kheynurse

Those rip shears look great, I wanted to see how much they are, but the distributor links on the site state "no item found." Where can I buy these???

Having lived in a country with socialised medicine, I was very worried when Obama won the election, I was concerned about my job (but not my status to remain in the country...) My collegues told me not to worry, "he won't get things passed that quickly/ won't have time to really mess the medical system up" but, you know he seems to be getting A LOT of stuff passed VERY quickly and now that I hear talk of stuff that could affect my ability to remain in the country and practice as a nurse, frankly I am worried....

There is a thread on the fromt page about some talk of Obama revoking the TN visas and those nurse being "kicked out" of the country. Strangely this has some strong support from american nurses who feel foreign nurses are taking jobs away from Americans.... I have been here with my family for 3 years via the I-140 route, so we all have green cards. Silly question really, but will this affect us and other nurses here with green cards? (the immigration stuff was quite traumatic and a long time ago now, and although I can't believe it I have forgotten a lot of the details and rules etc, I guess I have blocked it out (lol!) ......hence the questions!) Thanks!

Kelky...thanks for your input. Is that the university of dundee UK? If so, is the degree regonised as such her in the US? Do you have a web address so I can do some further research? Lots of questions!!>>>>>>>>>>

Thankyou all for your replies......I am not sure if I frrl ready to go into 18mths of classes and studying...and presentations are not my thin either! I am just putting feelers out at the moment. I was under the impression that my previous studies would give me credits towards the BSN, therefore making it take less time....am I wrong about that?

:monkeydance:Hi all! Having been in the US for going on 2 yrs now, I am looking at possibly going for a BSN. Does anyone out there have any insight into how to get my british credentials reviewed and IF any BSN programme will even look at my UK credentials to give me credits towards a BSN here? The thought of having to do algebra again fills me with dread! I have been a nurse for 17 yrs and have done several post qualification diploma courses and am hoping that I could just do maybe a year of the actual Nursing classes to convert to a BSN. Anyone out there already done (or doing) the BSN programme here in the US? I would be gratefull for any input at all! Thanks

We came out at the end of January this year, and boy have we had a roller coaster ride! We spent hours online researching everything, we came out twice to find a house and we have friends here so we expected the first year to be tough, but we thought we had it covered. I came over with an agency, so I thought that at least the job was one surefire thing.................WRONG. It is a long story, but there was no job for me, we came very close to losing our brand new dream house and finances were VERY tight. I remember when we had been here for about 5 weeks, we were still in a hotel and still no SS# , so no sign of an income. 3 out of the 4 of us were in tears at the end of our teathers. We weren't missing the UK but we were upset that things were not working out as we had hoped. The 4-6 week mark is perhaps when the honeymoon/ holiday feeling wears off and reality of real life hits home. Now, 9 months down the line, I am working at a lovely local hospital, (away from my sponsoring agency) doing an internship, so I am finally getting the orientation that my agency promised and never came through with. The pay is great, the benefits are great too. Life is getting better and we are finally getting to do the things we came here for. The kids (although younger than yours) are really enjoying their schools and the much more family oriented lifestyle here. Life is looking good. Hang in there.........once you are settled in your job and your husband is back, things will get better, just keep plugging away at it!

I just wanted to thank you all for your support and advise. However the situation is far from resolved, I am exploring other avenues, but not getting anywhere at the moment. As it stands, the agency now owe me over $2000.oo.......to be continued!

Long story short.... when we arrived, the local office for the agency didn't reallise that they were supposed to be looking for a long (3-6 month ) placement for me. They gave me traditional agency shifts, a day here a day there, about 24 hrs a week, some weeks nothing etc. They were making noises about a local hospital job, but it turned out that was for agency type shifts too, and it never came to fruition in the end. After several weeks of having difficulty making ends meet I finally went into the office with my contract and lost my temper.....they still couldn't work out what my problem was! Several calls later to the agency corporate dept and they suddenly created a full time postion in their office for me. After a few weeks they found me a job in my speciality but only 28hrs a week, so I do 28hrs there and 12hrs in the office. This pays the bills, but whenever there is a bank holiday, I loose a days pay, and I am not alloweed to do any overtime at all. (they also keep forgetting to pay me for portions of my hrs, or sending it late, so we get huge bank charges) We were getting along OK untill we joined the agency's medical insurance plan. (we thought we HAD to get it through an employer and were not advised by the agnecy staff that we could buy it on our own) This cover is costing us $800.oo a month and is crippling us. We found MUCH cheaper cover online and called to cancel our existing policy, and were told we have to stay in it for a full year! We will have no house, food or petrol, but FANTASTIC medical cover! maybe they will let us live in a hospital somewhere! When I signed with the agency they lead us to believe that my cover was paid for and we only had to fund the DH and kids, this is not infact the case. I cannot afford to continue to work for this agency. I did not expect to be rich when we got here, but I did not expect to have to be shopping for groceries in a dollar and store and using coupons to stretch the budget a little more. In the current job market for RN's in the US this is a rediculous situation. Sorry for the long rant... I hope this helps others who are coming over, to see that things can be very difficult. K

I have been here in the uS for 5months, with a contract with an agency for 18mths. They have messed things up EVERY way they could possibly think of. We are now on the poverty line, and I don't think that is reasonable for an RN with 15yrs experience. I want out of my contract. Is there anyone out there who has bought themselves out? What I need to know is....do they make you pay the whole amount upfront, or can I make payments? Just grasping at straws...I can't afford the $10K they want, but I can't afford to stay working for them either..... Anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance, K.

Ford escape XLS. We are really pleased with it. It's a 2.6L and does well on gas....we put about $60 a week into it, but we do A LOT of miles in it (as everyone here does) If I was buying again I would look at the Hybrid. (it looks a bit worse for wear now though, I was rear ended by a HUMMER yesterday, luckily, neither of us was moving very fast so, no iinjuries, just to the car.....and Int'l auto souce's insurance co have been very helpfull so far....but the Hummer admitted it was hi fault, so it will go through his insurance anyway)

OK here's my 2cents! We have been in TX for 5months now, with a different agency- not OGP. We got our car through International Auto Source and they have been fantastic! The car was ready when we arrived, all we had to pay was the sales tax...so we took along about $1,500 and drove the car away. The licence plates arrived in the mail approx 10 days later. The price was about the same as if we had bought it when we arrived, but we were able to get finiance through IAS, which has helped our credit ratings. Their insurance is really well priced too, they also offer life insurance, home insurance and medical insurance, all at VERY competitive prices. We have just renewed ours with them (insurance runs for 6mths here, not for the full year like in the UK) Of all the things we sorted out before we left the UK, this has been the least hassle and the most succesfull. I would recommend International Auto Source to everyone. In TX you have 3 months to get your drivers license, you do need your SS# before you can do the driving test, which was insanely easy by the way. (you can get the car through IAS without the ss#) The SS# takes about 4 weeks after application to arrive, so don't expect to be working as soon as you arrive in the country. Bring enough money with you so that you can live off it for atleast 6 weeks....more in my case but that's another story! Hope this helps somebody!

Hi! I believe that each big city has it's own immigration office. Ours is just down the road. You can book appointments to speak with an immigration officer if you have any queries. K

Hi! our visas (mine and my familys) said the same and we were worried. When we arrived in the US for the first time the immigration guy at the airport stamped each one of the visas with an oval stamp and wrote the date we arrived inside the oval. We went to the immigration office before our greencards arrived, to check that they were endorsed properly and they were. Once you arrive in the US, the immigration officials at the airport will take you away to another area where you have to wait while they process you. Once they are happy with everything (no interview, just waiting) they stamp the visas, and take your fingerprints (kids too). Once the visa is stamped it means you are a permanent resident and no matter what happens with your job or your contact with an agency or whatever, they cannot deport you. (even though some agencies will threaten that) The green cards usually arrive within a month or so, make sure if you change address before they arrive, be sure to let immigration know. You can fill out a change of address online or mail the form to them. Sounds like you will be on your way soon.....have a safe journey and ENJOY were in the US are you coming to? K

Kay......someone is testing you! Sorry to hear about the job, but I always say everything happens for a reason. You may be able to get work nearer home that you can manage now. Maybe something in a clinic or maybe even hospice work or something. And if you can do daily shifts, you can do as few or as many as you feel you can manage. Plus you get to have a look around at where is nice and where isn't! that will help when you finish your contract and are looking for a "proper" job of your own. When I first got here the people in the local office of the agency didn't know they were supposed to be looking for a long term placement for me, so I did day shifts as that was all they were offering me and I needed to make some cash. I got to look at a lot of different places and I now know the places I don't want to work and the places that are too far from home to drive etc. This may be the corner you had to turn to get back on track... Keeping my fingers crossed for you! K;)