Need advice and a kick in the right direction

Nurses Career Support

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G'day all,

I'm an Aussie living in TN, I'm trying to get into nursing here. I was an EMT in the Australian Army and have since completed school for MA here in the US. I was accepted to BS (Nursing) in Australia but deferred because of the move here. I thought I was going back so reapplied and was offered a spot in an accelerated BS (Nursing) that would have me ready to sit for my RN licencing back there.

However, I'm staying here and I'm even MORE motivated to be an RN. And frustrated beyond belief!!

I keep looking for schools or anything to get there but either I'm speaking left handed backward Swahili or I haven't a clue.

To be an RN in the US - do you have to be an LPN first? Which means I'd have to be a CNA first right? At least - the schools around me require I'm already a CNA to attend LPN school, and to apply for the BS I have to already be an RN. I'm so confused!!!!!!!

Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

You don't have to be anything first to be an RN, except have a high school diploma. That you have EMT experience is awesome! Do you want to get your 4 year degree right away (BSN) or do you want to get a 2 year degree (ADN). You take the same licensing exam (NCLEX). A 2 year degree would be through a Community College and the 4 year degree would be through a University or College that offers bachelor degrees. Most LPN programs, I believe, are 1 year programs. You don't have to be a CNA first to be an LPN. Perhaps you could talk to an admissions counselor and they can tell you more about their programs and their requirements.

It must be difficult coming to an entirely different country and try to figure all this stuff out!! How is the transition going for you?

G'day all,

I'm an Aussie living in TN, I'm trying to get into nursing here. I was an EMT in the Australian Army and have since completed school for MA here in the US. I was accepted to BS (Nursing) in Australia but deferred because of the move here. I thought I was going back so reapplied and was offered a spot in an accelerated BS (Nursing) that would have me ready to sit for my RN licencing back there.

However, I'm staying here and I'm even MORE motivated to be an RN. And frustrated beyond belief!!

I keep looking for schools or anything to get there but either I'm speaking left handed backward Swahili or I haven't a clue.

To be an RN in the US - do you have to be an LPN first? Which means I'd have to be a CNA first right? At least - the schools around me require I'm already a CNA to attend LPN school, and to apply for the BS I have to already be an RN. I'm so confused!!!!!!!

You don't have to be anything to be a RN. Some schools will require before starting clinicals that you become a CNA. You can choose a 4 year college which will get you a BSN and then you can sit for NCLEX-RN boards. You can also become a LPN first (average time is 2 years) and enter a bridge program to become a RN (the bridge program usually lasts 1 yr). I would suggest doing the CNA classes just so if it is required for your program you'll have that out of the way.

Also, if you go to a community college they may offer a 2 year RN program and you will graduate with an associates degree. You will still be a RN and will take the same boards as everyone else. Those programs are usually very competitive due to the fact that they are short programs.

If you do decide to take CNA classes look at your local community college, Red Cross and nursing homes. I hope this clarifies things. Good luck!!

Thanks all for your replies.

There's a CNA class here starting next month that's only about 5 weeks long they want $900 for it but at the end of it I can sit the certification and at least then I can work while I continue my BSN.

My university back home says that I may be able to do most of the coursework online, any clinicals I have to do we'll try and do here.

Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
g'day all,

i'm an aussie living in tn, i'm trying to get into nursing here. i was an emt in the australian army and have since completed school for ma here in the us. i was accepted to bs (nursing) in australia but deferred because of the move here. i thought i was going back so reapplied and was offered a spot in an accelerated bs (nursing) that would have me ready to sit for my rn licencing back there.

however, i'm staying here and i'm even more motivated to be an rn. and frustrated beyond belief!!

i keep looking for schools or anything to get there but either i'm speaking left handed backward swahili or i haven't a clue.

to be an rn in the us - do you have to be an lpn first? which means i'd have to be a cna first right? at least - the schools around me require i'm already a cna to attend lpn school, and to apply for the bs i have to already be an rn. i'm so confused!!!!!!!

what part of tn are you in?

i work in tn, and don't know of any nursing school that requires a cna first. not that getting a cna wouldn't benefit you in nursing school (and may help you get in) but paying $900 is not necessary.

most nursing homes offer paid cna training, and give you job as well. look in the newspapers, or call around. they might require a work committment, but the nh i got my cna training through (not in tn) didn't; or at least it was a very short committment. i only worked for them for three months.

as for getting into nursing school, my best advice is this: go online and look at the requirments for different schools in your area. all of the rn schools (and most lpn schools) are going to have prereqs: some math, psych, sociology, biology, chemistry, english, other gen eds. do you have any classes from back home that would fulfill those requirements? if so, get your courses evaluated. if you don't have the prereqs, start working on those at your local community college (cheaper than a university, and more flexible schedule-wise. they should transfer to whatever nursing school you choose).

good luck!

edited to add: since you are an emt, you might be able to get a job in an er as an edt (emergency dept tech). i'm not sure if the emt from australia will transfer or not, but it would be worth looking into, since that would be good experience for nursing school. have you ever tried getting your emt to transfer to the us?

I'm in Clarksville TN. About 45 miles north of Nashville.

The local community college says I need a CNA to apply for the LPN classes. Heck even the MA class here is almost 2 years long!

I haven't tried to transfer my EMT, I've come up against so many roadblocks as it is with just MA work and nursing that I figured it would be another headache.

I'm almost finished with my CMT school and figure I may as well just stick with admin til my Aussie degree is finished. Maybe longer. It's really becoming more of a pain in the butt than anything else.

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