New graduate US RN looking to move to Australia

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I have been reading some of the posts on this question from others of similar plan, but most of them seem outdated so I thought I'd try and start a new post and hope to get some direction.

I am a recent graduate from an RN program in California, with an ADN. I am currently waiting to take the NCLEX exam, but I am looking to move to Australia permanently and as soon as possible. Has anyone gone through a similar situation and process? I have acquired an application from the Australian board of nursing and plan to begin the process as soon as I pass the nclex and get licensed in California , but my specific questions are: will my ADN degree be accepted and considered equivalent to Australian BSN? Or will they tell me to take a bridge program or additional courses? What visa should I apply for if i am looking for permanent residency and ability to work in Australia, and should I apply for the visa right away or wait for the Australian board to evaluate my license and education? Has anyone used an agency or an immigration lawyer to help with this process? Any direction from someone that has gone through this would be greatly appreciated!!

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Specializes in Telemetry, Emergency, Cardiology, Respiratory.

Hi Brookeee,

The best course of action would be to go through with your application with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Board (AHPRA). They can tell you if your education is comparable to that of Australian nursing degrees. Does your ADN lead to you being given the title Registered Nurse?

There might be some differences in curriculum and you may need to do either a bridging course (3 months) or do your bachelor's degree in Australia (some foreign nurses do a 1 year program to obtain their Bachelor of Nursing degree). Australia doesn't have licensure or state exams so you don't have to worry about that.

The important thing to understand is all applications are treated individually and only the Board can tell you if you're eligible for registration or not.

You should wait until your registration is sorted out before applying for a visa. Skilled migration visas usually require you to be licensed/registered in the occupation for with which you are applying the visa under.

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Thank you very much for your feedback. Yes, our ADN degree gives us the ability to take the state licensing exam and once you pass you are given a title of an RN...but you are right, I need to see what the Australian board of nursing says first about my education and if I will need to take any courses in Australia in addition. Do you by any chance personally know of anyone from US that has gone through this transition or maybe heard about a coworker? I was able to research the basic information and steps how to go about this, but would love to hear feedback or any additional tips from anyone that maybe has gone through this already...you never know what could be missed or learned :)

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Specializes in Telemetry, Emergency, Cardiology, Respiratory.

I only ever worked with one American nurse but she did an exchange program in Australia so she got her RN license.

There is a US RN who is active on allnurses.com.

The username is US RN in Oz. Try sending them a PM.

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Vyecheverria,

I actually was trying to send a pm to one of the nurses from an old similar post, who looks like she may have done a similar move...but I could not see an option where I could do a pm...is there a specific area I need to look within on this site or do I have to upgrade a membership or something like that? I know this is off topic now, and I really appreciate all of your feedback!! í ½í¸Š

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Specializes in Telemetry, Emergency, Cardiology, Respiratory.

You have to add their first as a contact/friend first I think.

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Oh ok, I will look into it then. Thank you so much again for all of your suggestions and tips, all a huge help!!!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Vyecheverria,

I actually was trying to send a pm to one of the nurses from an old similar post, who looks like she may have done a similar move...but I could not see an option where I could do a pm...is there a specific area I need to look within on this site or do I have to upgrade a membership or something like that? I know this is off topic now, and I really appreciate all of your feedback!! ������

You need 15 or more posts to send pms

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