Nursing in Germany

JennieBSN · Apr 7, 2001

I'm not from Germany, never been there, either...BUT...I know some gals who've moved overseas. Instead of trying a crash course in the native language so they could be fluent in like 2 weeks (YEAH, RIGHT), they went to work on a US military base. That way, they could work amongst folks who spoke English, were mostly Americans, but could still have TIME to learn the native language and culture.

On a side note, try children's books and tapes (you could probably get your hands on some at Amazon.com) for learning German. Really basic stuff, taught by using songs a lot, and good for beginners. I know it sounds dorky, but for those of us who only know how to say 'thank you' and 'you're welcome' in German, those kid's programs are a real Godsend. Have fun overseas, and good luck!

theboss · Apr 7, 2001

my husbands family is from germany, he was the first born here. ive never been there (yet) and i dont know about nursing there but what i do know is that they are a strong , interesting, loving ,friendly people, among some other things..hahaha there culture is fasinating and the language isnt that hard to learn. to write it is another story not me noway..i would love to be going there, maybe someday. well good luck and have fun!!! maybe after you get there you can let us know what nursing is like there.

eventsnyc · Apr 8, 2001

I was living in Germany for a while. Most eduated Germans speak English. They told me that for them English is very easy, even easier then their own language!

I took German both in College (here) and in Goethic Institute (in Paris), but have forgotton most of it already, since most of my German friends speak English so well, I seldom get to use it.

To learn German fast, I think taking intensive beginner's classes at Goethic Institute is very good. Check if they have audio/visual classes. Yes, we sang songs in the classes too But my German was a little bit better then my singing.

seattlepeach · Apr 8, 2001

I lived in Germany for 3 years from 1987-1990. I was previously married to a man in the Army and he was transferred there. I was not a nurse at that time, though.

Unless things have changed much, it was very difficult to work on the German economy as an American military spouse. Work was pretty much restricted to American facilities. There were tons of medical clinics and a few large American hospitals over there on the military posts. Usually you can be licensed in any state to work in military hospitals. I don't believe ADN will be a problem, overseas at least.

I loved living in Germany and was communicating in German quite well before I left. The secret is to get out there and mingle in the German towns, stores, restaurants, etc, and not be afraid to try to speak. Germans are very understanding of anyone who even tries to speak their language. I bought a good German-English dictionary, and a few self-teaching books such as "German in 10 minutes a day", and just practiced every day. I tried to learn as many nouns as possible, so I could at least "point" at things! ha ha. The rest just came with practice, and taking the dictionary with me everywhere I went. You'd be surprised how fast you pick up bits of language when you mingle with German people a lot.

Good luck. Hope you have fun. Let me know how it goes. If you have any questions about what I know about living in Germany, feel free to email me.

Jen_RN · Apr 8, 2001

Thank you so much for helping me. You have made a scary situation seem not so bad.

Thanks again!