transfering to USA nursing specialties

[Sun*shine]

hello,

i'm just wondering if anyone can adivse me on what opporunities are available in Flordia to UK nurses. I've just graduated as an adult nurse, i'm desperate to get a job in the states as a neonatal nurse.

I know the nurse training out there is very different to ours, and you get children's experience before you qualify which we don't. Do you think it's still possible to find jobs in that a neonatal setting in the USA despite this?

Here in the UK it'd be really really hard for me to get any job in a children's ward as an adult nurse, unless i did two more years of University to qualify as a children's RN. But sometimes neonatal wards will take on adult nurses and train them up to that setting.

It's hard to know who to ask for advice on this. Just wonering if anyone had any experience of coming over from abraod to work. I dream of living and working in Florida, :redbeathe fingers crossed i'm taking a gap year there next year!

Many thanks!!

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Not sure how you are gong to qualify for a visa to cover you for a gap year, also may have issues if you haven't got training in all areas as US nursing covers all areas and UK training these days doesn't. You will also be affected by retrogression and looking at a few years waiting for a visa

I have moved this to the International forum as I see a few visa issues. We do have a few UK nurses who have moved to the US who may be able to offer you good advice on what to expect. Hopefully they will pop in and give their experiences

[suzanne4, RN]

Both Canada as well as the US require that all licensed RNs here have hours in all of the required areas to be able to even sit for the licensing exam. If you do not have the needed hours in both clinical as well as theory and in an approved School of Nursing, then it is not going to be possible to get licensed here as an RN to start.

You need pass the NCLEX-RN exam to be able to even have a job offered to you.

Also not sure if you completed hours in Maternal Health, those are going to be needed as well before you will be granted permission to sit for the licensing exam.

There are threads here on how to make up those hours if you need them, just do a search for them. The other issue is that we have a retrogression in place and you cannot even start the immigration process without having the NCLEX results in hand, as well as have an employer. You are looking at several years before you will have a chance at a green card for the US, it is not anything that is going to happen quickly.

Best of luck to you.