Irish Male Nurse needing your advice and suggestions...please.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 8, 2006

a green card is a permanent resident visa, different from the h1 visa's. my info is from research with cgfns and the state department about foreign trained nurses working in the us that i did for one of my graduate courses recently. visascreen is required by the federal law.
"section 343 of the illegal immigration reform and responsibility act of 1996 requires that certain non-u.s. healthcare professionals successfully complete a screening program prior to receiving an occupational visa, such as the h-1b, h-2b, tn status and permanent (green card) visas.
in 2003, the u.s. citizenship and immigration services (uscis) published final rules required under section 343 of the illegal immigration reform and immigration responsibility act of 1996. under these final rules, internationally-educated healthcare professionals, such as nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, medical technicians, medical laboratory technologists, speech language pathologists, and audiologists who are seeking temporary or permanent occupational visas as well as those who are seeking trade nafta (tn) status, are required to first obtain a cgfns/ichp visascreen™ certificate as part of the visa process"
the intent for immigration was not stated, but the temporary visa requirements are clear, and in adition, the requirement to pass the nclex is there. there may also be requirements for the ces or the certification exam or both depending on state. and yes, health professionals are fast tracked per se, but it is still a time consuming process. the nclex is offered internationally, sites and information are available from the national council of state boards of nursing at www.ncsbn.org. i do not know about fees for international tests.

all you are saying here is visa screen is requirement for immigration what we are saying is a rn can only go for a green card for moving to the us, they can't go for h1b. greencard offers better protection for the nurse and ensures that they are paid the same as a us nurse. slave labour comes to mind in what used to happen when nurses got the h1b.

dawg07 · Sep 8, 2006

The question asked was "where do I begin?"

"My problem: Want to work in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dont know where to begin, regarding all thats required, i.e. visa, NCLEX, CGFNS etc, so I decided to contact an agency....OGP.

I'm heading to their presentation day tomorrow. I have read some rather discouraging posts about OGP (which I'm grateful for)..now I'm all a confused.

I'm scared! Would love to be able to try and organise it all myself, but where do you start! My partner is a teacher and would be looking for a visa and work also."

It is noble to be concerned about unfair wages, but it is not just foreign trained nurses that face that issue, wages vary by region in the US and new and midwestern nurses bear the brunt of lower wages. My intent was to provide accurate timely information that answered the original question, something that appeared to have been missed.

For the partner, USD 259 in Wichita KS just brought in 23 foreign trained teachers at their expense to meet that shortage. If Irish Male Nurse wold consider he the midwest, he might find ready opportunity for both. Cost of living is lower, but wages are lower also. Also, each state has a wage and labor board to deal with unfair labor practices.

Regardless, I hope that accurate timely information will provide an opportunity for the original poster to explore and prepare himself for the challenges of coming to the US.

Another question for the Irish male nurse is, what is our training? If a BSN, there is a good chance that your qualifications will allow you to meet requirements for the NCLEX, if you are from a diploma program, then there is a good chance that you may have to take some "completion courses" in order to meet educational requirements. The CES and the state board of nursing will determine that.

It sounds as if you got burned in the earlier period, I apologized for any unscrupulous business people that took advantage of you or your friends. It is a shame you or they did not know about the state wage and labor boards that protect workers regardless of where they come from.

postop · Sep 9, 2006

The question asked was "where do I begin?"
"My problem: Want to work in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dont know where to begin, regarding all thats required, i.e. visa, NCLEX, CGFNS etc, so I decided to contact an agency....OGP.
I'm heading to their presentation day tomorrow. I have read some rather discouraging posts about OGP (which I'm grateful for)..now I'm all a confused.
I'm scared! Would love to be able to try and organise it all myself, but where do you start! My partner is a teacher and would be looking for a visa and work also."
It is noble to be concerned about unfair wages, but it is not just foreign trained nurses that face that issue, wages vary by region in the US and new and midwestern nurses bear the brunt of lower wages. My intent was to provide accurate timely information that answered the original question, something that appeared to have been missed.
For the partner, USD 259 in Wichita KS just brought in 23 foreign trained teachers at their expense to meet that shortage. If Irish Male Nurse wold consider he the midwest, he might find ready opportunity for both. Cost of living is lower, but wages are lower also. Also, each state has a wage and labor board to deal with unfair labor practices.
Regardless, I hope that accurate timely information will provide an opportunity for the original poster to explore and prepare himself for the challenges of coming to the US.
Another question for the Irish male nurse is, what is our training? If a BSN, there is a good chance that your qualifications will allow you to meet requirements for the NCLEX, if you are from a diploma program, then there is a good chance that you may have to take some "completion courses" in order to meet educational requirements. The CES and the state board of nursing will determine that.
It sounds as if you got burned in the earlier period, I apologized for any unscrupulous business people that took advantage of you or your friends. It is a shame you or they did not know about the state wage and labor boards that protect workers regardless of where they come from.

Hmmm..right. I achieved a degree BSc here, first class honours degree - in general adult nursing. Although, we only covered Labor / Delivery and Pedatrics theory (no clinnical practice). Was at OGP presentation yesterday. Was alright I suppose, did feel however it was all too good to be true. Told the guy I was working in postop, his reply, "Get out of it"....said that postop was a dirty word in the US and no employer would touch me! Would have to go to ICU, CCU that kinda thing. Oh, he said that going it 'alone' to organise things was ok but it would cost $10,000 for green card and only 44% pass the NCLEX!! Where as, OGP dont charge a penny for your green card and there is a 90% pass rate on NCLEX with them!

He then showed a video of where you 'could' be living, BIG houses, swimming pools, BIG cars..luxury luxury......this put me off! All was about how much money you could have, the massive benefits etc etc....it kinda put me off a bit. Nothing about job prospects, career development....There were a lot of Indian nurses there and he stressed to them if they did not have a drivers licence you would not be considered for the programme!! Said that no nurse in the US took a bus to work! Said the employer would not give you a job if you could not drive and had no car! You think the patient minds how you got to work, so long as you are caring for them safely!! God, I just dont know....I'm gonna investigate doing this whole thing myself. Just concerned that it might be a waste of time, if my partner has little chance of work.

Thanks for your replies by the way guys....appreciate them all.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Sep 9, 2006

Hmmm..right. I achieved a degree BSc here, first class honours degree - in general adult nursing. Although, we only covered Labor / Delivery and Pedatrics theory (no clinnical practice). Was at OGP presentation yesterday. Was alright I suppose, did feel however it was all too good to be true. Told the guy I was working in postop, his reply, "Get out of it"....said that postop was a dirty word in the US and no employer would touch me! Would have to go to ICU, CCU that kinda thing. Oh, he said that going it 'alone' to organise things was ok but it would cost $10,000 for green card and only 44% pass the NCLEX!! Where as, OGP dont charge a penny for your green card and there is a 90% pass rate on NCLEX with them!
He then showed a video of where you 'could' be living, BIG houses, swimming pools, BIG cars..luxury luxury......this put me off! All was about how much money you could have, the massive benefits etc etc....it kinda put me off a bit. Nothing about job prospects, career development....There were a lot of Indian nurses there and he stressed to them if they did not have a drivers licence you would not be considered for the programme!! Said that no nurse in the US took a bus to work! Said the employer would not give you a job if you could not drive and had no car! You think the patient minds how you got to work, so long as you are caring for them safely!! God, I just dont know....I'm gonna investigate doing this whole thing myself. Just concerned that it might be a waste of time, if my partner has little chance of work.
Thanks for your replies by the way guys....appreciate them all.

What a load of ******** I am doing it without a agency and rest assured it hasn't cost me that much. I would say less than £2,000. Also they won't do it for free, there is a cost from the agency if you don't fulfil your contract, there is also something similar if you go direct hire but not as much as agency, also I get a bonus sign on and expenses towards NCLEX which you don't get with OGP. Also I would say the same about not having a driving license... Yes they do drive a lot but don't think the employer is going to say sorry won't employ you if you can't drive. Did they warn the nurses about retrogression as that may have an impact on certain countries and how long it takes to get out there, as it goes on birth country not where you live. Hopefully it will get sorted but will have an impact over the next few months until then

Good luck on what you do and where you go, pm me if I can help anymore

RGN1 · Sep 9, 2006

if you want to go the agency route look at Adevia & other agencies to compare them OGP.

It won't cost you $10,000 to go it alone. It will cost but I don't think it's as much as that. Plus there are some Florida Hospitals that direct hire so check out your local area hospitals first. Call & ask them, the worst they can say is no, then at least you will know if you need to use an agency or not.

Ask another agency about your speciality too before you take OGP's word for it that your area is not good. It might just be that they haven't those type of placements - others might. Also OGP's track record in placing in the State they say they will is not so good & you won't find out until you're tied to them. At least with Adevia your contract will have clearly the State & in some of their employers they will actually state the city.

I am not employed by Adevia but have been well treated by them so far. There are probably other agencies that also offer this so you will need to check that out yourself - or wait to see if others post names here.

However, 1st thing 1st - check if your training had enough hours & then see if you can find a direct hire in your area.

postop · Sep 9, 2006

if you want to go the agency route look at Adevia & other agencies to compare them OGP.
It won't cost you $10,000 to go it alone. It will cost but I don't think it's as much as that. Plus there are some Florida Hospitals that direct hire so check out your local area hospitals first. Call & ask them, the worst they can say is no, then at least you will know if you need to use an agency or not.
Ask another agency about your speciality too before you take OGP's word for it that your area is not good. It might just be that they haven't those type of placements - others might. Also OGP's track record in placing in the State they say they will is not so good & you won't find out until you're tied to them. At least with Adevia your contract will have clearly the State & in some of their employers they will actually state the city.
I am not employed by Adevia but have been well treated by them so far. There are probably other agencies that also offer this so you will need to check that out yourself - or wait to see if others post names here.
However, 1st thing 1st - check if your training had enough hours & then see if you can find a direct hire in your area.

Thank you all very much! You see, I've only just finised my training (mature student)! I'm taking up my first post in postop on the 18th. But I want to start the ball rolling now to live/work in US. I'm kinda looking to 2009 as a possible 'go' year. By that time I will have built up experience and I also want to look at the possibility of taking a career break from my permanent post at that time, my partner also. Do you guys know anything about the green card lotto? Gonna have a look at it also.

Thanks again for your replies.

letina · Sep 10, 2006

Told the guy I was working in postop, his reply, "Get out of it"....said that postop was a dirty word in the US and no employer would touch me! Would have to go to ICU, CCU that kinda thing.

They (OGP) said the same thing to me. I was working as a Community Nurse at the time and they said no employer would touch me, so I decided to go it alone and here I am, working as an RN in Florida, in the hospital of my choice and on my own terms. Really....something should be done about the lies these people tell, it infuriates me :angryfire

postop · Sep 10, 2006

They (OGP) said the same thing to me. I was working as a Community Nurse at the time and they said no employer would touch me, so I decided to go it alone and here I am, working as an RN in Florida, in the hospital of my choice and on my own terms. Really....something should be done about the lies these people tell, it infuriates me :angryfire

These replies make me more and more determined to do this without an agency! Where in Florida are you working Letina?! Any jobs in postop recovery!?