Adult nurses wanting to work in the USA..

[TinaK]

Hello all

I have been reading many of the posts on here about adult nurses who want to go work in the usa, but who are having difficulty because they lack hours in certain areas of nursing.

There is a place called Langara College in vancouver canada, it has an excellant course specifically for those nurses who need to make up the hours, this may be a bit long winded way around but it can get you what you need... it lets you take mini courses in paeds , obstetrics and mental health, each course has theory and clinical components, you can take the theory part of each course at home via distance learning and then once you have done all your theory you will sit an exam in your home country, upon passing they will let you proceed to go ahead with the clinical part of the course in which you will have to go spend approx 3 weeks in the designated clinical areas, to achieve the clinical hours you need, the clinical aspect is done in vancouver! after this course you will have the required hours you need to be able to register as a nurse in vancouver.... this is the way i am planning on doing it, as I have family in vancouver so i do not mind working there for a short while, the advantage is then i will have the required hours for applying to do the NCLEX .... Anyway I just thought I would share this info with those who wishto know where to make up hours from...because I can tell you now its going to be very hard trying to find a place in the UK! .. if anyone wants more information, please contact me via a pm, or here.

Hope this helps!

Tina K.

[SUEMEECH]

Thanks I'll keep trying. As I've got a job lined up already.

Sue:rotfl:

[Sunqueen]

The other problem the school closed down long time ago.So that training can be done at UNI. I been to the university to see if they have records . I even asked if anyone can give me a break down of hours of the course they run now. But I'm still waiting . I've even written to the chief Nursing Officer.

sue:rolleyes:

Where did you train? You may just need to track down who has the archives. I trained at Guy's, but according to a classmate, our records are now at King's - go figure!

I qualified in 1988 and had enough hours for CGFNS and NCLEX. I think it is the new University based courses that are short on the US requirements.

Good luck. I have liveed here for years and still find that US personnel offices are not very accomodating to the differences between here and the UK. I am returning to work after staying at home with my kids and an HR manager refused to accept that the Brompton may not still have a record of me working there 15 years ago!

[TinaK]

Hiya

will staffordshire uni let you complete those hours?? your very lucky if they will, i am short on the hours i need but my uni won't let me make them up at all...do staffordshire uni let outsiders make up time there at all?

Tina K

[Sunbeams]

Hi Tina,

Once I have found out the exact hours required I am going to talk to my Uni. So far the staff here have been great and I think they will help me if they can. (maybe I will find that they can't but I am hopeful - there must be a way)

I have a 9 week elective still to organize and am going to try to get hours in peds, psych and maternity in that - which should cover the clinical hours. I have a community maternity placement arranged but I don't know if that will count - or if they require it to be hospital based. Psych will be easy I think. I am not sure if they would allow an outsider to make up hours here. I will see how things go and let you know if it looks possible - you probably need to be enroled as a student of staffordshire university for them to be able to help you. If they are helpful to me... I'll give you more info later. Have you heard of the new EU directives? As far as I understand your Uni should be doing them too - which is some kind of learning pack in peds, pscyh and maternity. It came in after I started but am hoping they will let me do it for my theory hours - except for psych - I am sure I have plenty of theory hours in that already, maybe even children's nursing. Just have to find out the requirements and see how I can fill in the gaps. OK - I have gone on enough.....

All the best!!!

[TinaK]

Aww your uni sounds very accomodating, I am in the final 4 weeks of my 3rd year elective (its in A&E) and my uni have flat out said no , numerous times ... all uni's across the UK have different learning approaches in terms of getting the required EU directives, cov uni has given out no workbooks or packs we had a measly one day theme day on childrens theory and no clinical practice, plus 2 days in maternity and one theme day for theory on it there is no way I have the required hours... its sooo frustrating!

I would be ever so greatful if you gave me some info about if staffordshire let outsiders do that ... I wish you all the best! I'm sure you will do it somehow , especially seeing as your uni sounds supportive! Let me know how it goes okay :)

Tina K

[Sunbeams]

hmmm:idea: well did you hear about Lanagar college?:wink2: They offer what you need. If I can't get what I need - I am considering this as an option. http://www.langara.bc.ca/cs/programs/RNQC.html

Just think - you are so close to finishing!!!:wink2: Sometimes I think our education over here as nurses is really quite hit and miss. If I had known all this stuff before I started I would have looked more closely at course content of all the Unis in the UK before deciding where to go. I knew I wanted to go to the US when I started but didn't understand the process very well.

OK - I will keep you posted.

[TinaK]

We must keep in touch! :) heheh funnily langara is the option i have told many people about , yes i am planning on doing that as my last resort as it does have everything!

I am in the same boat as you, before I started nursing i knew i wanted to work in usa and canada, i knew it whilst i was doing my previous psychology degree also so as you can imagine i was sooo upset when i found out cov uni would not let me make up the hours. Believe me if i had had the right income i would have gone and studied as a nurse abroad from day one...and if i had know more about cov uni i would not have chose to study there...

Tina K

[Sunbeams]

Yes - I would have studied in the US to begin with if I had the money too!!!! My sister lives in WA (married an American) and my boyfriend too :wink2: so I am sure I will end up there eventually. Langara will be my last resort too. It may also help bridge the gap between our nursing system here and there's over the atlantic. So it might not be a bad thing.

I think I read something about being walked to your car in the parking lot by security - groups leave on the half hour. That sounded kind of different - not sure I would like living somewhere where I would need an escort to get to my car!!! Still - it would be for a short time. The cost of studying at Langara sounds reasonable too.

We should definitely keep in touch. If you end up going to Langara - that would be interesting... who knows... maybe I will have to follow in your footsteps one day. Unless I get there first :wink2:. I reckon if my uni can't help me make up the hours I will look at going there in September of this year - or maybe Jan 07 - so I can work a little bit first.

[TinaK]

I failed to read that part about the car park ...hmmm hope its not that bad...I would probably be commuting everyday if i was there as got family in vancouver b.c and im guessing i would be expected to stay there...

Yes I would like to keep in touch with you :) its nice to have someone in the same boat.. and yes the course won't take that long...did you know the theory part we can do whilst in the uk still as its via distance they said and after we pass an exam we can go over there to do the practical, and yes as you mentioned the price of the course is fairly reasonable. Im looking at starting their course in 2007 i think as would like to work for a year as a nurse here and get some experience and money lol...

tina k

[Sunbeams]

Having family there will be a great help too I expect. Have you been over there to visit them before?

Well - I should get on with some work here. This is my last term of assignments... I just don't know where to start! I have to do a presentation in 2 weeks on a disease process based on a specific patient but I don't have a patient so I dno't know how to go about it. I think I will do acute MI because my next placement is CCU. Problem is, I start the placement after I have to do the presentation!!! Oh well - maybe I can bluff my way through this one cause it's formative not summative.

The long distance thing is tempting - did you hear that some states may not accept long distance though? I think I read that on here somwhere.

[ADDnurse]

CGFNS issue is whehter or not is an actual approved School of Nursing, where it is located does not matter.

Don't they want clinical experience as well? Before I could sit the CGFNS I had to complete an extra 8 weeks of OB.

Tony

[suzanne4, RN]

Clinical as well as theory is required for the needed areas. Same as with every area. It still has to be done with a nursing instructor for the clinicals, it will not count if you are just working on that type of unit, or even volunteering your time there. Remember that when you fill out the application for CGFNS, it doesn't ask for your work experience, but only what you did in an actual School of Nursing. Both types of hours must be thru approved schools of nursing. This is where many are getting into difficulties, they think that if they get the work experience, that is will be okay, but it doesn't cover it.