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I'm preparing to go to grad school for fall 2007, going to study Gerontology Nurse Practitioner. As of now, I'm accepted in to UPenn, UMich Ann Arbor and Umass, and I'm having a HARD time in making a decision. I've lived in Boston for the past 2 years and liked it there, I am MA resident, which means if I go to UMass, tuition would be cheap,but I'm not obligated to return to MA. However, at the same time, I am nominated for full scholarship at UMich. Upenn isn't giving any sort of financial support but UPenn's GNP program is ranked as #1 by U.S news. How should I decide? Is ranking all that important? A lot of my coworkers from Boston go to UMass and they seem to offer a great program. But considering U.S news ranking, it is Upenn , UMich and then UMass. I think my ultimate goal for grad school is to feel comfortable and equipped in becoming a NP upon graduation and won't have a hard time in finding a NP job. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! Just wondering if anyone know how one can endorse/transfer RN license to NY? I looked on the NY BON website but I don't seem to find a answer. I'm a RN from Massachusetts, worked for over an year there, applied to NYU's grad school recently and the admissions person brought up this question. I am an American citizen but foreign graduate, if this will make a difference. Thanks!

Hey.. sorry if I sound stupid but what paperwork are we required to submit when relocating? I currently have MA RN license and I applied to NYU fall semester, admissions told me that I need to show evidence of holding an active NY RN license before enrolled. I don't have to retake NCLEX in order to do that do I ? I mean, there should be ways to endorse one's license. However, I just went on the NY BON website but I can't find any information regarding this. It'll be great if someone can point me to the right direction. Thanks!

Hi all~ I have a quick question regarding background check. I'm applying to UW Seattle's graduate program and they request a background check from the State you resided within the past three years, in my case, Massachusetts. Any thoughts on how I can obtain that? (Preferably, on-line because I'm currently out of the country) If anyone could tell me the price for that, it'll be awesome! Thanks!

Okay.. I've always wanted to do this but I didn't because I'm really embrassed to announce my GRE scores.However, I really need advices to see what my chances are in getting in a msn program. I'm a foreign grad from a mandarin speaking country. I have a bachelor's degree in nursing and one year of acute medical experience in a teaching hospital in Boston. My GPA is 3.67. TOEFL: 267. GRE: V-330, Q:700. A:4.0. Should I retake my GRE? I'm picking up my books again but it's so painful to go through the process. What are my chances in getting to a MSN program? Especially if I'm going for schools in the top 50? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks a bunch!

Gee Thanks Cindy!! Your reply is extremely helpful! Thank you for you time! I really appreciate it!

Hello all, I grew up in another country where nursing is not as diversed so I have a stupid question but I just need to get it straight. Okay, can someone please tell me what is the difference between home health nursing and public health nursing? As in what do they do and where do they work. And I assume visiting nurses are in the home health nursing catagory right? And how does family nurse practitioner differ from community nurse practitioner? So if I tell you that in the future I would like to work in international settings and probably in less advanced countries, which experience would benifit me the most? I know these are really simple and easy questions. It's just that I usually work in a med/surg setting so I never really get to know about the community field. Thank you all for your endurance. you've all been a great help!

I'm working in BIDMC Boston now. Just beginning my fifth month. I really love it here. Being a RN is exhausting and tough but I LOVE the people I work with at BIDMC. I graduated last year from Taiwan without any working experience. I passed my boards in Feb, started job hunting in May and nailed this job within a month. I strongly recommend going to nursing job fairs. I went to the job fair held by Boston works. I handed in my resumes and then I called some recruiters back and got myself some interviews. Job fair+aggressive+don't give up is the key. Good luck! If I could find a job, I don't see why you would have a problem;)

Hi! For those of you who took GRE and got in a grad school, could you please tell me how high you need to score in order to make it safe and promising? I also like to ask about choosing grad schools. I know each school has different programs and focus. Despite that, how does it differ if you get in a Ivy league school or a school that's not that well known? And how good does one need to be in order to get in one of those well known schools? Thank you!

Thanks Suzanne4~ Guess what? I got my CES report! They recieved all my documents by 4/8, and I got my report on 7/8...took me about 3 months..not too bad.. Okay..the tip was to call them and call them and call them. I'm defintely not a pushy type of person but I'm sad that this seems to be what it takes to get the job done. I've called about 10 times in total. The 9th time I called, I asked if I needed to go there in person and I also asked to speak with their supervisor. That really helped. The man told me to give them another week and he'll help me figure out what went wrong. I asked for his name and gave him two weeks before I called for the tenth time. He did make progress but still, my report isn't issued. Then finally this last time I called, the man apologized for the delay and said that the report would be mailed to me in two days. And he kept his word. It's amazing to see how fast things can be done if they want it to be. It only took MA BON 2~3 days to put my name on the website with a RN license number beside it. So this is my experience with CGFNS. I hope this would be helpful. Thanks for all of you that helped me go through.^^

I called custumer service a couple of times now. I was told that they don't need verification from CA, since MA(where I want to endorse my license to) will do that part. They only verify licensure given in foreign countries. And I did put a written statement along with my applications and explained this situation. I don't know whatelse I can do. I just called them again. Probably the fifth time since April. They told me that there's nothing I can do now, customer service had send out e-mails requesting for my files to be evaluated, now just wait. But I'm starting to loose faith. Would it help if I call them more frequently? I've worked so hard to get this job and I hate to loose it just because of CGFNS.

I requested for CES report in order to transfer my RN license from CA to MA...they got everything by April 8 and my status is ready for review. I called them every one to two weeks and they keep on telling me the same thing, that they're waiting for the license verification from CA which they DO NOT NEED AT ALL!!! (I told them through the phone and through a written statement that I was never licensed in my country and CA is where I got my initial licensure.) It's so frustrating! I just got a job as a RN in a very good medical center in MA, I really hate to lose it because of this reason. Sorry for the complaint. I know there are people out there waiting a lot longer than me but I just love the job so much that I don't want to lose it. Besides, how hard is it to evaluate some transcripts?Especially California BON already evaluated them. Tips anyone?

Yup~ congrats!!!! You totally deserve it! Thank you so much for your willingness to help and your detailed information! So helpful!! You're a life saver~

Thanks suzanne4. I really appreciate your reply. However, I think you might got me mixed up with someone else because I didn't send any info to you. Thank you for your information and kind suggestions. Fortunately, the hospital didn't ask me to sign any contract. I just got another offer at one of the big medical centers in Boston, so I think I'll go for that hospital. Thanks guys~ I find your suggestions to be very helpful!

Hi! I'm a new grad and currently looking for a job. There's a rehab hospital that is very interested in me and might offer me a job. It's a hospital & rehab center, with 158 beds. The unit I'll be working in is a orthropedic/geriatric unit, mostly elderly patients. The average length of their stay is around 15~24 days. The nurse manager says that I'll have a chance to take care of orthropedic patient, post-op patients..and patients that covers medical/surgical and psych (dementia) areas. The nurse manager seems really supportive and states that they offer a 6~12 week new grad oreintation, tailored for each individual. However, this is hospital not among one of the big, well-known medical centers in the area so I'm not really sure if this is a good place to start my nursing career. During my clinical rotations, I really love home health and psych. I like how nurses can be independent and creative, and really help the patient as well as their family. However, I wish to get some training in med-surg as a new grad before I move on to home health or even pursue a Masters. Right now I'm open for anything as long as I can interact with patients and recieve good training.:) So what do you think? I'm open for any suggestions! Thank you so much!

I'm sure you passed. If you can score over 65% on all the kaplan practice tests you should be fine! And cutting off at 75 is a very good sign!! Just be positive and keep logging on the CA BON website once in a while. I waited for over 12 days till I saw my name on the website and know I passed.

Kanya's right. I applied for CA last year too. I e-mailed the CA BON for a fingerprint hard card and recieved it after a week. Then I went to a police department in Taiwan and got my fingerprints done and sent it back to CA BON along with my applications. It worked out fine! They accepted it and soon I was proved eligible to sit for NCLEX. So what you want to do now is probably e-mail CA BON and get a fingerprint hard card. If you have any doubt on where to get your fingerprints done, ask around or just call the BON. Good luck to you!

It won't hurt to do a lot of practice tests. I personally think that kaplan's practice tests are VERY similar to the real NCLEX. When I reviewed for NCLEX, I did kaplan on-line review + Lippioncott's 5000 practice book. I passed the first time with 140 questions. I know some people don't like kaplan, but I really liked it and thought it was very helpful. I didn't do Saunders before but I flipped through the book at the library and it looks very organized and easy to read. Since Suzanne4 highly recommends it, it shoud be a good choice!Good luck!

Thanks guys. :) I'll just try to be patient and have faith in God.

Hey guys, it's me again. I've submitted everything to CGFNS and they e-mailed me stating they recieved all the documents. I went on their website and saw my status is "Ready for review"... Does this mean that I can sit back and relax and hopefully I'll recieve the CES report within 6~8 weeks? Thanks~

Thanks guys! I've sent out resumes and got calls from recruiters. It seems that they don't want to offer me CNA positions as well. They say there's no point in offering me a CNA position while I might be able to work as a RN within weeks. Guess I'll just keep trying different facilities. I learn something new each day! ^^

Hi! I'm a new graduate currently in Massachusetts. I'm trying to find a nursing position. As you all know, MA has tons of good medical centers, however, I hold a current CA license and my MA license is still pending,which means if I want to work as a RN, I can only work in VA hospitals who accepts out of state licensure. Are VA hospitals good for a start? Or should I start working as a nursing assistant in other hospitals while my MA license is pending and then apply for a new grad training program in one of the Medical centers in Boston? Thanks!

Thanks you guys. :) It's good to know that this board never fails me. ^^ Susanne4, thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gone this far! Thanks.

I'm in a process of appling for CES report. I came across a few problems. I was wondering if anyone could help me out. This is what it says on the CGFNS application form: List information for each school attended whether completed or not. Please send a photocopy of your diploma, certificate, or external exam certificate from your secondary school and post-secondary school, including word-for-word English translation of each of these documents. External exam results or school verification of graduation date must be submitted directly to CGFNS/ICHP by the examining agency or school. Please list, in the order you attended them, all non-healthcare educational institutions, beginning with the first year of your secondary school education and ending with the last year of non-healthcare education. Explain any gaps in your educational history. My high school says that they do not have English diplomas.However, they have English transcripts that has the information of date of entry and graduation date. Does anyone know if CGFNS will recieve this kind of transcripts? And if they do accept it, should I mail it directly to CGFNS or should my high school mail it directly to them? Thanks a bunch!

Good for you!! I'm so happy for you!!!