Down Under: How difficult is it to work un the US with an Australian Nursing Degree?

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Hello everyone,

I am in the process of making a decision on nursing school. I am hoping to obtain an Accelerated BSN degree, as I have already have a BA in Psychology and an MSW in social work. I have been working as a social worker for the past 12 years and am excited to make the shift to nursing. I live in the United States, and am giving serious thought to pursuing my degree in Australia. I have been accepted into a highly regarded nursing program here in the states, but I have limited financial aid and would have to take out a lot of private loans to do so. Pursuing a cheaper state school program is also problematic for me b/c I am on my own and would still have to take out private loans to cover my cost of living expenses while I take pre-requisite courses. I have researched a top ranked 2 year graduate entry program in Australia which is half the cost and requires less pre-quisites. I would appreciate any insights on the following concerns:

1) How difficult, on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the most difficult) is it to work in the US after obtaining a degree in Australia? I have read mixed perspectives on this, including the allnurses.com thread below.

American nursing student in Australia? - Nursing for Nurses

Regarding transferring my degree back to the US, I spoke with the state boards for Colorado and PA, as I would consider living in Denver and Philadelphia post nursing degree. Both boards referred me to the CGFNS International, an organization that evaluates credentials for the nursing profession. I would feel a lot better about making this decision, if I could hear firsthand from nurses who have successfully gone through the process of obtaining their degree in the Australia and successfully work in the United States. I know it can be difficult to transfer credentials from Australia to the US, I am better trying to assess just HOW difficult it will be, to ensure that it IS possible, to see if the risk/reward is justified.

2) Will employers in the US be less inclined to hire me because I obtained my degree in Australia? Will my being a male nurse (a minority population in the nursing field) help offset this?

3) While obtaining my degree in Australia will provide a tremendous life experience that may prove to be more cost effective, I have also thought about doing things the other way around - obtaining my nursing degree here in the US and then seeking work as nurse in Australia down the road. I would like to hear from folks who have gone this route as well. From my previous research it seems like this could be an easier route to go with less obstacles, but one never knows.

4) At this point in my life, I am open to the idea of obtaining my degree in Australia and working there after I graduate, but would like to know if this is possible? How difficult would it be for me to obtain my work visa and become an Australian citizen?

Appreciate any replies on the above to help ease my dazed and confused state!!!:uhoh3::idea:

Hi Mrd, I have recently gone through the process of getting ATT (and subsequently passing NCLEX), and did not find it too difficult getting my nursing degree (from New Zealand) recognised in the US. However, you will need to be aware of a few 'hurdles' many do face.

Firstly, each BON has different requirements - there are some that will require you to get CGNFS, simply because you would be viewed as a health professional with an international qualification, even though you are a US citizen.

Also, you would need to be sure that the nursing degree meets the same educational standards of a nurse trained in the US. Although the universities here in Australia are good (and certainly can be cheaper too!) they don't met the criteria for nursing in the states. i.e - to qualify for with BON you have to show you have a certain amount of theory and practical hours in medical, surgical, pediatrics, mental health and maternity.

I know of many Australian trained nurses that did not cover maternity at all in their degree, or only the theory but no practical. They have subsequently had to go on to do extra training to meet the BON criteria. Similarly, in New Zealand, many nursing schools do not offer practical pediatric placements, so again, don't meet the criteria.

To be honest - if I had the choice, I believe it would be easier to study where you intend to work, so you learn the health system.

Hope this helps with your decision making!

Bec

Thanks Bec for this insight. This can be a major potential dilemma. I checked out the La Trobe (program in Australia) curriculum and see a few potential problems with meeting theory and practical hour requirements in all the areas you mentioned: medical, surgical, pediatrics, mental health, and maternity. The La Trobe curriculum appears to meet some but not all of those.

First Year

Teaching period Subject code Subject title Credit points TE-SEM-1 NSG2ACA Acute Care A 30 TE-SEM-1 NSG2MIN Medications in Nursing 15 TE-SEM-1 NSG2CAD Clinical Assessment & Decisions 15 TE-SEM-2 NSG2ACB Acute Care B 30 TE-SEM-2 NSG2MHN Mental Health Nursing 15 TE-SEM-2 NSG2COM Community Nursing 15 Second year

Teaching period Subject code Subject title Credit points TE-SEM-1 NSG3CCN Complex Care Nursing 30 TE-SEM-1 NSG3NOP Nursing Older Person 15 TE-SEM-1 NSG3PTN Professional Transitions in Nursing 15 TE-SEM-2 NSG3CPC Clinical Practice Consolidation 30 TE-SEM-2 NSG3MCC Managing Chronic Conditions 15 TE-SEM-2 NSG3CIN Challenging Interactions in Nursing 15

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An now the dilemma to this plot thickens: Becoming an RN in the states via an Accelerated BSN Program may not be good enough to allow you to work in Australia anyhow!?@#%$*!??

suzanne4 wrote on another thread:

Please be aware that many of the accelerated programs in the US do not meet immigration requirements for other countries. Much has been written on this topic, please just do a search.

Australia normally requires that you have completed at least two years at the minimum in an approved school of nursing. If you have gone thru one that is of 14 months or so in length, it is not going to meet the requirements for most other countries.

At this point in time, I want to go the route that allows me the most flexibility to be able to work in the states and Australia. I could see myself getting my degree in Australia, working their for a few years, and trying to get a job back in the states.... Or obtaining my BSN degree here in the US, working for a few years and trying to get over to Australia....

But based on the info I am discovering, I may be stuck either way... I'll start a separate thread on this as well to try an get more input on the limitations of an Accelerated BSN received in the states - not allowing you to work abroad.

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Specializes in ED, L+D,.

In regards to Bach of Nursing v's Bach of Science in Nursing - again, it will depend on the university. I have a Bachelor of Nursing, which was a 3 year degree. However I DID have quite a few science related papers - it wasn't all nursing papers at all. But then I know of other universities that offered completely different subjects, and others that, as you've pointed out, don't do any science related subjects at all.

In terms of meeting requirements in either country - have you looked into the immigration requirements yourself for obtaining a nursing licence in Australia, rather than relying on what others have written here? I was just thinking - it could be that the above 'warning' about a course being less than 2 years not meeting requirements could be relating to those who are LPN's, that their credentials wouldn't meet requirements here in Australian. However if you already have a Bachelors degree and you're simply bridging across to nursing, you might be ok with that as your qualification (if i'm making any sense here!)

Also, australia is in the process of moving to National Registration, so requirements may change yet again from July. I would wait until July, then contact the new nursing board and ask them directly if you would meet requirements for a nursing licence here using your Bachelors plus the accelerated degree.

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Hi people!

I am an Aussie RN who has done the long hard process of finally becoming an RN in California (must be one of the very few lucky/blessed ones) have passed NCLEX-RN met all the requirements, and have my visa screen cert from CGFNS. However, for employment, do i still need to get a credential assessment even though I just did that basically through my visa screen and through the CA BRN? Do I need to show that my degree is equivalent to a BSN? Or is my visa screen AND CA active license sufficient?

AS FOR THE US NURSES WANTING TO COME TO AUSTRALIA:

I dont' understand how my degree in AUS would NOT be the same as a BSN. I'm pretty sure if a US BSN came to nurse in AUS, ONLY BSN's would be able to be called an RN here in AUS. Possibly ADN's might be able to..but I'm sure they'd have to jump through a few more hoops to show hours of prac and theory that is sufficient for a bachelor.

In Australia, you cannot be an RN without a Bachelor's. Period. Anything other than a bachelors, you are not classified as an RN but rather an enrolled nurse or endorsed enrolled nurse (LPN, VPN). So if you're a US nurse with something other than a BSN, i'm pretty sure it will not suffice...POSSIBLY an ADN with proof of enough theory and practice in specifically nursing...may be able to get equivalency and be called an RN here. Does that make any sense?

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Hi people!

I am an Aussie RN who has done the long hard process of finally becoming an RN in California (must be one of the very few lucky/blessed ones) have passed NCLEX-RN met all the requirements, and have my visa screen cert from CGFNS. However, for employment, do i still need to get a credential assessment even though I just did that basically through my visa screen and through the CA BRN? Do I need to show that my degree is equivalent to a BSN? Or is my visa screen AND CA active license sufficient?

AS FOR THE US NURSES WANTING TO COME TO AUSTRALIA:

I dont' understand how my degree in AUS would NOT be the same as a BSN. I'm pretty sure if a US BSN came to nurse in AUS, ONLY BSN's would be able to be called an RN here in AUS. Possibly ADN's might be able to..but I'm sure they'd have to jump through a few more hoops to show hours of prac and theory that is sufficient for a bachelor.

In Australia, you cannot be an RN without a Bachelor's. Period. Anything other than a bachelors, you are not classified as an RN but rather an enrolled nurse or endorsed enrolled nurse (LPN, VPN). So if you're a US nurse with something other than a BSN, i'm pretty sure it will not suffice...POSSIBLY an ADN with proof of enough theory and practice in specifically nursing...may be able to get equivalency and be called an RN here. Does that make any sense?

Hi Smoosh,

Frist of Congrat's.. You are one lucky person to go through all that and make it there.

I'm just starting out the process. I finished my new grad last year and just trying to get more experiance before I start looking into the process. My question to you is..have you had

- Adult health (medical/surgical) nursing

- Maternal/Infant nursing (obstetrics), excluding

-Nursing care of children (pediatrics) and

-Psychiatric/Mental health nursing, excluding

neurology

in your training if not where did you go to complete these areas of nursing. Do you know if there is any place where they offer the course for Australian Nurses who havent covered obstetrics or pediatrics?

I'm just very confused where I need to step my foot in first.. kinda confused in the whole thing. Please help with the info you can.

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Hey down_under - I'm curious which path you chose??

I am having the exact same dilemma and it's getting down to the wire for accepting my offer from the University of Melbourne grad entry MSN. I have applied for US accelerated BSN programs, but haven't heard back (and won't until spring I imagine...)

Any thoughts from any others out there?

Thank you!

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I have just passed my NCLEX after completing extra units in Maternity and Paediatrics over here. I too have had my nursing degree reduced to an associate degree. If the whole CGFNS process hadn't been so painful I would have disputed their findings. Especially after studying two units of an associate course I can guarantee that my course was at a degree level. Another ex pat suggested that they do this because our degree is only three years because we have all our prerequisites taken care of in high school and our school system is fairly standardised across the country. That being said I will also mention that I have my bachelors in Australia. If I need further study to bridge the gap I think I would opt to study at a masters level online at an Australian university.

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Not sure about australian uni's that offer these subjects but several states have Welcome Back Centre that help overseas trained nurses fill in the gaps. I think there is a specific course in California, I was lucky enough to find a college happy to take me on for two subjects which is very rare but may be changing. Deaken uni in australia looked to have a single maternity unit. The thing is I lost a year trying to sort this out and the actual clinical hours for Maternity and Peads was very minimal compared to the weeks of clinicals us Aussie's do.

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