Moving from Australia to America as a Nurse

Trauma Columnist · Oct 16, 2019

Moved to Nurse Registration

GARY SONI · Jan 16, 2020

Hi Your GF is right. Its hard aus nurses have to study again and no uni offer courses which will be acceptable in US. Transfer process is very lengthy and time consuming. You will end in frustration for sure. I have experienced all this like many others .

vince_reads, BSN, LVN, RN · Jan 18, 2020

Hello there Sir. What State are you from? I totally understand her concern. I'm a nurse from the Philippines and I was temporarily denied by California to take NCLEX due to concurrency issues with 2 courses from my degree. I was able to find a school that offers the 2 courses. That school offers required courses to take by the Board of Registered Nursing here in California to all IENs (internationally educated nurses). When I became a student there, my classmates are not only Filipinos. Some are Chinese, Armenians, and even Australians, and so on. We had a free NCLEX review after finishing the courses, and we met 2 Australians who happened to have Master's degree from Australia, but they were still required by the Board to take a Pediatric course. Your girlfriend needs to start applying first to the Board of Nursing (if you're in California, I'm willing to inform you of the school because I believe in the saying "spread the wealth"). It's Dominican University of California in San Rafael. It's a private Catholic university. Very beautiful university. And they accept IEN applicants all year round. Meaning, they have classes every semester (spring, summer, fall).

GARY SONI · Jan 19, 2020

What’s name of course you are doing in this university ? I need paediatric psychiatric and obstetric courses with practical hours. Would this uni offer only these three ? And once completed these three course , can you get approved for licence in Arizona state too ? How much is the fee ? How long is the duration ?

vince_reads, BSN, LVN, RN · Jan 19, 2020

I took Med-Surg and OB courses because those 2 were required by the BRN during my application. Yes, they offer those courses you mentioned. I'm not sure if you're able to take these 3 at the same time. Some were able to take 2 at the same time but they were not working. I was working at that time as LVN, so I did 1 course each semester. 1 in summer, and 1 in fall semester. They need to see your letter from the board stating that you're required to take the required courses, because once you're done fulfilling the courses, they will send the transcript to the board. You mentioned that you are in Arizona. I am in California. You might need to ask the board of nursing in Arizona if they're okay for you to take these courses in California if you're able to. After that, ask Dominican University of California (their IEN e-mail is [email protected]) if they're willing to accept you as an IEN in Arizona. Each course is $6,150. But that is incomparable to other schools here that would ask $20K-$25K for 2 courses. There is an application for student loan if you're not able to pay off the tuition right away. I did that because my LVN pay was not enough to cover the costs.

I've heard from some of my classmates before that some IENs who were residing in Texas were travelling every week to study at Dominican University of California (DUC) just to fulfill those courses. Those IENs had active RN licenses in Texas and they were trying to endorse their Texas RN licenses here in California, but they were still required to take courses so they asked the board of nursing in TX if they were able to take these courses outside TX, and the board said okay. They were working RNs in TX who travelled every week to DUC just to fulfill the courses. They must've worked out their schedules with their managers.

So if you're willing to take these courses in California, my suggestion for you is to ask the board of nursing in AZ if you're allowed to take these courses outside AZ. If you are allowed, then you can contact DUC.

bibek · Jan 19, 2020

Hi @vince-reads and All

I'm thrilled by your response and thank you very much for your time and consideration.

So, my Girlfriend did BSc Nursing from Nepal and got a Masters Of Nursing (Professional Studies) degree from Western Sydney University in Australia. I live in Missouri and no plan to move to California just yet. My understanding was my Girlfriend can take NCLEX exam from Australia and once she gets Green Card (as my spouse and I already have Green Card) she can move and start working in the USA. And I don't have any preferences with States (I am okay with any states as of now).

Can you please help me understand the scenario that I am thinking of? Thank you in advance.

-B.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Jan 19, 2020

Your girlfriend will need to contact the specific state BoN, as each has different rules regarding education, etc. Most have their info online, as well as contact info

vince_reads, BSN, LVN, RN · Jan 19, 2020

If you live in Missouri and you guys are staying in Missouri, then that state must be the convenient choice. However, I'm not sure if she's allowed to apply in Missouri without SSN, because most states and territories require SSN. If she wants to apply to states that don't require SSN because she's still in Australia, try Illinois or New Mexico. Most state boards of nursing are requiring CGFNS to process the NCLEX application.

There is a link to all websites of all state boards of nursing including information about NCLEX. Click this: https://www.ncsbn.org/index.htm

Click this link for the Missouri Board of Nursing: https://pr.mo.gov/nursing-licensure-rn.asp

bibek · Jan 19, 2020

Hi @Hoosier_RN @vince_reads

Thank you very much for your kind response.

I will take a look at the details about it and I'm clear about the process and scenario now.

Thank you again.

-B