Filipino Nursing Herald

Immigrating to Canada as a nurse

2012-05-05T01:45:00.000+08:00

Canada continues to accept skilled workers who meet its stringent requirements. Since last year, the Canadian government introduced a cap system that limits the number of applicants every year. This limit, however, is not intended to deter qualified applicants but is aimed at reducing the application backlog and better manage the processing of applications.

Qualified nurses are still welcome to apply, although there is a cap of 500 applications per year. To learn more about the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and the changes that took effect on July 1, 2011, you may follow this link.

We are writing this guide to help anyone planning to immigrate to Canada as a federal skilled worker. It is targeted at nurses, in particular, who are hoping to immigrate to Canada but it may be used by anyone applying who want to apply as an immigrant under Canada's FSWprogram.

Who is eligible
First of all, who are eligible to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker program? There are 29 eligible occupations that are considered to have a proven need in Canada. For an application to be processed, the applicant must meet any of these three:

A valid offer of arranged employment, OR
Have at least one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the 29 occupations, OR
Be an international student enrolled in a PhD program in Canada (or graduate from a Canadian PhD program within 12 months) and meet certain criteria.

Take note that the FSW program does not apply to the province of Quebec. Also worth noting is that the application cap mentioned earlier does not apply if you have an offer of arranged employment. Canadian employers rarely, if at all, will offer you employment if you don't have a valid Canadian nursing license, so arranged employment may be hard to come by. If you are joining a staffing agency, they may be able to provide proof of an employment offer, but there could be several complications if you choose this route. For our purposes, we will not touch on this topic in this article.

If you're a nurse in the Philippines and you have been working in a full-time nursing job for at least a year within the last ten years, then you meet the second eligibility listed above. Volunteer nursing work does not qualify you in this case. Here's a list of other eligible professional occupations.

After you meet the minimum requirement, your application will be processed based on six factors, namely:

Education
English or French language skills
Work experience
Age
Whether you have arranged employment
Adaptability

Points system
Each factor will be assigned points. For example, a maximum 25 points is awarded in Education. If you have a master's or PhD, then you will be given 25 points. If you have two bachelor's degrees, you could be given up to 22 points. A bachelor's degree earned in at least 2 years of study in the bachelor's level can be given 20 points. The minimum score that will qualify you to continue with your application is 67 points. You have to meet this minimum score otherwise your application will be returned to you.

This brings us to the first important step in the application process. You should accomplish a self-assessment tool online to see if you meet the minimum score. This online tool is fairly easy to use and free, so it puzzles me that agencies charge a large fee to do this simple assessment. Here's a link to this online tool. Remember that this tool is for your personal use only and results are not a guarantee of an approved application. Your qualifications will be assessed based on the official application documents that you send later on, not with the self-assessment tool.

If you are confident that you can meet the minimum score, go ahead and download all the application form, accomplish it and send the required fee. Accomplishing the application forms is fairly easy to do if you carefully review the Instruction Guide that comes with the application packet. Once you download the application forms, read the Instruction Guide first. A lot of questions and additional steps are explained in the guide. For example, the photo guidelines are very unique to Canadian immigration but you can see detailed instructions in the guide.

You can download the forms from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Web site.

To be continued.

Texas seeing more male nurses

2012-05-04T22:46:00.001+08:00

A growing number of men in a US state is going into nursing, according to a report.

Nationally in the US, 5.8% of licensed nurses are men. One nursing school in Texas has seen a jump in male enrollments from 8% to 14%.

Read more.

Australia faces shortage of nurses

2012-05-02T21:30:00.000+08:00

Unless actions are taken, Australia will have a shortage of 109,000 nurses and 2700 doctors by 2025, warned a top health advisory board in a 450-page report released in a meeting of the country's federal, state and territory health ministers.

The advisory body, Health Workforce Australia, is urging a coordinated national action and policy measures in hopes of improving the retention of nurses, the management of patient demand and productivity. It also warned that reducing the flow of internationally-educated doctors, even by 50%, would inflate the shortage from 2700 to 9300 by 2025.

Read more from The Australian.

Schedule of Philippine nursing board exam

2012-05-01T10:42:00.001+08:00

The Philippine Nursing Board exams will be held on June 30 and July 1, 2012. Deadline for first-time applicants is May 18, 2012 while the deadline for repeat exam-takers was last April 18, 2012.

Download the Nurses' Application Form here.

After accomplishing the form, go the PRC Web site for the rest of the work flow. Click here go to the site.

Small victory for this site

2012-05-01T05:49:00.003+08:00

Google has responded to our request to take down a Web page that has infringed on the copyright of the Filipino Nursing Herald. The offending page has now been removed from the face of the Internet. Cheers to our small victory!

Contact info of Pearson Vue testing center Manila updated

2012-04-28T23:40:00.000+08:00

The contact information for the Manila testing center of Pearson Vue has been updated. If you wish to reach them concerning the NCLEX-RN, you can contact them through this telephone number: +63 2 887 2198.

You can see and download a map of the Pearson Vue Manila testing center here.

Detailed instructions on how to get to the testing is described here.

Applying as an immigrant to Canada

2012-04-26T23:27:00.000+08:00

Recruiters and agencies charge exorbitant fees to assist you with the filing of an immigrant application to Canada. Although the application process may seem complicated, it really isn't difficult at all and you can do it yourself for a quarter of what these recruiters are asking you to pay.

Watch this space as I will show you how it's done.

H-1B Cap Count

2012-04-26T22:42:00.000+08:00

Here's the latest update from USCIS on the H-1B cap count. As of April 20, 2012, there have been 25,000 regular petitions accepted from the 65,000 total cap for the fiscal year 2013. In the H-1B Master's Degree Exemption, 10,900 have been filed from the 20,000 total cap.

The Web does not have to be wild

2012-04-25T02:52:00.002+08:00

I discovered yesterday that some of my blog's original content has been copied verbatim without any prior permission, any link back to this site, or any effort to credit this Web site for the copyrighted content. What's worse is that an image was lifted from this site and was being passed off as the offending Web site's own creation. This has been going on apparently for years without my knowledge.

In today's highly-connected world where social media reigns, it's easy to forget that there are still rules that apply to publishing content. The world wide Web does not need to be wild.

List of US nursing boards that require CES or CP

2012-04-24T02:44:00.000+08:00

Most US nursing boards now require either a CES report or CP from CGFNS for RN license applications. Here's a list of US states and their requirements:

Alabama - CP and CES
Alaska - CES or CP
American Samoa - no CGFNS requirement
Arizona - CES, VS or CP
Arkansas - CES and English, CP or VS
California - CES may be accepted
Colorado - CES and English or CP
Connecticut - CP
Delaware - CP
Florida - CES
Georgia - CES or CP
Guam - CP, CES may be accepted
Hawaii - CES or CP
Idaho - CES or CP
Illinois - CES, VS or CP
Indiana - CP
Iowa - CES and English or CP
Kansas - CES
Kentucky - VS
Louisiana - CP
Maine - CES or CP
Maryland - CES
Massachusetts - CES, CP or VS
Michigan - CES and English or CP
Minnesota - CES or CP
Mississippi - CP or CES
Missouri - CES or CP
Montana - CP
Nebraska - CP
Nevada - CES
New Hampshire - CP or CES
New Jersey - CES and English, or CP
New Mexico - CES
New York - CVS
North Carolina - CES or VS
North Dakota - CP, CES may be accepted
Northern Marianas Islands - No CGFNS requirement, CES may be accepted
Ohio - CES
Oklahoma - CES, VS or CP and transcripts
Oregon - CES, CP or VS
Pennsylvania - CP and transcripts
Puerto Rico - No CGFNS requirement
Rhode Island - CP
South Carolina - CES
South Dakota - CP
Tennessee - CP
Texas - CES
Utah - CP and CES
Vermont - CES, CP may also be required
Virgin Islands - CP
Virginia - CES and English, or CP
Washington - CES or CP
Washington DC - CP, CES may be accepted
West Virginia - CP
Wisconsin - CP
Wyoming - CP

* * *
CP = Certificate Program
VS = Visascreen
CVS = Credential Verification Service for New York State
CES = Credentials Evaluation Service
English = language proficiency test report

Maryland nursing board now requiring applicants to show SSN

2012-04-24T01:36:00.000+08:00

The Maryland nursing board now requires applicants to show a Social Security Number or a Federal Tax ID number when you apply for a license. With this move, Maryland joins a number of US states that are effectively discouraging foreign nursing applicants who do not have an SSN. Unless you are a US citizen, immigrant or a legal resident with a visa or permit to work in the US, you cannot apply for an SSN.

The new Maryland requirement took effect January 27,2012.

Updated How-to apply for an Illinois nursing license

2012-04-24T00:14:00.002+08:00

As promised, I'm reviewing previous posts and providing updates where they are necessary. I reviewed the steps to applying for a nursing license in Illinois and found that the IDFPR which regulates the profession made some changes sometime in 2011.

The How-to article is now updated and you read it by following this link.

Updates coming soon

2012-04-22T12:29:00.001+08:00

I've completely neglected this blog for quite a long time. I logged in again today and was happily surprised to see that it still gets a pretty decent number of page views. In the next few weeks, I'll be reviewing and updating hopefully all of this blog's content to ensure that the information is still accurate. If you know of any changes in the licensure procedures, fees, or if you know of any new information that's worth sharing to other Filipino nurses, then please don't hesitate to contact me. Happy to be back blogging!

Getting back

2009-02-23T23:17:00.003+08:00

After an extended period of time, I am finally able to write again on this blog. To those who've been generously clicking their way to this site from time to time, I offer you my gratitude and also, my apologies for not living up to your expectations and updating more often. Even after being on hiatus, this site still gets a couple of messages, mostly from people needing information about NCLEX test applications and job opportunities, and also from a few people who've stopped by just to say, they appreciate this site. To everyone, thank you for viewing this blog.

I would say that I have been overwhelmed by work, whether online or offline, in these recent times. These are difficult times so we all have to our own share of work. The fun part about work though, is it ends everyday. Of course you start work again the next day, but it doesn't consume you 24 hours a day. I should have spent part of that free time writing here, but I have been having so much fun "having fun outside the Internet world" that I've completely neglected this blog.

I have fun keeping this blog up, too. So, I will try to upload more information here when I can. I seek your patience if I am too slow at times in answering questions but I will try my best to get the information needed.

*****Personal Note******

Times are bleak, but things are getting done everyday. I realize that I sound so cryptic, I just don't want to come off as too negative. Opportunities still abound for nurses, whether at home or abroad. But like all else, it takes a certain waiting period. While waiting, some people turn to different jobs or take training programs to hone their skills and buff up their resumes.

Legislation in the US continues to move and opportunities abound for nurses in Canada, Middle East and other parts of the world. Although, it takes a little bit of time for you to realize that goal, don't stop aspiring for it.

Nurses' immigration bill, HR 5924, moves up to full committee voting

2008-08-03T22:44:00.004+08:00

The proposed immigration bill for nurses and physical therapist, or HR 5924, has been reported to be out of the subcommittee level in the US House of Representatives' Judicial Subcommittee. The bill is now up for full Judicial committee voting, likely in August, experts claim.

New immigrant visas for nurses proposed

2008-05-19T02:46:00.003+08:00

A new proposed legislation in the US. House of Representatives seeks to give up to 20,000 visas per year to nurses and physical therapists up to September 2011.

The proposal, HR 5924 or the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act, would waive the quota for these two occupations, also known as Schedule A jobs, up to 2011 but a maximum of 20,000 visas can only be approved every year. Immediate family members of primary visa beneficiaries, however, would not be counted against the 20,000 yearly cap.

Based on the new proposal, the US immigration department must make a decision on I-140 petitions within 30 days of receipt.

Also being proposed is the allocation of a Grant Fee, where beneficiaries of the new visa allocations must pay $1,500 which will go to a fund to help US nursing schools. Visa applicants must also provide legal proof that they do not owe money that was used to finance their education in their home country, such as student loans, for example.

Click here to see the full text of this proposed legislation.

** Personal note:
We're almost back. We've been unable to post new entries for quite sometime because we've had to relocate to a new place. We'll talk about that pretty soon. Although we're not yet quite settled, we'll try to post here from time, albeit not as much as we used to before. In the meantime, let me thank everyone who've been sending their messages and visiting this blog regularly even though we haven't been able to post new entries.

Bear with me

2008-03-12T03:45:00.002+08:00

I recently moved so please bear with me for a while. I'll answer questions posted here as soon as I can and post new information as well pretty soon.

Thanks.

US immigration updates

2008-03-02T10:56:00.005+08:00

The quest for new nurse visas continues to be a steep uphill climb, while the U.S. is struggling out of a quagmire of a possible recession, brought about by the credit and housing crisis. Add to the mix the heated race for the presidency and you've got a very tough environment for legislators espousing immigration-related laws. We remain hopeful that something will be done this year before the presidential elections consume the entire US political landscape.

Some of the good news that have come out recently include the advancement of the EB3 Visa to Jan. 1, 2005. We blogged about this a while back. Another good news coming in is a proposal from Sen. Kent Conrad to extend the J-1 waiver program for physicians serving in underserved areas. Aside from an extension, the bill also seeks a cap exemption for doctors. If this bill moves forward, many are hoping that an equivalent provision for nurse visas are included in the final version.

At this time, we can only hope that efforts to enact this bill will be fruitful.

Top 10 topnotchers of the Dec 07 nursing boards

2008-02-22T00:31:00.001+08:00

Here are the top 10 passers of the Dec 2007 Philippine nursing licensure exams:
1. Zandra Mae Zabaza Bongco, Pamantasan Ng Lungsod Ng Maynila -- 88.40

2. Robneil Dylan Sanchez Dellosa, University of Perpetual Help Rizal-Calamba Campus -- 87.00

3. Joanna Kaye Binoya Remolar, San Pedro College-Davao City -- 86.80

4. Denise Claudia Dimatulac Mangiliman, University of Makati -- 86.40
Neil Niño Sugitarios Navarra, San Pedro College-Davao City -- 86.40
Pedro Jr Posadas Tabernero, Saint Dominic Savio College -- 86.40

5. Joann Aguilar Candado, West Negros College -- 86.20
Betty Chua Chung, University of Makati -- 86.20
Leslie Yap Coo, Central Philippine University -- 86.20

6. Katrina Victoria Luceño Akut, Xavier University -- 86.00
John Edward Vergil Villaflor Belardo, Trinity University of Asia (Trinity-Qc) -- 86.00
Richard Baguio Saavedra, Ateneo De Davao University -- 86.00

7. Rosemarie Lu Go, Western Mindanao State University -- 85.80
January Ivy Bacali Haspela, Central Philippine University -- 85.80
Cristine Valen Mendez, Davao Doctors College, Inc. -- 85.80
Julius Atalip Riazonda, Saint Paul University-Tuguegarao -- 85.80

8. Joreena Perida Alvaran, Remedios T. Romualdez Medical Foundation -- 85.60
Emlyn Limbo Escobar, University of La Sallete-Santiago -- 85.60
Hernessa Torralba Hernandez, Xavier University -- 85.60

9. Gerrie Mae Lozada Angostura, University of Iloilo -- 85.40
Sheryl Gaye Uy Cu, De Los Santos College (Delos Santos School of Nursing) -- 85.40
Ayn Portia De Luna Galamgam, San Pedro College-Davao City -- 85.40
Germaine Lou Tabita Sanchez, University of San Agustin -- 85.40
Marie Kathleen Cavida Santos, Perpetual Help College of Manila -- 85.40
Mary Lenin Pepito Talisic, San Pedro College-Davao City -- 85.40
Jay Pong Yap, Capitol University (Cagayan Capitol Coll.) -- 85.40
Vivian Esparaz Yu, De Los Santos College (Delos Santos School of Nursing) -- 85.40

10. Katrina Socorro Lapuz Cembrano, University of San Agustin -- 85.20
Diana Jean Bernardo Mendoza, Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College-Q.C. -- 85.20
Jeggar Chris Envoltorio Sorianosos, West Visayas State University-La Paz -- 85.20
Aura Ydda Alyne Santiago Toreja, Our Lady of Fatima University-Valenzuela -- 85.20

Full list of passers in the Dec 2007 Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam

2008-02-21T14:13:00.008+08:00

The results are out. Congratulations to those who passed the December 2007 Philippine Nursing Licensure Board Exams.

List of passers:
List in PDF format
List in Rich Text format (RTF) Right-click and choose Save As to download
List in Word 97 doc format (Word doc) Right-click and choose Save As to download

List of Retakers who passed:
PDF format
RTF format (Right-click and choose Save to download)

28,924 pass Philippine nursing boards

2008-02-21T13:47:00.003+08:00

Some 28,924 nursing graduates have passed the Philippine nursing licensure exams conducted on December 2007. The oath-taking of the new nurses will be on March 17 and 18, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia.

43% pass Dec 2007 nursing licensure exam

2008-02-21T13:36:00.003+08:00

At least 43% of 67,000 nursing graduates who took the December 2007 nursing licensure exam have passed, a report by Inquirer.net said.

Leonor Rosero-Tipon, chairman of the Professional Regulation Commission, said the 43.42% passing mark was within the usual passing range.

The report added that graduates from St. Louis University, Xavier University, Siliman University, Trinity, Mindanao State University, and Palawan State University were among the top 10 in the latest Philippine nursing board exam.

EB3 visa priority date jumps to 2005

2008-02-13T01:36:00.000+08:00

The U.S. Department of State has issued its March 2008 Visa Bulletin and, interestingly, the priority date for employment-based category three (EB3) has jumped from Nov. 2002 to Jan. 2005. This news should bring cheer to those whose priority dates fall under the new cut-off and put hope back in the hearts of those waiting for their priority dates to become current.

Here's a link to the March 2008 Visa Bulletin.

PRC deadline for filing applications for nurse licensure tests in 2008

2008-02-03T00:34:00.000+08:00

Press release from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)

The Professional Regulation Commission announces that the schedules and deadlines in filing applications for the Nurses Licensure Examinations (NLE) for year 2008 are as follows:

Exams on JUNE 1 & 2, 2008 (Sunday & Monday) - Deadline APRIL 18, 2008
Exams on NOVEMBER 29 & 30, 2008 (Saturday & Sunday) - Deadline OCTOBER 17, 2008

The PRC is now accepting applications for the June 2008 NLE at the PRC Central Office and at the PRC regional offices in the cities of Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga. Some 80,000 to 100,000 or more examinees are expected to take the NLE in June 2008.

Graduates of March or April 2008 will be accepted in the June 2008 examination, provided, they will be able to submit, at the time of filing applications on or before the deadline, all the documentary requirements, i.e., Transcript of Records with scanned picture, Birth Certificate in NSO security paper, Notarized/Sworn Summary of Related Learning Experience and OR/DR cases, .

The PRC enjoins early filing of applications to avoid over-crowding at the PRC filing centers.

APPLICATIONS WILL NO LONGER BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DEADLINE.

New Mexico licensure applicants now need CES

2008-02-01T23:37:00.001+08:00

Foreign-educated applicants of nursing licensure in New Mexico now need to get a Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) report as part of the requirements for NCLEX eligibility. The New Mexico Board of Nursing issued an updated application handbook, which takes effect this month.

The NM BON has accredited four agencies that issue a CES report:
Educational Records Evaluation Service, International Education Research, Joseph Silney and Associates, and the Commission on Graduates of International Education (CGFNS).

When applying for a CES report, choose the agency that is also accredited by other states so that in case you need to submit one to another state (for endorsement, for example) you won't have to pay for a new one.

Click here to read the new requirements for nurse applicants in New Mexico.