OffTheGrid

Hi jennylynn_1983, So my husband and I relocated to France, May of 2018 and are currently still here. However, we will be transferring back to the U.S beginning of 2020 because my husband accepted a new position. During the year + 6 months in France, I’ve continued my part-time remote faculty facilitator position. And I’ve been doing CEUs. Fortunately, the faculty facilitator role isn’t geographic dependent and has allowed me to keep a pinky toe in the field. With that said, I haven’t practiced clinically during this time. The main reason for this is the immigration process for non-EU spouses in France. It would have been too complex to do locum in the U.S. while also maintaining my life in France. And doing work I’m eligible for in France is quite minimal. I’ve done some volunteer english tutoring, but that’s about it. My AANP re-cert is due in 2020. Because of the FNP position I had prior to relocating to France, I have exceeded the minimum clinical practice hours. Basically, I’ve turned this time in France as a partial sabbatical. When I’m not doing the remote faculty facilitator work, I’m immersing in the culture activities, learning the language, and/or exploring the country. Now that we’re moving back to the U.S, I’m glad I took advantage of the short immersive cultural experience because it may never happen again. When we return to the U.S next year, I may enroll in a NP refresher course. I’ll attend a primary care conference. Because its been over a year since I’ve practiced in the clinical setting, I don’t feel 100% comfortable jumping back in. And I don’t know how employers would feel about hiring me either. I’m researching the where’s and how’s of a NP refresher course now, so if anyone has any information or experience with this, please share. I’d love to hear more about your situation if you’re willing to share. What options have you explored to maintain certification while living abroad?

Great recommendations! And I love the arrangement that the NP in India has made - maintaining her NP career without sacrificing other important life callings. I admire people that can achieve this. Thanks for sharing aprnkate.

Interesting about ANCC's recert practice hours requirement...I wonder what prompted that change? Strange. I'm board certified through AANP, and have well-exceeded the 1000 min practice hours so I'll be okay when the 5yr recert occurs. But looking ahead, I'm just brainstorming how to maintain clinical practice hours while living in a foreign country when the next recert rolls around. Who knows, with the way things change the AANP may mimic the ANCC recert requirements. Irregardless, I plan to maintain my clinical experience but this may be a challenge in a foreign country. Thanks for sharing that info about ANCC elkpark!

Thanks DizzyJon for offering that idea! Telemedicine has briefly crossed my mind, but I'll have to re-explore all of the intricacies involved with that. I also wonder if I would need to obtain a license for each state that a particular patient lives in.

traumaRUs, Thanks for the suggestions! I've briefly thought about teaching for american students, but will have to look at the qualifications for that more. They may want someone with some sort of teaching certificate. I haven't considered the consulate, so can definitly explore the opportunities they might have for someone like me. I'm still not sure how I would be able to maintain certification while overseas without actual hands-on FNP clinical practice hours. I may have to get really creative, like volunteer in some medical-type capacity.

Hello allnurses community! First post, so bear with me. Need some advise: There's a high probability that I may soon be relocating overseas within the next year or so. My husband is expecting to get a job offer that would relocate us somewhere in Europe - likely France or a nearby country. He's not affiliated with the military or government, so we would be living amongst the local residents. And the move would be long-term. While I'm very excited about this, I'm also contemplating what this might mean for my career. I've been practicing as a FNP for close to 3 years, and also work part-time as clinical faculty for a FNP program. So I'm still fairly fresh. Per my research, the countries we would likely live in don't recognize the APRN role. Even transferring my RN license wouldn't work because the credentialing, etc. is completely different. Not to mention, I wouldn't know the local language or culture! So I know that I wouldn't be able to continue practicing within my respective role. Nonetheless, I'm trying to stay optimistic and open-minded with the hope that my education and experience will not go completely unused while there. Thus is why I'm reaching out to all of you. Anyone been in a similar scenario, or know of someone that has experienced this? If so, did you/they just let the FNP certification lapse since it requires at least 1000 clinical practice hours per 5yr renewal? What type of work did you/they do while abroad? For those that haven't experienced something like this, what would you do? I'm open to any ideas. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for your thoughtfulness in providing this video. Sure, it's not the perfect alternative, but it's a more honest one. No one will be getting a million dollar check from this option.