Telehealth vs. Travel Nursing for living abroad

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Hi RNs! Next fall my boyfriend may be starting graduate school in Switzerland ! I have been looking into nursing jobs in Switzerland, and from what I've gathered, it doesn't seem easy to work there as a foreign RN. I live in the US and do not speak French... I will have over 2 years of RN experience by next fall.

Does anyone know if it'd be possible to live in Switzerland while working as a Telehealth RN for a US company?

Another thought is to work as Travel RN. From my understanding, contracts are about 13 weeks, and after fulfilling a contract, you do not immediately need to start the next one. As long as I don't enroll for the companies benefits, it sounds like I could even go for months before starting another contract in the US. Therefore, I'd be able to live (and maybe work an odd job) in Switzerland between contracts.

I'd appreciate any information about Telehealth Nursing, Travel Nursing, and living abroad as a RN. Thank you!!

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I'm not sure in the RN capacity but I have heard, unclear if true, that providers are not reimbursed by many insurers if they are not providing the service from within the US.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

I would think to work in Switzerland you'd have to be fluent in French, plus German and Italian. At least when I was there in the late 80s, all 3 were spoken in Switzerland. And unfortunately the closest US mililatary base is in southern Germany just north of the Lichtenstein border, so likely not in driving distance to see about applying as a civilian. I have no experience with telehealth, but it might be your best bet.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
I'm not sure in the RN capacity but I have heard, unclear if true, that providers are not reimbursed by many insurers if they are not providing the service from within the US.

Interesting, that I wasn't aware of.

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Specializes in NICU, Telephone Triage.

I am a telehealth nurse. I don't work at home. I would highly recommend you find a travel position in a hospital. You will lose bedside skills on the phone, and sometimes hospitals aren't interested in you if you become a telehealth nurse for more than a year. Then you won't have 1 year recent bedside experience. If you are young, do not go into telehealth nursing. It's not as "easy" as it sound, either. It's sometimes like doing ER nursing over the phone.

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Doesn't Switzerland have a strict immigration policy? Would you be allowed to just live there, much less work?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Hmm - before rearranging your entire life to fit in with his, wouldn't you want a more permanent arrangement with your "boyfriend"? If nothing else, it would seem as though you'd need to reach an agreement about how to deal with all the expense related to obtaining qualifications & Swiss registration. At any rate, I understand that having your credentials analyzed by the Swiss Red Cross is a necessary first step. I recall that they have a generalist education model for nursing that is similar to ours, so you if you can learn to speak French, German or Italian, you may be in luck.

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