Working as an rn in puerto rico

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I read some of the other threads about pr, and had some questions. I briefly met an rn in passing who was working at presby in san juan.she spoke zero spanish. My impression was that to work in pr you have to pass boards a second time in spanish via the pr nursing board. I speak a decent amount out spanish and am trying to become fluent, but I couldn't pass boards in spanish. Are there options for people like me? Presby or va? Is the pay that bad in san juan? Does everywhere have like 13:1 staffing? Also are there nurse practitioners in pr? I can't find the np act

Thanks!

I am Puerto Rican raised in the U.S and recently returned from visiting family on the island. I have a cousin that recently graduated with her BSN and the things she was sharing with me regarding the hospitals and nursing care are both shocking and extremely sad. I did a 2week trip to Africa at the end of nursing school where we worked with and as nurses and from what my cousin told me it seems that there were more resources in Africa than in Puerto Rico or pretty comparable. She mentioned that during one of her rotations the hospital where she was at had one RN/BSN for a floor of patients and that nurse was in charge of total care for all of these patients. There were no gloves, no hand sanitizers, and they were being told to reuse gloves by cleaning them with hand sanitizer. My cousin was mortified and she showed up the next day with her own supplies. Nurses get paid at most $13/hr, jobs are scarce. I have no personal experience in any Puerto Rican hospital, and this was from one hospital in the metropolitan area. I don't know that the situation is as severe in other hospitals. My cousin also told me there is one nurse practitioner on the island that works at the V.A, otherwise NPs can not practice. Good luck in your investigation.

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A BSN is a bachelor's degree, the ADN is a diploma program not a 4 year university degree. I don't think that diploma programs are offered anymore in the U.S. I'm not sure what an ASN is, possibly and associates degree in which case those are usually 2year degrees from community colleges. I think it's just a difference in the educational foundation that the RN has.

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The ADN is an Associates Degree in Nursing. The diploma program was given by hospital-based nursing school programs. These hospital-based diploma programs no longer exist. The ADN program was a great and affordable way of getting your nursing degree, but most hospitals with Magnet status want their nurses to have a BSN. Both the ADN and BSN educated nurses take the same boards (NCLEX) to receive their registered nurse license to practice. Do some research on the BSN in 10. If you can afford to go back to school and get your BSN, you should do it because over time it will be difficult to find a nursing position in most Magnet status hospitals.

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Hey jmeadows,

I know your post here is from a few years back, but I found it to be extremely helpful. I was wondering if I could pick your brain more regarding the licensing process to get a PR license with a current States license, as well as jobs and more. I would really appreciate your advice!

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I'm also trying to get my PR nursing license. I called this number (787) 999-8989 which is the Department of Health. They answer the phone in Spanish but they were able to transfer me to someone who spoke English. He emailed me the paper work that is needed for license endorsement in PR. They require a lot of documents so be prepared for the process to take awhile. I would attach the document but I can't figure out how!

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Specializes in OB.

Question, you don't speak Spanish but you're trying to work in Puerto Rico? Not trying to offend anyone. Just wanting to figure out why you would want to, and are you aware that PR nurses make half of what a US nurse makes?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

If you don't speak Spanish/medical Spanish fluently what is your goal in working in PR? It's a Spanish speaking territory. I believe the licensing exam (they don't use NCLEX so no endorsement) is in Spanish.

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I don't speak Spanish except for maybe 20 words and have been dreaming of moving to Puerto Rico for the past few years. Don't know why. Life is not always about the rate of pay but the experiences along the way.

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Specializes in OB.

True, but when the cost of living is higher than what you will be making to live comfortably, life experiences may need to wait. Plus you will definitely need to learn the language in order to get a position. Another thing to consider is that this may not be the best time to move to PR. Lots to consider before a change like this.

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Hello everyone...I'm trying obtain current information on the process of obtaining my RN license in Puerto Rico.  I have a current FL license since 1997 and am moving to PR early next year.  I'm still too young to retire so I need to get some work for a few more years.

Does anyone have the current info to obtain RN license in Puerto Rico?

Thank you

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