shot_z

I know I've been been a remember for a long time and was on the verge of submitting my CVS application years ago but things came up, hubby abandoned me and my daughter so my savings intended for my licensing fees and classes went into surviving and paying bills. Now that I was able to accumulate some savings due to promotions and tax returns I am looking into finally going back into nursing, my true calling and passion! I know I will have to take refresher courses to be able to practice and be hired and I remember back then a couple of ppl told me I wouldn't qualify for RN bc I don't have a degree bc of the nature of Registered Nurse training in Germany but my initial question for now is (and I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner): Can I register as an LPN or LVN in NYS for a better chance of qualifying for licensure and employment and then down the road take an LPN to RN course? If so would it be the same process CVS + NYSBON + TOEFL + CPR/BLS and Abuse recognition course? Thank you so much in advance for your replies and advice

I do not require immigration I am a permanent resident with green card and full work permit since 2002 on spousal visa and parent of a us citizen which is why I left the entire topic of immigration out of my post. I am only concerned my diploma degree from a hospital affiliated vocational nursing school may not qualify me for a NYS RN license but might be sufficient for an LPN or LVN.

I'm from Germany, not far from Kaiserslautern and my best advice would be to look at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, one of the most renowned medical facilities in Europe and the entire military and is less than 30minutes from Kaiserslautern(also known as K-town). You might also want to try http://www.militaryonesource.mil/seco?content_id=267489 to research any and all spousal employment opportunities and possibilities b/c other than the previously mentioned medical center, every larger military post has at least a sort of group medical practice w/ primary care physicians and specialists. Plus it has a lot of additional info from where to shop, where to live, volunteering and educational possibilities. I hope this helps and good luck to both of you!

I know it's been a while but I got a little sidetracked... Honestly I wouldn't mind rather doing CES than CVS if it's faster and it appears to be less expensive as well! But I don't have any transcripts, all I have is my annual report cards, my exam results and diploma. I don't even know what those transcripts would be, I mean theoretically I know they are a breakdown of subjects and hours of what I was taught but never heard of anything like that back home, not until I started looking into getting my US RN license and I don't even know what they would be called in German...

it's funny you mention the surgeon part - my last position was as an or nurse wher i started out assisting anaesthesiology and then the surgeon - until i got pregnant and wasn't allowed in the or anymore... thank you for your advice, susanne

I'm not sure where to put this posting, New York, International,...... Bottom line: I'm German, have a 3-year degree in office management and a 3-year degree in nursing, came to NY in 2002 to be w/ my husband whom I met while he was stationed in Germany, stayed home to raise my daughter who's now in school all day so I'm ready to go back to work. BUT I don't have my RN license and can't afford the licensing process so I can't get my license w/out a job and can't get a job until I get my license! So I thought I'd start working on a resume and just go to hospitals and nursing homes and post it on websites to see if they have anything for me. But I have no idea what an American resume is supposed to look like!! And trying to find out online didn't do me a lot of good b/c I found so many different versions it just confused me.... CVS, Chronological, .... what are they? Basically my questions are: Can I possibly hope to find any kind of work in health care without my RN license? Can anyone check my resume or tell me where I can get it checked to find out if it is half way acceptable, if I'm on the right track or completely off? I wasn't sure if I should post it online since it has a lot of personal info, but I could always email it. Thank you for your time and for reading this far, I know I can get a bit wordy sometimes.... Susanne

thank you april, I'll try to find it, can you tell me how to get to this wizard? isit the office assistant? the only wizards I found are for mail and letters....

Hi everyone, my name is Susanne and I am a german nurse living in NY. I have read so many post about getting an RN license in NY and now I'm even more confused. I know for sure I need CGFNS CVS, English Test TOEFL and pass NCLEX Exam, right? But what do I apply for first? I'm not even sure if my Degree is the equivalent to RN anymore, I was trained in Germany and we only have one Nurse Title and that is a 3 year program. Good thing I don't have to worry about the Visa Screen as I am already a Permanent Resident. Another thing is I have been "out of the element" for 4 years to raise my daughter and I know I'm "rusty" not to mention american medical terminology, can anyone recommend books or anything I can use to catch up on and/or broaden my skills and knowledge, possibly something I can find in the library? My english is fluent but when it comes to practice tests I find that the questions I do understand I mostly get right but there's a lot of words I just don't know and therefore can't understand the question. I'd also need recommendations on how to study. This may sound funny but I never learned how to really study, up to 6th grade everything I heard just got "absorbed" and I knew it. I changed schools on my teachers recommendation - we (Germany) have a different school system and the new school was far ahead of the previous school, so there was a huge gap in my education I was never able to fill - and from there on I went downhill. Somehow I managed to get a degree in office management and at the age of 27 my nursing degree doing what I knew best, reading things over and over again and whatever stuck is what I knew, so basically memorizing as much as possible. I should also add I was diagnosed with Adult ADD not to long ago here in the US and got both degrees undiagnosed and untreated so I'm sure if I can find the right resources and learn what I need to know I can do even better this time. My most short term goal is going back to work, but I don't know what I could do without my nursing license that will put me close or in a Healthcare related position. I need a job with the highest salary possible so I can provide childcare for my 4 year old daughter as I don't have any Family here so I won't have access to free childcare and if I work only to pay for daycare it really won't get me anywhere because I won't be able to finance the nursing license. Sorry my post got so long but I'm starting to get desparate, I've been trying to save up money for fees for the last 3 years and so far I haven't been able to. We live paycheck to paycheck and it seems to get worse than better, my husband now has to work overtime just so we can pay rent and I'm not getting any younger either. Susanne

OK, when you say "apply to NY for licensure, can you give me a specific, a link or address or name? Do I contact the Board of Nursing directly? How long do you think I will have from the time I apply with CGFNS until I have to sit for NCLEX? Thank you for the recommendation, I already checked my library's website and they have it available. I shouldn't have any problems finding a job once I'm licensed, what I need right now is a job to finance the licensing procedure. $275 might notsound much to a working nurse, but for me it is pretty much impossible to come up with, at least it has been for the last 4 years. I had considered HHA, but it requires a 2 week class during which I'd need childcare for my daughter that I can not afford. I haven't been able to buy groceries or fuel for more than a week and have to wait a couple more days until payday so I cannot come up with any extra expenses without ending up not being able to pay the rent. And because I haven't been working for so long I was hoping to find something in the healthcare department so I could at least be in the field, even if not as a nurse. Unfortunately I don't know of the Job Titles that might be possible for me without my license. There must be something I can do like bathing or feeding patients or just taking them to or from treatments and therapy. Susanne