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:

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This is the only thing I can really say. My uncle (who is an American citizen by birth) lived and worked in Australia for many years. He obtained a degree there (non-nursing.) He was making excellent money working for the Australian government and gained 10 years of experience in his field. When he moved here after a divorce to be close to family, he could not find work for 2 years. This was when the economy was good and there were many jobs to be had. They did not care that he had a degree from Australia and did not take into consideration the years of Australian experience he had.

He did eventually get a job. A very well known, high profile company decided to accept the experience he had and gave him a very, very nice job, but that was after 2 years of intense frustration.

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Specializes in Oncology, surgery, Tele, ICU, medicine.

According to my co-worker from Australia its more of a nuissance getting the paperwork done and waiting than anything else. You just have to take the NCLEX. Go get em champ!

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Hey!

I am an Aussie nurse in MA trying to get my license here.............i think that i will be placed in an institution BEFORE i ever get to sit the NCLEX. If i had known that it would be this hard i would NOT have moved. I have been here since November..........i am still waiting for my ATT and even though i have a bachelors degree its not that here........i am an associate........and given the type of work i was doing in Australia i doubt that i will ever get to work in that area again.............very sad!

However with that said..... i had an excellent education and it was cheaper than here! If you dont mind the challenge of return to the USA with a foreign degree then go for it!!!!

Can anyone tell me (silly question) .......... when i start applying for jobs should i still say that i have a bachelors or do i now say i am an associate????? Would it be misrepresenting

myself???

Good luck to you.......and let me know if you need to know anything else.......i can let you know where is good!!!!!

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Yikes it posted x 2 SORRY!!!!!!

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TabithaB...

If you just say you have a bachelor's, they will be expecting that it is from the US and, in my opinion, would be misrepresentation. However, if you said that you have a bachelor's and that you studied in Australia, it would not be misrepresentation. I think the second option is a better way to go than to say you have an associate's, which is not entirely accurate either.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
This is the only thing I can really say. My uncle (who is an American citizen by birth) lived and worked in Australia for many years. He obtained a degree there (non-nursing.) He was making excellent money working for the Australian government and gained 10 years of experience in his field. When he moved here after a divorce to be close to family, he could not find work for 2 years. This was when the economy was good and there were many jobs to be had. They did not care that he had a degree from Australia and did not take into consideration the years of Australian experience he had.

He did eventually get a job. A very well known, high profile company decided to accept the experience he had and gave him a very, very nice job, but that was after 2 years of intense frustration.

Does this have any bearing on obtaining a position as a nurse?

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Specializes in ED, L+D,.

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

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Does this have any bearing on obtaining a position as a nurse?

As far as the job market goes and the way potential employers view an education obtained in Australia, it certainly could.

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Does this have any bearing on obtaining a position as a nurse?

Yes it can. The point being that someone with 10 years of experience in a field with a degree had a hard time being accepted into the US job market when the economy was in good standing.

Nursing is not an exception to the economy and nursing employers are not on average different than other employers. It's all business.

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My job (health care based) gives me $3,000 free $$ towards my nursing education. A lot of hospitals will give you free money too in exchange for working for them for 2 yrs post graduation.

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Thanks so much everyone for their input. I've done a few more hours of research on all the different threads and found this concerning:

Can anyone tell me if there is a difference between a "Bachelor of Science in Nursing" and a "Bachelor of Nursing" degree?

The former includes so called science subjects (i.e. Organic Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics etc) in its curriculum while the latter includes all nursing subjects. Here in Australia, there is no such thing as "Bachelor of Science in Nursing". Universities here only offer "Bachelor of Nursing". The main reason is that advanced science subjects are thought in high school and when you are accepted as a Nursing university student, it is assumed that you already have a knowledge of these subjects. As a result, starting from first year Nursing, you concentrate on ALL nursing subjects (NURS 101, NURS102..etc)-no Chemistry, biology, etc. This is also the reason why "Bachelor of Nursing" is a three year course here in Australia. I believe other countries offer "Bachelor of Science in Nursing" which is a four year course but most of their first year subjects consist of science subjects or some other useless subjects.

With a psychology/social background, I need to take science prerequisites here to obtain an accelerated BSN in the US (microbiology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology 1 & 2) are the main ones that nearly all Accelerated BSN programs require. The program I am looking it Australia is at La Trobe and requires an anatomy and physiology but not the others.

Will this come back to haunt me later when I try to get my Australian education transferred back to the US? Here is what the La Trobe website states about the 2 year graduate entry nursing program I am considering:

Professional recognition

Graduates are eligible for registration as a Division 1 Nurse with the Nurses Board of Victoria. After registration, graduates are eligible for registration in other states and countries as well as for membership of the Royal College of Nursing Australia.

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