RN-IDE

My state evaluates independently of these organizations. As far as WES is concerned... WES completed a low level evaluation without refunding the higher price I'd paid for the thorough evaluation. They simply notified me of their downgrade and ignored my complaints. Then, they send me a FedEx letter a few lines long stating I'd received my nursing degree by shadowing nurses in a hospital for two years. I'd laugh if it was absolutely not funny. My hours in school were full time 40h/ week annual (one month vacation) for 3 and a half years, we had to do original research (document/ qual/ quant) and produce a written "thesis" that was argued in front of a jury chosen according to the subject we'd chosen, and we also covered over 2K hours of clinicals, had clinical practical exams similar to med school.. etc.. While waiting for my RN I squatted a local BSN program for a semester as a guest student, just in case this would be asked of me later. I was placed with upper classmen and I was shocked at how little coursework and clinical hours they had compared to my nursing program abroad. In my country, we exit nursing school well prepared to take on a nursing role. It seems that schooling for new grads in the US continues for the first 3-6 months of employment. What I cannot understand is how another nurse with the exact same educational program as mine had received a more adequate WES evaluation (equivalent to BSN they had concluded). My school was even more demanding than hers ^^ (only 50% success rate). Yet it was absolutely impossible for me to reach people or convince them to give me a refund or correct the bogus shabby "evaluation" that had not reflected an ounce of my transcripts and real schooling. I mean WOW!? Am I supposed to just explain that to schools or any employers who might have asked for an evaluation? There is definitely a very large need for better fluidity in international mobility of nurses. I worked in an ICU managing machines or procedures that in the US are reserved for respiratory therapists or dialysis specialists, et al.. and I've been asked in interviews if in my country of study nurses started IVs... We have electricity too, yes.... It's frustrating as heck and I completely regret having gone through the process to obtain my RN in the US.. I should have simply applied to a direct entry masters program (which are closed to people already hiding RNs) PS The complaints online for WES are endless. Examples include a PhD in economics or something returned by WES as a masters in an entirely unrelated subject... PPS I wish that I had moved to Texas. My impression is that they manage foreign applicants better than many other states. For example, ALL must complete a 6 month proctored clinical. What an excellent idea. It's a perfect way to be certain of an applicant's qualifications, PLUS for the applicant to already have a foot in the door at a potential employer's...

Hello, Hang in there. The process is long however it will work out. Do not worry about the NCLEX either. I stressed over that only to find it was easy. I did not even have as many years experience. I was trained and had my first experience in France. I met a nurse from Switzerland and another from Poland who were asked to take a class of again. I anticipated this therefore. Like in Australia, midwifery is a specialization. Therefore I thought there might be fewer hours for women' health in lecture. So I just approached a nursing school and asked if I could become a guest student. That way I was able to observe training in the US (and clinical) firsthand and while doing so I was taking hours needed just in case it was asked. I was not asked to do this by my state (California). I have heard that many schools however want to see the letter from the BON before according guest student status. If I were you I'd just ignore that and begin to ask around. Hang in there !

What? That is NOT how a person becomes a nurse in France AT ALL! Who wrote this post? The program there is very standardized. Even the older program did not occur as this post states.

Unsure if you are still searching. Whatever you do, do NOT use WES. I repeat, do not use WES!!!

From what I read/ heard in France, the Generalists (Primary Care Physicians) blocked Bernard Kouchner's attempts to open the nursing profession wider. It too all he could take to allow Liberal nurses right to provide vaccinations independently. I was born in the US and spent my childhood here, then lived in France for 20 years. I miss it incredibly. I have seen comments on lower salaries in France. Trust me, in many ways it can be far more expensive to live in the US !!!!! The taxes also pull the salaries down to closer proximity to French salaries. I see my former classmates travelling the world (even Asia) once or twice a year and think about the higher spending power in the end. It is just easier to budget as well (you pretty much know in France how much base necessities will cost each month). Perhaps I am still adjusting, yet I keep getting surprised with hidden taxes or costs through small writing. Thank you for the good luck ! If I got through that long with the BON due to lost files I can get through this now. Good luck to you too, you are almost there :) How exciting !!!

I worked in the ICU in France for a short period and was offered a job with the SAMU. However I moved to US (California) for family reasons. The administration here has been amazingly frustrating. Three lost files, all to conclude in four full copies and an immediate okay. Many State Boards have encountered restructuring in recent years, so I believe much was due to that. I'm working two PT jobs: independent contractor for events as either nurse or medic (sporting, business, tv and film prod), and school nurse ...while now battling with school administrations. I am pursuing end goal nurse practitioner. :) I have met other RNs that were schooled in Europe (Switzerland- CCRN, Poland- Labor & Delivery, Netherlands- FNP) who are all successful today yet who also lived through h---. The Swiss nurse seemed to have the most similar schooling to France (and their nursing transcript and files were the same). He kept telling me to not worry about the NCLEX. I did not buy the "it was easy." I lived through my preparation in tears and a panic, all to discover it wasn't that bad for someone experienced and schooled abroad. If I recall well enough the NCLEX is waived if a foreign schooled nurse had already worked for 5 years or more. While waiting for the administration to pull through I asked one BSN program (a reputable one) if I could access a clinical placement through guest status. They were kind enough to allow me to do this yet asked that I take a theory course with it. I was placed with third year students. I was able to ask about their program and view firsthand what their clinical might be like in basic schooling. From what I understand clinical management varies from school to school. In the case of this program there were relatively few hours (and only a few hours of class per week). The students were accorded little autonomy other than for nursing assistant roles. I believe that legal fears might play a role in this. I did note that the RNs in ICU took a larger officialize role in medical rounds. Rather than impromptu transmissions, they presented cases to seated medical staff. Nursing education here is so varied amongst schools it may be the origin of distrust of foreign diplomas both administratively, by employers and schools. Luckily I have a Masters in another subject and a degree that is from the US. If I had not, I might be faced with repeating years of studies. I might have to repeat research, leadership and community nursing. I begin to complete "undergrad" starting 2017. So I have just been working on cleaning up my records so they can align with what school administrative checklists required. I wish that I had known and realized this long ago. I would have just bypassed the entire procedure, forgotten about my RN, and applied to a Masters Entry program. I had wished to follow the classic route of RN, a few years experience in US, then application to MSN. Yet... US Nurse "reentry" candidates with years of experience have great difficulty finding employment. I am unsure why. If I was an employer I would much rather hire a nurse with 8 years experience to an entry position than a nurse who has no experience yet has just come out of school. There must be some legal reason behind that. Perhaps hospital insurance companies place this mandate on hospitals. Who knows. It does not take long for an experienced nurse to learn a new charting system or structure. Any experienced (non reentry) nurse would have to learn that if they changed hospital systems or focus of specialty. I once considered moving to Texas. I believe they have the best system available for foreign nurses. Foreign nurses must complete a 6 month internship after succeeding the NCLEX. In my view this is a good idea for introduction to the system here (through the clinical I did to place heavy emphasis on charting.. yet interestingly enough the charting is also much more based on drop down menus that written text). The Texas system is also good because it probably reassures employers AND provides an opportunity for foot-in-the-door hiring process. If anything the foreign nurse would have access to previous employer letter of recommendation, which is like gold here. Are you a student in France or here? The NP I met from the Netherlands graduated from Georgetown in MSN-FNP. Her comment made me laugh: "they were so mean to me at first.. " yet her story also provided me with encouragement: "It is worth it.. I lived through years of frustration but I did it." I know that I will get there. The question is, will the process now take me three years or four? I shall see. I have just chosen to tell myself that it will only help to reinforce my acquired knowledge by repeating certain subjects... especially in the case of FNP. Congrats on anesthesia btw! That is an awesome job. I remember my night shift OR experiences in basic nursing school. Amongst them I recall the Dr Anaesthesist standing with a steth chatting throughout the hours while the nurse anesthetist was doing all from A to Z He was incredibly good, especially when there was an unforeseen emergency. I also thank the anesthetist nurses for grinding me to a pulp during my internship with SAMU. Between calls they'd grill me on meds and physiology. When I was able to reply 100% they then demanded that I modify my replies to the highest level of scientific vocabulary and explanation. At the end of the internship they lauded me. If they had shown any sign of kindness or slack prior I would have never advanced during the internship as much as I had! Awesome field and career!

Oh hello! I was trained in France as well.

1. How do nurses become faculty members? 2. Do you have nurses in your operating rooms? 3. Do you have nurses in the community setting (home health)? 4. Do you think the low pay is due to being government employees? Hello. I am surprised that there are not more posts from European-trained nurses on this site. I was trained in France. I met an RN CCRN from Swiss here and his experiences sounded similar. To reply first to your questions, 1/ They are trained within and many go back to school for a one year+ intensive. 2/ Yes, nurses are in operating rooms and there is a 2 year additional course sequence to follow if one wishes to obtain official operating nurse recognition. However, IBODEs (the cert) are scarce. Hence, many times hospitals will train within. 3/ "Liberal" nurses in France must have minimum two years' experience prior to requesting their registration as such. They alternate home visits and office hours. They usually sign onto a shared Liberal Nurse office before becoming independent. Home health (case workers) organized through hospitals is a different scenario (internal hire). Liberal nurses exist as home visits by doctors and psychiatrists exist in France. 4/ In France at least the pay may be lower, however the overall spending capacity is much higher. The property tax is roughly 0.1%, income tax (contrary to popular belief in the US) is much lower, healthcare is 70% covered (the remaining 30% by private supplemental insurance usually offered by employers or if one has a chronic illness as classified and validated through two independent physicians public health coverage is available), health costs lower even if paid out of pocket, cell phone service is lower, as are utilities, sports and activities for children costs less, etc. I find in France the basics are far less expensive than in the US and there are no hidden surprises. Luxury items (BMW or an iPhone) might cost more. In basic schooling French nursing students run a full time schedule and alternate theory with clinical (one-two moths, then one to two months). We complete nursing school with 2040 hours of clinical experience and we are required to take patients in charge from A to Z. Clinicals ressemble me proctorships from 2nd year onwards. Finally out research must be a combination of evidence based practice review and original research. We are required to establish methods and fieldwork both quantitative and qualitative. The research preparation takes nearly two years and culminates in presentation to jury. When we are hired out of nursing school (usually through our internship) we are followed closely by a proctor for three months before full status is accorded.