need answers..

suzanne4, RN · Jan 31, 2009

I moved your thread to the International Forum since you need to apply first for licensure as an RN to the state of CA. I will assume that you already have a visa to work in the US or are in the process of getting one.

You will need to apply for licensure first of all. There is no way just to register for the exam, it requires that you have permission to test. Be aware that it is normally about four to six months to get approval to sit for the exam when you have completed your training out of the US.

Since you will have a visa thru your husband, you do not need to write the English exams or get the Visa Screen Certificate at this time.

Not sure which part of CA that you are going to be living in, but you need to be aware that it is going to be quite difficult for you to get hired by a hospital at this time, or when you actually have your license in hand. Being out of school for two years and no work experience is going to decrease your chances as a start. Next issue is that many of the hospitals here have hiring freezes in place or are actually having lay-offs; this means that they are not going to be able to hire now. As well as the fact that many locales here are flooded with new grads that trained in the US and are unable to get hired. Many of the hospitals in the area have what are called New Grad programs or orientation and these start only two to three times per year and usually take less than 20 in the group, but they get more than 250 applicants or so.

I would recommend that you check out the CA forum to get an idea of what is actually happening here at the moment. Recession that is quite bad and one step ahead of a depression. And CA is high on the list of unemployed residents, about 10% at present and including nurses.