a factor for my reason for wanting to go.

If you take the time to read here, you will see that wishing to go over there to go to school at this time is not really going to be the best for you in most cases. There are over 950,000 currently enrolled in nursing schools there. Probably about 1/2 do not complete the program, and then only about 44% pass the NLE when they write it the first time. This should give you some idea as to what is going on there at this time. You would be much further ahead to go into a four year program over here and not have any of the headaches.
Not sure if you are truly aware of what is happening over there in terms of schooling right now.

I get all of that info, but why be so sadistic about it? The half that made it though and the 44% of them that passed the NLE could do, why not me?

Have you actually applied to a program and been accepted? That needs to be done before one can even get a visa to go to school there and you are going to need to do that.

Haven't actually applied for CSA-B yet, I didn't make a final decision on where I'm going to college until around August or July after we got back from vacationing for 3 weeks there.

=======================================================

According to this PDF http://www.pcij.org/stories/2005/nursing-schools-performance1.pdf

"Average Performing Nursing Schools with Average Board Passing Rate

of 50% to 74% for the Last Five Years (2000-2004)"

"Colegio de San Agustin - Bacolod City

63

52.15"

63 = Average No. of Examinees

52.15 = %Passing

CSA-B is the only one that made the list for colleges in Bacolod.

Then again that info is from 2000-2004.

This is from CSA-Bs website.

http://www.csab.edu.ph/story.php?id=10

"BSN Class 2007 Achieved 88% Passing Rate in June Nursing Licensure Examination"

Improvement? Don't know what to make of it whether its legit or not. Does the PI have any official site containing this kind of info? Been googling as much info as I could without many results other then the two I just mentioned.

Hoss · Aug 28, 2008

Chunky Lover.....

You seem quite determined to go forward and I admire your commitment to nursing as a career. With that in mind, heed the caution offered above about the "quality" of the school you want to attend. For example, the June 2008 National License Exam (NLE) showed that Colegio San Augustine Bacolod had 118 examinees with 94 who failed to pass, only 20% passing rate. The questionable part is that of those 118 students, only 8 students were first time takers, the rest were students who had previously failed on their other attempts. The fact that so many students failed is a strong indicator of a very marginal program, and as a parent I would suggest that this school should have closed its nursing program!! With a half a million pesos of expense over 4.5 years, do you want to spend money on a dismal failure of a nursing school or go to one with a 60% or greater passing consistency? I consider 60% bare minimum performance, and would stay away from any school that cannot demonstrate 5 years of greater than 60% FIRST TIME TAKERS passing rate.

Riverside College shows 568 student examinees of which of which 260 passed for a 46% overall passing rate.

Gemini Star is wise in pointing out that you should be very selective of the school you choose. There are many many good quality Universities that have very high success rates that indicate a high quality of instructors and low student/patient ratios in clinical training. Don't get ripped off by a poor performing school and struggle through this very difficult training....instead research your choice, and look at their 5 year NLE passing record.

Here is the link to tell you the results of all NLE performers by school in 2008:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/images/news/newspics/downloads/Nursing%20Exam%20Passers%20June%202008.pdf

Stick with your determination, but be wise in your choice of Universities...

Hoss