Fewer Filipino Nurses Interested To Work In The US?

In a surprising news item from ABS-CBN, Filipino nurses who sought employment in the US were apparently 38% less versus the year before according to LPG Marketers' Association party-list Rep. Arnel Ty 

Citing data from the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Ty said only 4,354 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time during the first 9 months of the year while 84% of the 152,068 US-educated nurses who took the exam within the said period passed the NCLEX.

Is the US labor market for nurses really shrinking?

Data from the Professional Regulation Commission, Ty said 290,000 registered nurses were unemployed as of March 31. The figure, says Ty, does not include the more than 37,000 nursing graduates who passed the July licensure examination.

ABS-CBN article goes on to state that the government is planning to spend P1.686 billion next year to expand the Health Department's Doctors to the Barrio program, which will provide temporary jobs to nurses, Ty said. The expanded program is expected to cover the deployment of 12,000 nurses and 1,000 midwives to underserved communities.

How Much To Become A Nurse? What Will I Make As An Overseas Nurse?

There are a lot of questions about becoming a nurse abroad. First of all though, we'll have to start with asking the preliminary ones about becoming a nurse first. Here in Cebu, there are now so many nursing schools. Everybody thinks it's the next "get-rich, go-abroad" opportunity.

So here's the breakdown of how much it will cost you to 'become' a nurse first (from ABS-CBN News)

A nursing college education costs at least P300,000. But that’s not all. After finishing the four-year course, there are fees and other expenses for a series of qualifying exams.

Take the board exams today. Prior to taking these tests, nursing students spent around P10,000-P15,000 for review centers. Hundreds of pesos were shelled out for reviewer materials. They also paid a P900 exam fee.

Those who want to work in the United States, which is the dream destination for many nursing students, have to spend around P19,000-P25,000 to review for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), a standardized qualifying test.

But before they can take the NCLEX, they need to pass the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and English proficiency tests, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), to secure a CGFNS Certification Program Certificate.

Passing the CGFNS test is one of the requirements for an occupational visa in the US. Taking it means shelling out around $450 or around P19,000. In addition, the IELTS costs around P8,000.

Of course, there’s tuition to begin with, which ranges from P50,000 to P80,000 per semester.

That's a total of half a million pesos just to become a registered nurse eligible to work abroad.

But this is pretty good if you can get the job you want abroad. Nurses in the US with a one-year experience have a median salary of $50,000, or around P2 million. In Saudi Arabia, compensation for staff nurses ranges from $23,000 - $33,000, or around P1 million a year.

So after a year of working, you'll more or less make up for the cost of the entire nursing course. That is of course if you're prudent with the money you've earned. Because it also means foreign rate expenses when you work abroad.