Further Study in the US

Hi

I am an Australian nurse finishing my graduate year in a major metro hospital in Melbourne.

I am working currently on a multi disciplinary surgical ward. I am planning on making a move into ICU next year , doing some postgraduate study there and then a further transition to Emergency and some postgraduate.

My questions relate to potentially moving to the US, My wife works for a major consulting firm and she can be transferred to the US for a few years. If this plays out I would like to have a plan about making a further transition up the clinical ladder.

My problem is I don't know how the system works in the US.

Nurse practitioner would be an obvious goal, can anyone tell me what the scope of practice would be in an emergency department?

I've been reading that they are more sought after in primary care, what are the other areas where they are expected to be sought after.

What are the hurdles to getting into a nurse practitioner course?...would I need to transfer my qualification and do the NCLEX ? or if I was to apply with pre existing postgraduate qualifications would that be sufficient?

As you can see above I have quite a few plans but seen as this is my career change I think it only makes sense to not waste time hence all the aforementioned steps and further studying.

If anyone could offer some help or direct me to someone I could correspond with directly it would be most appreciated. I have been looking at NYU and Columbia in New York as that would be where my wife would be based.

Thanks in Advance

Conor