Filipino Nursing Herald

Every year, thousands of Filipino nurses aspire to migrate and become a licensed nurse in the US. Here's a practical guide intended to help Pinoy nurses achieve this dream. Because the application process requires several steps and there are ongoing issues related to foreign nurse employment in the US, we've broken down this feature article into a series. Read Part 1 of the Filipino Nursing Herald's Guide to Becoming a US RN by clicking here . There are different methods for sending payments for the nursing registration application in the U.S.. Each board of nursing will have its own preferred method of payment. Going to the BON payment office is the best way to guarantee that your payment will be received, but if you're so many thousand kilometers away like in the Philippines, there are payment methods that you can use. The most convenient payment method is using a credit card. Most BON will have a payment form attached to the application form. Simply fill out this for...

Every year, thousands of Filipino nurses aspire to migrate and become a licensed nurse in the US. Here's a practical guide intended to help Pinoy nurses achieve this dream. Because the application process requires several steps and there are ongoing issues related to foreign nurse employment in the US, we've broken down this feature article into a series. This is Part 1 of the Filipino Nursing Herald's Guide to Becoming a US RN. What is the NCLEX-RN To be able to practice as a nurse in the US and its territories, you must be registered in the US state you wish to work in. Each state has a nursing board that regulates the registration process. A major requirement for registration is that applicants must pass an examination that "measures the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level registered nurse". The National Council of State Boards of Nursing ( NCSBN ) develops this examination, which is called the Nursing Counci...

An NCLEX-RN test center is finally here in Manila. Although the center officially opens on August 23, when the first NCLEX exam in the Philippines will be conducted, applicants may now schedule their test date. Two days ago, all the exam slots in the Hong Kong test center from July to October were all booked, but today, numerous slots have opened from late July onwards. It was about time that a Manila test center opened, for such a long time Filipinos have had tremendous difficulty scheduling test dates there, so many had to resort to extreme measures such as taking the NCLEX in Saipan, Taiwan, South Korea, and even Japan. More importantly, the opening of the Manila test center is a great financial relief to many Filipino nurses who don't have the resources to pay for plane fare, food, and hotel accommodations outside the country. The Manila test center won't be conducting exams until August 23, but if you want to know where it's located so you can scout transportation rout...

Pearson Vue today will begin scheduling services for the NCLEX-RN exam in its Manila testing center. Here's the contact information for the Manila center: Pearson Professional Centers-Manila, Philippines Telephone: +63 2 887 2198 Address: 27th Floor, Trident Tower 312 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City, Manila The number listed above has now been updated and is the official number of the Pearson office in Manila. If you can't reach this number, you may try other Pearson Vue hotlines: * The Asia-Pacific call center (based in Australia): +612-94785400 * You may try this number as well: 1280061294785400 (The prefix 1 and 2 might be for int'l dialing, so you can replace it with your use your provider's int'l dialing instructions, for ex. +1 or +001, etc.) * You can also try this: 1800-1110-0796 loc 3 (Contributed by Kokeshi) * Chicago, Illinois office: 312-525-3667 or 312-525-3600 (submitted by a reader) You can see a map of the Pearson Vue testing...

The news today about the opening of the NCLEX testing center in Manila is the best news we've received in a long time. The NCSBN, in a press release, said the Manila center will begin accepting calls on Friday, July 13, NCLEX applicants who already have their ATT can start scheduling their exam dates this Friday, but actual exams will only begin on Aug. 23. I've e-mailed NCSBN to ask additional details about the Manila test center, hopefully they'll reply soon. Except for the start of scheduling and exam administration, the NCSBN press release contained little else. There were no details about the location of the testing center and the number of examinees it can accommodate in a day. The testing center will be operated by the NCSBN's test service partner Pearson Vue. NCSBN said the center will have the same security systems as in other NCLEX testing centers. In the past, there were reports that the NCLEX testing center would be located in the Enterprise Building in Maka...

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) will begin NCLEX testing in Manila at the international Pearson Professional Center on Aug. 23, 2007. Scheduling for examination appointments will begin on July 13, 2007. Read the full story here .

A common question we encounter is about the processing of the fingerprinting requirement for nursing licensure in the U.S. Different states have their own security check requirements but common to all of them is fingerprinting. To learn about the specific security requirements in the state where you're applying for a license, just go to that state's Board of Nursing Web site. You can get a list of links and contact information of each state BON from the NCSBN Web site or you can simply google "(state) board of nursing" and you'll find the appropriate link. There are three ways to get hold of the fingerprint cards: 1) You can ask a relative in the U.S. to go to the BON office; 2)You can go to the local U.S. Embassy and request for the card; 3)And last, you can write the BON to send you the fingerprint cards. Usually you'll find instructions on how to request for the fingerprint card on the registration application packet. In California, for example, you can re...

Michigan will no longer require foreign nurse applicants to pass the certificate exam administered by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) before they are allowed to take the licensure exam for the state. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm on July 14 signed a new bill that removes the mandatory CGFNS test requirement for nurses educated outside the U.S. In the past, the CGFNS certificate was a pre-requisite for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for registered nurses. Instead of the CGFNS exam, foreign nurses will simply need to submit their credentials to determine that their education is equivalent to a U.S. nursing course. Filipinos make up majority of all foreign-trained nurses in Michigan, where a shortage of 7,000 nurses is expected by 2010 and 18,000 by 2015, figures from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth showed. Additional source for this story: Extra nursing test dropped US States that no longer require the CGFNS ex...