Snowleopard

If you are ready to rock and roll after 1 day of orientation, I would suggest to go with nursing agency. Plenty of opportunities right now. The pay is good. You do not have to relocate if hospitals in your area getting travelers onboard right now.

At my facility in Western Mass we are expected to use the same N95 for the entire shift. But now they want us to use one N95 per WEEK. If it gets to that point - I am out.

I know people who did that and I think that's not a bad idea. This way you know if you like the place and they know if they like you. This is a good, low risk option, in my opinion.

If you have your BSN from the U.S. college, did you apply for your OPT? If so, you will get one year of employment authorization, and then one more year once you finish your MSN. The catch her is that you have started you MSN already, and because of that, you are possibly ineligible for post-BSN OPT anymore, because resuming your studies toward a higher degree automatically invalidates your eligibility for OPT. I would suggest to look into WOCN certification, which will make you eligible for H-1B.

candabeth, I think the agency people gave you a really bad advice. First of all, you can't just apply for a green card. You need a sponsoring employer willing to wait for you for at least 5 years. Second, E3 is a non-immigrant visa, and I think it will be problematic to obtain it if you show your immigration intend.

Meriwhen, if you read the document you provided, med-surg ratio may not exceed 1:5, not 1:6.

I absolutely agree with Silverdragon102. Forget about agencies, find a job on E3 visa, and your employer is likely to sponsor you for a Green Card. Some hospitals will pay all the fees, some will ask you to pay. Basically, they have to file form I-140 first. This way you establish your priority date. When I-140 get approved, you probably will have to wait for 4-5 years (working for the same employer) until your priority date gets current (google "Visa Bulletin). Once you are current, you have to file I-485. No need to hire a lawyer for that one. Just read the instructions carefully and provide the documents required. Basically, you can find the filing cost on USCIS website. They charge for i-140 and i-485. Lawyer fees for I-140 are probably around 2K. By the law, your employer has to pay that one. I would recommend not to hire a lawyer for i-485, it's straightforward and there is no need to spend extra 2K. If you have a spouse or dependent children, they have to file I-485 too. P.S. The cost of PR visa to Australia is not any less ridiculous. I spent about 4.5K for the visa alone. Plus licensing fees (AHPRA fees, license verification fees), plus ANMAC fees, plus IELTS fees, plus notary fees, plus fingerprints. Could you share what kind of nursing experience do you have, and why do you want to move to the US from Australia?

As others suggested, you have to call nursing schools and ask. Even better, if you could go there and ask. If you want to get OPT (Optional practical training) and SSN you must switch to F-1. In this case: -The college of your choice must be accredited and eligible to issue I-20. -Nursing school must accept international students. -You must take 12 or more units every semester, only 3 units/semester can be taken online. -You must demonstrate that you have enough money to get yourself through the school (if you spouse works in the U.S., that will be accepted too). -You must take TOEFL.

Neither I said "they" are in demand, nor I said it will be easy. Until their education is evaluated as equivalent to the U.S. BSN and they become WOC certified in the U.S., they are not eligible anyway. So no point for me to name specific places that have openings for WOC nurses now. The United States are big, and there are always options available for those who are persistent and didicated. I only provided the direction, if they are interested, they can do some further research, conduct job search, and market themselves. Got it?

The question was not about your area. Immigrants are more flexible and are more likely to relocate comparing to the US citizen and LPRs. Believe it or not, there are areas where WOC nurses are in demand.

Labor certification for H1-B is much simpler than for Green Card. I think it is quite obvious that if there is an employer willing to sponsor a WOC nurse, there are no other qualified candidates.

If you are talking about H-1B, that is not true. One may get H-1B with 0 experience, like in case with BSN and WOC certification.

If you get cetrified in Wound and Ostomy Care, you will be eligible for H-1B, because this is the only specialty of nursing that requires you to possess BSN.

I would suggest to finish your ADN, get your OPT, finish BSN, get your OPT, get your certificate in Wound and Ostomy care from the accredited school. That will make you eligible for H-1B 100%

In case somebody does not know, the House of Representatives has passed "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011" (HR 3012) which eliminates per-country quotas in employment based categories and increases per-country caps in family based categories from 7% to 15%. The total number of visas does not increase. This means that if the Bill passes Senate and becomes a law, 85% to 100% of all visas will go to India and China (because there are the most retrogressed). The rest 15% - 0% will be shared among all others. This will create a huge retrogression for everybody who is not from India/China. Currently, the Bill is on Hold in Senate and negotiations continue. If this Bill become a law, people from countries other than India and China will have to wait for additional 5 - 10 years for their priority date to become current. If you don't like this idea, contact Senators (especially Harry Reid and Chuck Grassley) and express your opposition to the Bill. http://www.reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm http://www.grassley.senate.gov/constituents/Copy-of-contact.cfm

So, can you share your experience about the program?

I would highly recommend to obtain your Australian RN license first, and then to apply for a modified skills assessment with ANMAC. This way it's easier, faster, and cheaper.

Ok, so currently ANA offers nine CNS exams. Adult Health CNS Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health CNS Child Adolescent Psych & Mental Health CNS CNS Core Exam Diabetes Management - Advanced Home Health CNS Gerontological CNS Pediatric CNS Public\Community Health CNS and four of them will be retired soon: Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Child/Adolescent Psychiatric & Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist At the same time they will offer a new certification for Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (across the continuum from wellness through acute care)[expected launch 2014] and will update Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (across the continuum from wellness through acute care) certification. For NPs, it looks like Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Adult Nurse Practitioner will be retired with no alternative certifications available.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but to my understanding those certifications are not mandatory and regulations will vary from state to state. 10. What will the new certifications be and when will they launch? As a result of the APRN Consensus Model implementation in 2015, ANCC will be creating new certifications to meet the role and/or population foci requirements. Planning for these certifications is under way, and we are pleased to announce the expected launch of: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner [expected launch 2013] Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner [expected launch 2013] Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (across the continuum from wellness through acute care)[expected launch 2014] ANCC's existing APRN certifications will be updated according to their regular 3-year update cycle to incorporate the requirements of the Consensus Model. These include: Family Nurse Practitioner Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Family Psychiatric & Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (across the life span) Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (across the continuum from wellness through acute care) The process of updating these certifications may also include an evaluation of the title. return to top 11. Which certifications will be retired and when? The certifications listed below will be retired when their current National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accreditation period expires in 2014. Retiring certifications are: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Adult Nurse Practitioner Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Child/Adolescent Psychiatric & Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist http://www.nursecredentialing.org/APRN-FAQ.aspx#11

Hospitals in Central Valley pay about $35/hr to new grads. The wage you were offered is unreasonable and too low.

Is paying for Medicare in Australia your choice or duty in your case?

In my opinion you are looking at things backwards. Hospitals know how to count their money very well, especially in this economy. As it has been pointed out already, no new grads from the foreign countries get hired these days. As for some local nurses, for some reason they have an illusion that jobs will find them, instead of them looking for a job. As they fail to get a job, they start thinking of some conspiracy behind that. I constantly see some rumors posted on this forum about hospitals hiring foreign RNs and not hiring local new grands. That's convenient for many to believe, to justified their failure, but not true. Also, many hospitals, including mine, have a lot of foreign trained nurses, but what you don't realize is that many of them came to to the U.S. years ago, when there was a shortage and a lot of them are U.S. citizens by now. My hospital used to sponsor foreign nurses and bring them from oversees, but as there is no shortage of new grads anymore, I can not think of even one nurse who got hired from oversees for the job that local nurses can do. And to the best of my knowledge, they always look locally first. It's just a common sense. Also, many nurses at my hospital were born in the U.S., but can easily be mistaken for "foreign" nurses just because they belong to the group that has a high prevalence of immigrant population.

You are right, they shouldn't. Do you have statistics how many nurses cаme to the U.S. in the last several years? Or do you have any evidence that hospitals from the areas that don't have shortage of nurses sponsor foreign RNs? After all, why would any hospitals sponsor foreign RN if there is a surplus of local nurses? Does not make any sense, right? So all this panic about foreign nurses taking jobs away from Americans is a one big bluff! P.S. Actually we do have one Canadian nurse who was hired because he has an experience with taking care of open heart surgery patients. So because they could not find qualified stuff locally, this person got hired. Do you object?

I don't know about BSN rumor. I would suggest to start your nursing school ASAP. Don't wait for BSN. You can always do RN-BSN later.

That really worries me. Because those FAQ have information about break relief regulations. My hospital violates those regulations all the time and what's interesting most nurses don't even now that But hey, internet is a wonderful thing, right? So get your copy here http://web.archive.org/web/20101116080855/http://www.cdph.ca.gov/services/DPOPP/regs/Documents/R-37-01_FAQ2182004.pdf :)