Make up courses for US registration

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I am currently working as a registered nurse in Brisbane Australia. I want to go to the states to work but before I can even apply I need to make up hours is a couple of areas. I need 40 hours theory and 80 hours practical in an undergraduate course, from a registered nursing school in both paediatrics and obstetrics. I am having absolutely no luck finding courses, except courses where I have to find my own practical placement, this is very hard to do. If anyone knows of any courses that might be suitable, within Australia, please, please, please let me know. Thanks.

Well good news, Deakin University offer makeup courses in both paeds and maternity, $600 a module, with you needing to do two modules for each area. They make these running three semesters per year. They do cover your indemnity insurance, but you must find your own placement. So hope this helps anyone in the same position as me, :).

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Well good news, Deakin University offer makeup courses in both paeds and maternity, $600 a module, with you needing to do two modules for each area. They make these running three semesters per year. They do cover your indemnity insurance, but you must find your own placement. So hope this helps anyone in the same position as me, :).

Hmm, sounds good. Can you give some links or code info to the particular units? Did you speak to someone from the univerisity about this? Is this off-campus study?? I know, I know too many questions!

I'm looking at the Deakin website now but I could be here all night at this rate! And I'm yet to find specific info from the US about the exact hours of theory and clinicals required (everything I look at, whether BON or CGFNS, says `an approved number of hours, in an approved undergrad course'...not very precise. Maybe I am just blanking it out in my frustration?? lol)

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Well I was given a phone number by a recruitment agency and I don't think it would be appropriate to give that out here, but if you did a general enquiry email to the school of nursing that should get some results. One warning, it is apparently not accepted in California, so if this is where you hoped to go this wouldn't be enough.

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Finding your own placement for clinicals does not meet the requirements fro US licensure. The clinicals must be through an approved school of nursing with an actual nursing instructor. Your easiest way to get this done is to actually do it in the US as a guest student at a nursing school.

:balloons:

Also, besides maternal and pediatrics, you also need mental health........ :)

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Well if thats the case I do not think there are any courses here that will cover that because every course I have come across you have to find your own prac placement. I don't know why the company would put nurses on to courses that wouldn't end up letting them work in the states, very strange. As for attending a school in the USA, it just isn't a feasible option for most people, at least not the people I know.

I know you need mental health, but it is standard in Australia that you have a compulsory mental health placement, which is why I didn't bother to mention it at all.

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Actual clinical hours have to be under the nursing instructor from that university, not just any nurse at a hospital. The hours actually have to be recorded on your transcripts. That is why self-placement for this is not usually accepted.

Just because an agency tels you to do something, doesn't mean that it is automatically accepted in the US. Remember that most employees of agencies are not nurses. Example, California doesn't accept it and they accept almost everything else.

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Since you have specialist programs down there, like they have in the UK, did you try actually contacting any of the programs to see if they would allow what we call in the US a guest student to complete the requirements that you need? Many schools have a slot or two that has opened up because someone got ill and had to drop, or actually flunked out.......

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Since you have specialist programs down there, like they have in the UK, did you try actually contacting any of the programs to see if they would allow what we call in the US a guest student to complete the requirements that you need? Many schools have a slot or two that has opened up because someone got ill and had to drop, or actually flunked out.......

They're not really specialist programs here like they have in the UK....all nursing degrees lead to to the same thing here (for basic pre-registration degrees). We all come out at the end qualified as RN's and able to work in any area, except midwifery which requires an additional years training. It's just some (or a lot!) of programs don't cover paediatrics or maternal health, or if they do, don't offer specific clinical placements associated with those areas.

I've done the mental health I need (I just completed 120 hours of clinical placement in that this semester). I guess I will just have to keep looking around for universities with what I need, but frankly it won't be possible to do it unless it's via distance education, and I haven't found anything yet. It can be difficult here to just jump into another university mid-year (though I'm sure it's possible at some places). It's a shame about that Deakin Uni course, but it certainly seemed odd that the classes are claimed to be acceptable everywhere but California :uhoh21:

Oh well, I'll keep looking but this is starting to get very tiring. I understand and appreciate that the US has it's standards and thats that, but it sure is creating headaches down here! If I won the lottery I guess I could go study in America...but if I won the lottery you can bet I wouldn't be looking to work either! :D

I just want to say thanks Susanne for always so patiently answering questions (from everyone) and listening to the griping (mostly me lol). I would have lost my cool long ago always reading the same things being asked over and over!

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They're not really specialist programs here like they have in the UK....all nursing degrees lead to to the same thing here (for basic pre-registration degrees). We all come out at the end qualified as RN's and able to work in any area, except midwifery which requires an additional years training. It's just some (or a lot!) of programs don't cover paediatrics or maternal health, or if they do, don't offer specific clinical placements associated with those areas.

I've done the mental health I need (I just completed 120 hours of clinical placement in that this semester). I guess I will just have to keep looking around for universities with what I need, but frankly it won't be possible to do it unless it's via distance education, and I haven't found anything yet. It can be difficult here to just jump into another university mid-year (though I'm sure it's possible at some places). It's a shame about that Deakin Uni course, but it certainly seemed odd that the classes are claimed to be acceptable everywhere but California :uhoh21:

Oh well, I'll keep looking but this is starting to get very tiring. I understand and appreciate that the US has it's standards and thats that, but it sure is creating headaches down here! If I won the lottery I guess I could go study in America...but if I won the lottery you can bet I wouldn't be looking to work either! :D

I just want to say thanks Susanne for always so patiently answering questions (from everyone) and listening to the griping (mostly me lol). I would have lost my cool long ago always reading the same things being asked over and over!

You could those hours done in one semester in the US, about four months only. After you have finished your program where you are.......

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You could those hours done in one semester in the US, about four months only. After you have finished your program where you are.......

Yes I could. And it's always an option, but it would be at least 18 months from now before I could afford it (and thats being optimistic!). I'd rather find a faster (and much less expensive) alternative here at home. Airfares, tuition fees, living expenses, books etc.....ack, I'm a fulltime student, I have about $50 to my name lol.

Although it would be extremely cool to study in the US even if only so I could say I have been to `college' instead of university (I know it's the same thing, but college just sounds so American :D ) Maybe I need to go sweet-talk my folks - hey ma and pa - got a spare $5000 - 10,000 to give me?? It'd almost be worth asking just to see the looks on their faces :chuckle

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just to divert from your original topic of discussion, if you sign up with an agency, don't do it with OGrady-Peyton- just a friendly advice who works for them.

You might want to consider going through an agency instead of doing all the work yourself. Peyton O'Grady (I think thats the correct spelling) were really helpful for me - they put me in contact with a University in Victoria which offered correspondence courses (you organise your own clinical and they will credit it to the course as well). I can't recall which Uni it was as I was quite slack and never followed through with my enquiries, but I do know that there are places with courses specifically for this purpose...

Hope that helps...

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Really? Are you able to elaborate a bit more (if not in public, then PM)? I've been tossing up between doing the whole lot through an agency or applying directly to hospitals for sponsorship, and any info would be greatly appreciated!!!

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