An "English-speaking school" for the purpose of demonstrating competency in spoken English for nursing licensure means a school with an on-site or orally equivalent program that:

requires student interactions in oral English for success in the program

with all courses and related experiences,

including oral interactions with students, faculty, patients and staff,

in lecture, discussion and clinical experiences,

conducted entirely in English,

with tests and responses in English,

and is located in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, or the United Kingdom.

The Maryland Board of Nursing recognizes only schools fitting the above criteria as English speaking. English as the language of instruction in the clinical setting can only be demonstrated in settings in which the primary spoken language ("mother tongue" or "native language") of the patient population is English. Graduates from other programs may demonstrate the required competency in spoken English by scoring 50 or higher on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) administered by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, NJ or scoring 3 or higher on the Oral Proficiency Interview administered by the Inter-American Language Associates.

An "English-speaking school" does NOT include a school that:

uses online, distance courses, or

transferred credit from schools or granted advanced placement from schools that do not meet the above criteria for an English-speaking school, or

has theory courses taught entirely in English and clinical experiences with a population for whom English is not the primary spoken language, or

is located in any country not listed above.