C'wing

Update: So I've talked to EVERYONE I could get a hold of...My Nurse Manager, Assis. Nurse Manager, Human Resources, Supervisor, Immigration Attorneys...at my hospital and FINALLY, they agree to make an exception to their policy and let me start the paperwork before that 6months probation period! I just heard back from my immigration attorney today and got all the documentations in and paperworks signed TODAY!!! According to my lawyer (here in CA), if we could get everything in before the end of this month and have them at the immigration office by Nov 1, 2006, we should be good and that I could get a work authorization permit to work in 3 months while waiting for the green card to process. She told me due to the upcoming changes, nobody can predict how long it'll take for the green card will come down, but told me to expect at least 1 to 1.5 yrs. Anyway, I'm just ecstatic that at least I can continue working and don't have to fly back home and wait... Good luck with everyone out there~

Hi athenian, I was in a similar position a few months ago. I found a few hospitals here in Northern California. Some hosipitals paid for the petition (but usu. will ask you to sign contract or there's probation period), and some hospitals will only help sign paperworks and ask you to find your own lawyers (which may cost few thousands dollars). I signed up with a large teaching hospital here that helped pay for petition, given that I passed a 6 month probation (obviously, I didn't have enough funding after all those expensive nursing tuition here), but unfortunately, with this retrogression news, I don't know how things will go...=( If I could go back in time, I might have signed with another hospital that would start paperworks right away...and get another loan to pay for the lawyers....... I wish you good luck. My advice is to attend all the open houses and talk with as many HR representatives as you could to learn about whether or not they'd petition before applying to the hospitals. Let us know how things go.

I'm starting to get very nervous hearing about this retrogression news. I was on F-1 visa, have graduated and just started my new job at a well-known teaching hospital this past July 2006 on my OPT visa and quite enjoying it. The hospital I am working at agreeed to petition for green card and pay for all expenses, that is, AFTER a 6 month probation period of evaluation. Technically, there're 3 more months before I can start filing the paperworks for petition. I'm now getting worried of this I-140 and I-485 cut off and the possibility of not being able to work upon my expiration of OPT (in May 2007). I'm a citizen from Hong Kong, will I be affected by the retrogression? Should I start looking for other job that would start the petition right away? I'd really hate to go back to my country at this point after investing so much time and effort and money here:( ...Please help.

Hi SilvieNurse, we're in similar situations --graduation in May, studying for NCLEX, received a few job offers...I guess the one difference is I'm starting work sooner...Coming Monday. So I don't have much experience to share but I really do think a good new grad orientation/training is important, esp. when you want to start in critical/intensive/specialized units right away. Having a good solid training will serve as a great foundation for future. I don't know where you live, but in my area, there are lots of hospital that offer orientation more than once a year (once in June-July and once in Sept)...maybe you want to check other hospitals and see. If you can get into the Fall program (Sept), then you still have some time off...and time for studying. Good Luck!

Update: I finally did get few offers in NICU and one in Special Care Nursery (Step down NICU). I'm still deciding on where to go. Just wanna say thanks for all your kindly support =) Hope everyone's enjoying their work/orientation! Best Wishes!

Guys, I did NOT get the NICU job I interviewed for... : :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: ...I know the chances are slim with so many applicants and few positions, but I thought I would have a good chance with all the extra externships I did...but apparently... :cry: I'm so disappointed, this is the place I wanted to be working at since forever~ I've been looking around different hospitals and even different units...many of the NICU and PEDs units are filled (no nursing shortage in CA???). I wonder if I should consider Med-Surge now...the thought of not having a job upon graduation is scary... =(

Hi Tiny, I went to the Sigma Theta Tau Induction ceremony just last night. It was quite nice. You'll be individually recognized and pinned and receive a nice, purple STT cord that you can wear during graduation =). It really makes you feel like all the hardworks have been paid off. Also, Got to meet with a lot of professors, grad. students and my prof. who are also grad students and are being inducted with me! I've joined some other honor societies (which many I've regretted), but I think STT is worthwhile for someone who is planning to stay in Nursing.

Thank you, Tiny. I will surely keep posted. I was debating whether or not to join Sigma Theta Tau too (quite costy), but I did eventually decided to join. It's quite a nursing honor and Internationally recognized. I guess it offers some great networking opportunities (if you attend those meetings)...but mainly...I joined for having something nice to put on my resume (might help with getting into grad school too)

Just an update: I finally had my first interview at NICU today! Both the Manager and Assistant Nurse Manager were interviewing. They asked lots of questions...Why NICU? What are my strengths? What's my goal for 5 years? What did I find most challenging during my NICU rotation? What was the sickest baby I've cared for? Why did I want to work at their hospital? and a scenerio case question doing with communication with staffs...And then went on to tell me about the scheduling, the orientation training, tour...etc. I Arrived on time (about 30min. early...i was sooo nervous~), firm handshake...had extra copies of my resume, cover letter, evaulation and showed them list of things I had done during my NICU clinical rotations (they were pleased)... took notes...At the end, I asked them a few questions about training, staffing, floating (tips from this site =) I think I did generally well...but I don't know...They told me they have 120+ applicants...and 8-10 openings... so...I'm keeping my fingers crossed now... waiting is painful~

Thanks Liz, I'll surely keep all those tips in mind. I still can't believe this time is finally coming...I've been waited for this time to come so bad, yet when it's finally approaching, I'm feeling a little anxious...there's so much to know...so much more to learn (what did we learn in nursing school?) =p Wish you all new grads the best luck! We've come this far...we can Do it! PS: A great NICU book to share: Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care by Gerald B. Merenstein & Sandra L. Gardner. ISBN#0323014712. The NICU NM where I'm precepting refers it as "The NICU BIBLE"~

I'm having my interview at my DREAM TOP choice NICU facility next week! I've talked to the nurse recruiter at a job fair and realllly hope I could land this job. It's a well respected hospital and offers 12 MONTHS of new grad trainings (2 months training + 10 months residency). So I'm really excited (and nervous). Hope things will go well. I didn't know hospital would pay for Kaplan. Maybe I should ask about it during interview? Do you talk about salary, benifits, sign on bonus etc during interview too? or wait until hired? Any tips?

Thanks for creating such a great informative forum! I have a question in regards to sponsorship fee... I heard the lawyer and application fee etc often costs several thousands ($6,000+) of dollars. Does anyone know if hospitals help pay for a partial cost or offer reimbursement? I'm getting a little nervous as I certainly couldn't afford this much right now... Thank you in advance.

Ok, this is a little embarrassing... :imbar Every time (almost) I came back from clinicals, my bf says my breath has this distinctive "corn smell". Now, I have to say that I take good care of myself and maintain good oral hygiene. And this hasn't been a problem to me at all until I started clinicals... I've tried researching online but found nothing related. Does anyone knows what might be it? Should I be concerned about visiting Dr? Best regards to all here.

I totally love Barcode system as well as BCMA. Personally, i think they're safer and can save nurses a lot of time and med. troubles, except of coz during computer/network breakdown, which we did experience once and had to fall back to paper MARS for a few hrs. :uhoh21:

You totally deserve a nice vacation after all these semesters! Relax and pamper yourself~ :balloons: I'm fresh and green here too (still a student nurse). I've always found it much easier to deal with textbooks and tests than to actually doing hands-on skills. I guess I've been well trained to be a good test-taker. I could pass skills test and perform a perfect procedure with no problem while in school. But once I get to the floor and need to perform the same procedure, I become clumsy (forgetting what supply to get and etc). So I try to shadow nurses around (if they allow) and learn how they do thing. When I think I'm ready with certain skills, I would offer my help and do it for them with their other patients (they truly would appreciate it). Practice makes it perfect, so don't give up. I believe the skills would come around in no time. :)

thank you Suzanne, I appreciate your help to us all a lot! PS: You're permanently back from Thailand? (just curious)

Most nurses (if not all) in Asia still wear caps with white, pink or light blue dresses. Personally, I think caps and dresses are *CuTe*, but they're prob' not for me. I'm way too clumsy...

Yes, I'm F-1 student working on my BSN in US. I'm understanding that this OPT only last for 1 yr, and that during this period, I'll still be on F-1 visa for my stay. So Where does it go from there? Do I try to get the hospital change my visa status during that period? After the OPT period? If I decide to work in another hospital upon finishing my OPT, would there be any problem? Also, will I get paid while on OPT? SORRy for so many questions. I'm still new and This whole immigration thing is just overwhelming. Thanks again for the response.

Thank you jemb and nurse peachie for your replies! I've called the Hospital customer service and they told me to write a letter stating so and so authorize so and so to process her medical records....etc. I was a little confused with what info. exactly to be put down and the legality issue. I guess now I know about the consent form, I should call again and see if I could have them sent one over. Thanks a lot for the help!

My mother-in-law (from another country) came visit us this past summer. During her stay, she developed this SEVERE skin allergic reaction from a medicated patch she put on for muscle pain...so, we immediately took her to a dermatology clinic at a large hospital in our area. Since she's not from here and doesn't have US health insurance, we paid for the total cost out of pocket (which was $$$). After she went back to her country, another part of the hospital bill arrived (I guess they do it here in US?). We took care of the bill (another $$$), and tried to get a copy of her record (total billing statement and medical record of what's been seen) so we could send it to her to file for her Health Insurance company back home. The Problem is: The Hospital wouldn't dispense the billing statement or anything related to us, even when she was registered under our address and phone number (I'm thinking it must has smth to do w/ HIPPA). Is there anything we could do? PS: My mother-in-law cannot speak any English (I was there to make an appt for her, translate during doctor's visit, make calls to hospitals...etc) Please, any advice would be very much appreciated... Thanks a lot in advance.

Thanks for this site. There is a lot of really good info! I'm in the same position as many of you. I'll soon be graduating from the BSN program and am hoping to get a green card thru' hospital sponsorship. Does anyone knows what's the approx. waiting period to get a green card via hospital/agency contract (I'm in CA)? I've always thought the waiting would be about 2 yrs, but lately I've been told it takes up to 4 yrs. Is this true? Wondering if anyone here has the information or has gone thru' similar experience. Thanks in advance~

These things change real FaSt. I was just memorizing "qd", "MSO4"...etc last semester and this semester they are already telling us to change. No more "qd" (but "QDay" or "daily"), microgram has to be "mcg" and not w/ that weird "M" sign. Also, gotta use leading zeroes and NO trailing zeroes. Hmm...by the time I graduate, will prob' need to re-learn the whole thing all over again~

Thanks, Suzanne, for your generous reply. I understand that with a F1 visa, I won't legally be able to work in US. But I've known international students who were offered internships for as long as their jobs are related to their major (not in nursing though). I wonder if hospitals do offer internships like this or not? I didn't feel the education I'm receiving right now is adequate and hope that by seeing and doing more in clinical settings, I'd be better prepared for the job in the future. Is there anyway around this situation? Again, Thank You!

Hi to Everybody, I'm also a foreign nurse (actually, student nurse) in US. I'm wondering if anyone of you have done interns/extern in the hospital during school? I know hospitals generally give student nurses student tech. jobs and CNA jobs, but I'm not sure about international nurses on F1 visa. I really hope can gain some work exp. at the hospital while going to school, not to mention that I also need to money for school and books. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Thank you Thank you for all your responses. Looks like I need to be more careful w/ "gifts" next time.