Australian nurse wanting to work in America

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Hello! I am an Aussie RN from Melbourne Australia. I am very interested in working as a nurse in America due to family reasons. Especially interested in Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Colorado or Arizona. I have completed a 3 year bachelor course in Australia and am concerned that I may not have the required obstetrics and pediatric hours required. Is there a course I complete in Melbourne or even in the USA to make up these hours? I would love to know where to begin the process of moving to the USA. i would like to add that i was an IV drug endorsed enrolled nurse for 5 years prior to an RN in case that helps. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you

Hey Aussie nurses, 

How are you all doing? This post is long overdue but may I ask if any of u guys managed to find any course/ additional coursework at the states to overcome this deficiency? I am in the same boat. After research, I found New York BON doesn't require CGFNS so, I was thinking to go via them although I lack clinical hours in paeds and obgyn. 

Any insights will be very much appreciated!

Cheers !

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Specializes in CTICU.

CGFNS is a company. What do you mean, NY BON doesn't require CGFNS?

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11 minutes ago, ghillbert said:

CGFNS is a company. What do you mean, NY BON doesn't require CGFNS?

NY BON will either accept you providing the evidence / documentation of your nursing education directly to them OR they will accept a CVS from CGFNS. On the website it states that submitting your documents directly to the NYBON may take longer than using CGFNS I believe.

Just to be clear the NYSED BON does not accept CGFNS "CES" only "CVS".... I did both and it was all an expensive nightmare...

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Specializes in CTICU.
Just now, Daniel Timmons said:

NY BON will either accept you providing the evidence / documentation of your nursing education directly to them OR they will accept a CVS from CGFNS. On the website it states that submitting your documents directly to the NYBON may take longer than using CGFNS I believe.

Just to be clear the NYSED BON does not accept CGFNS "CES" only "CVS".... I did both and it was all an expensive nightmare...

I was referring to the poster above me. I know what NY BON requires, but I think they have the terminology confused. 

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28 minutes ago, ghillbert said:

I was referring to the poster above me. I know what NY BON requires, but I think they have the terminology confused. 

I know! And they are correct. You don't need to use CGFNS (or any verification service) with the NY BON. They will verify your education and overseas registration independently. 

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Specializes in General Nursing.

Foreign graduate nurses are required to take the NCLEX-RN as part of the process to become registered in Australia. They do this by applying through AHPRA. My question is this: Can an Australian registered nurse apply for NCLEX-RN exam through AHPRA? I sent them an email regarding this  but gave me a different answer- told me to contact NCLEX directly. Sent them another email but has not replied yet. Will file a complaint against them if they keep on dodging.

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Once you have an approved application with one of the states BON they will provide you with something called an "Authorization To Test" (ATT).

Once you have this you can apply with NCBSN to sit the NCLEX and would select a time and location in Australia that was convenient for you. 

I sat mine in Texas for the New York BON. I applied directly myself, but I'm sure there are many different agencies that would walk you through the process.

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On 9/15/2022 at 10:32 AM, Daniel Timmons said:

Once you have an approved application with one of the states BON they will provide you with something called an "Authorization To Test" (ATT).

Once you have this you can apply with NCBSN to sit the NCLEX and would select a time and location in Australia that was convenient for you. 

I sat mine in Texas for the New York BON. I applied directly myself, but I'm sure there are many different agencies that would walk you through the process.

Hi @Daniel Timmons were you successful in getting licensed with New York BON yet without having to do those deficit courses? If so, was your university required to breakdown the hours of theoretical and practical like those of CGFNS form? My college is reluctant on filling those form :(((

I am still stuck with CGFNS. I intend to practice in Virginia. I called Virginia BON and they are clueless on any college/university offering any of those courses. 

Regards,

Sam

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15 hours ago, LINOSEMIRA said:

Hello! How long is processing time before you take the NCLEX Us exam? Also, did you go to any agency that will assist you for NCLEX US application? Thank you 

If you haven't started your application with CGFNS/ whichever states BON I would budget 6 - 10 months until you get an ATT and that's if you stay on top of EVERYTHING. Mine took like 2 years because I was lazy and poor. I also did everything twice.

Once you have your ATT you can schedule your exam as soon as there is an open spot to sit the exam with NCBSN. Could be the next day!

Make sure you study for the exam specifically though, it's a very frustrating test. I tried it immediately with no study and failed. Then spent 3 months studying and passed. Each BON has their own rules as to how long to wait between attempts and how many times you can take the exam.

I did not use an agency - I spoke to some but I had a green card through marriage already so they weren't interested in working with me.

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2 hours ago, Sam2053 said:

Hi @Daniel Timmons were you successful in getting licensed with New York BON yet without having to do those deficit courses? If so, was your university required to breakdown the hours of theoretical and practical like those of CGFNS form? My college is reluctant on filling those form :(((

I am still stuck with CGFNS. I intend to practice in Virginia. I called Virginia BON and they are clueless on any college/university offering any of those courses. 

Regards,

Sam

Yes! New York accepted my application without any further education. I have my Bachelor of Nursing from Flinders University in SA and nothing else. 

And also yes! You need those forms sent directly from your University to CGFNS. It wasn't easy and we did a lot of emailing back and forth. I'm sure you could offer to fill it out and have them "approve" it maybe? It is a LOT of work.

I don't know about the Virginia BON but if they allow endorsement without further evidence of education it might be possible to get the NY license and transfer it. I see Virginia is a compact state so you could transfer to another compact state and be a travel nurse in Virginia.. but that gets complicated!

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Specializes in ICU.

I'm interested to know if, once you have your approved license fro NY BON how easy is it to transfer to other states?

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14 minutes ago, oliviajb93 said:

I'm interested to know if, once you have your approved license fro NY BON how easy is it to transfer to other states?

This answer depends on the state, unfortunately every state has its own governing body and different rules that apply. For Texas I sent them evidence of my NZ and Australian RN registrations. My NY registration. And Proof of my residency in Texas. It took two weeks, some amount of money and it was transferred over and I am now working in a hospital in Austin Texas!

Other states like California and Hawaii will want to independently verify your education as well as your endorsement from another state like New York so you may need to complete the further study. If you are able to Register in California you will be able to work anywhere as they are the most strict to my knowledge.

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