Relocating from Canada to Texas U.S

[ayetoro101]

I'm a Canadian who currently works as a registered nurse in Alberta. I have attained over20 years of experience of working as a medical- surgical nurse, and in the last 10 years have worked in the vascular surgical unit. My plan is to relocate with my family to Texas U.S by the summer of 2014 mainly because of the hot/ warm weather. By the way I do have a valid Texas nursing license.

I'm looking forward into applying for a job to a reputable hospital with good employees benefits that incorporate health,educational scholarships etc. Your input about the hospitals in Houston or Galveston that l can apply to will be appreciated. Or do l have to apply for jobs through an agency? Additionally, l 'm also taking graduate nursing courses as an online part -time student, and my eventual goal is to attain a master degree of nursing.

My questions are as follows......Does anyone have ideas about the hospitals in Houston or Galveston or with good benefits that l can apply to? Is there any difference in the Master's degree of nursing attained in Canada and that of the U.S ?.

If l decide to diversify from bedside nursing to another area of nursing in future, will my master degree of nursing attained in Canada be recognized in the U.S ? Will l be given credits for those graduate courses already taken in Canada if l decide to complete or transfer my nursing program to the U.S . university ? Does anyone know an accredited online university in Houston or Galveston that has a good nursing program.

Your thoughts , tips, ..... will be appreciated.....Thanks a lot

J.T.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Welcome future Texan!

I don't have the knowledge to make any type of comparison between Canadian and US MSNs - contact the specific school in which you're interested and ask them about transfer credits. There are several nursing schools with graduate programs in the Houston-Galveston area, including University of Texas-Houston, Texas Women's University, Prairie View, Houston Baptist University. UTMB is in Galveston, but their admissions are EXTREMELY competitive. I believe that most of them have distance/online options for some courses. However, I would really encourage you to take advantage of the enormous benefits related to attending class on campus. Most of these schools are located within (or close by) the Texas Medical Center (TMC). They have a reciprocal arrangement that allows students to enroll in / attend activities or classes at any participating institute. This opens up an extraordinary dimension for graduate studies that is very unique; unmatched anywhere else. [Full disclosure.... I obtained my MSN at UT-Houston & EdD program via a University of Houston/ Baylor College of Medicine partnership]

Due to the competitive nature of hospitals in the Houston metro area, their benefit structures are pretty similar. You should be able to obtain this information from their HR departments or recruiters. They all provide tuition reimbursement but the amount provided and the eligibility & associated work commitments may vary.

You may want to re-think moving in the summer - LOL. We're not as hot as the Dallas-Ft.Worth area, but our jungle-ish humidity can be very difficult to cope with until you're acclimated. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any assistance.

[Argo]

You can also try Corpus Christi or Harlingen/Brownsville/macallen area. Close to the beach and hot all year. I have lived in both in the past. The further south you go, the pay gets higher. San Antonio is my Home town and I would recommend life there to anyone. Great place. We did the opposite and moved to the snowy mtns of CO. My son is a competitive snowboarder and we all love snow.....