Fiance from Germany RN to United States

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Backstory: My Fiance is in Germany going to a 3 year RN nursing program that qualifies for the RN NCLEX exam. I however live in Florida but am willing to move anywhere in the united states to make her transition here easier since we're 90% set on living in the states.

Now the immigration shouldn't be a problem since we will be married and I'm a citizen. My worry is transferring her career here in the states. She's only half way done but in germany you can go to college or go to a nursing program to be a RN. She's in the 3 year nursing program which is strictly school to become a RN.

Is there anyway to check ahead of time if she can transfer it over. We are kinda lost and have already contacted the florida state board and they basically say when its all done we can get her schooling looked at. I would like to eliminate any problems now because her dream is nursing but she is not looking to having to redo her education if it could have been avoided ahead of time

Also any extra information or things i need to ask her for please let me know I'll provided them asap. Any help would be greatly appreciated

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I doubt that any BON is going to be willing to give you an advance opinion, without being able to have her final, completed school transcripts formally evaluated. Maybe there is an another German-trained RN here who came to the US and can offer some insight.

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Thanks that's is what I keep hearing but it was worth a try. I'd love to hear from a German RN who transferred to the United states. Guess I'll dig up old post and find some to message. Thanks for the answer

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She is taking chances that she may not end up being qualified to work as RN in the US and would be better off taking her nursing program in the US.

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I agree with dishes. The 3 year programs(diploma) programs, are not accepted now. BSN requires other courses besides straight nursing. You would do well to investigate further before she gets a rude awakening over here! Hopefully you can find a German nurse that took the same type of education and see how she fared. Good luck!

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I agree with dishes. The 3 year programs(diploma) programs, are not accepted now. BSN requires other courses besides straight nursing. You would do well to investigate further before she gets a rude awakening over here! Hopefully you can find a German nurse that took the same type of education and see how she fared. Good luck!

What do you mean by "not accepted"? There are still plenty of US 3-year hospital-based diploma programs and their graduates get licensed every day, in every state in the US. Or are you referring specifically to the OP's fiancée's German diploma program, and you're aware that it's not considered comparable to US nursing education?

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If she is educated in Germany she will have to her education evaluated by an approved agency, if her transcripts and course syllabus are written in German she will have to pay to have them translated. If her nursing coursework is not in English she will need to demonstrate English language competency through a competency exam. If she is deemed eligible to sit the NCLEX, she may not pass because NCLEX pass rates for internationally educated nurses are around 30%, whereas pass rates for US educated nurses are >85%.

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gauntlet, if you look on ncsbn org '2014 nurse licensee volume and NCLEX examination statistics', Jan 1- Dec 31 2014 out of 28 German educated candidates who sat the NCLEX exam 12 passed, (42.9%)

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Ellkpark, I was referring to both. Though the 3 yr diploma schools are excellent, and produce great nurse, where I live in NY state, they would be passed over for a traditional 4 yr bachelors degree, as would the German nurse.

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Ellkpark, I was referring to both. Though the 3 yr diploma schools are excellent, and produce great nurse, where I live in NY state, they would be passed over for a traditional 4 yr bachelors degree, as would the German nurse.

Sure, many employers prefer BSN-prepared nurses. However, the OP was asking about licensure, and it sounded to me like you were saying 3-year diplomas aren't "accepted" for licensure. Thank you for clarifying.

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Hello,

perhaps things have changed the last 10 years but here is what I had to do:

1. I had to send in all my education to the CGFNS (they are online) for a specific review - the kind of review you need depends on the BON in the state you want to apply for initial license. A lot of things had to get translated. In addition the nursing school had to fill out forms for the CGFNS and let me tell you that they are not really in a hurry to do that.

2. I had to perform a language test (TOEFL) and for my state also "test of spoken language" to ensure I actually speak English.

3. The CGFNS is not exactly known to be speedy... constant follow up and monitoring of the process in necessary.

4. Once the CGFNS is done with evaluation of the foreign nursing program they send a letter with the whole information that exactly states what the foreign program is compatible to. The education in Germany, if it includes pediatrics, psych, labor & delivery and so on, can be equivalent to the Diploma Nurse in the US but nobody can tell until it is evaluated.

5. If the CGFNS finds that the education is comparable to any US RN education you apply with the BON of the state that does initial cert to sit for the nursing board.

6. If the application results in permission to sit for the NCLEX she can schedule that.

7. If she passes she will get notified and will be allowed to call herself "RN".

You write that she has still a year or so left in nursing school. There are several things to think about. First of all the nursing in the US is somewhat different from nursing in Germany. It is true that nowadays a lot of employers require or prefer the BSN and going back to school may be difficult - but possible. If she immigrates after the graduation in Germany but before she has a nursing license she could look into working as a nursing assistant while getting everything done. That would help to get first experience and also with English language. In preparation for the NCLEX there are several books available and I recommend preparation that includes several 1000 test questions.

Just look at the forms from the CGFNS to get in idea what kind of paperwork there is.

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I'll definitely be looking at the form for the CGFNS in a few hours once i'm off work. Her english is actually better than mine she's been speaking and writing it for 15 years (she actually corrects me on grammar lol). Well looks like I got a lot of information to look into Thank you all for the help it was way more than i could have ever expected.

Thank you all again.

J.

P.S.

are these the forms for the CGFNS: http://www.cgfns.org/support/forms/

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