UK nurse wanting to be a CRNA

[ccunurse123]

my wife and i have made the decision to move to the us. we're currently nurses here in england. ultimately, my plan is to become a crna. i know its gonna take ages before this plan will be realised but i'm wondering whether anyone can give me any ideas about my queries.

i'm in the process of applying to take the nclex exam, and i still have two minds on which state to work to (florida vs. california). however, i know that california takes ages to process everything for initial licensure so will apply in florida BON (but some people are suggesting NM or VT BON).

being educated at a degree level but outside the us, what are my chances of being able to qualify in a crna program? i have years of experience in critical care. however, i know that i will be in contract for at least two years in an icu setting as we will be sponsored by the hospital for a green card for which im quite hppy to. it'll give me a chance to settle in both im my new environment and work.

currently there seems to be a lot of opportunity for crna's in florida. am i right? with no state income tax, less expensive cost of living?? for this reason, im a bit more inclined to pursue our plan to work in us in this state. i wanted to get it right first hand as we have two kids and would not want to carry on moving from one state to the other.

i know it takes 24 - 36 months to achieve your crna qualification but has anyone here ever worked part time whilst on the course? wondering if it can ever be done as i would not want to depend solely on my wife's earning as it may not be enough with two kids.

are there any uk nurses out there working as crna's now?

if you have any more info i have not covered to ask pls feel free to share it here.

many thanks.

[sunnyjohn]

Is your wife a nurse?

Are you a UK citizen or just living there?

Texas has a MUCH lower cost of living than Florida. Purchasing a home in Texas is also much cheaper. Texas also has no state income taxes. (Can you tell I am partial to TEXAS? lol)

Read over the International Nursing forum on this board. The CRNAs here can answer you education questions but the "Immigration specialist" their will give you valuable insight folks here might be unfamiliar with.

[woodhill30]

Hi My husband and myself and our 2 kids moved to Houston Texas one year ago exactly. I gave up my nursing job and we came with his job. I have had a whole year of getting employment authorisation then s.s number then applying to the Texas Nursing board. Infact I just sat my exam RN nclex today!! It has been hard doing it this way round from my point of view but my husband has been earning and his job was all sorted out prior to coming here. I am sure you would need to come with a job for it to be easier. We sold a house in Scotland then bought here, we have a much bigger nicer house here ( which we need for all our quests!!) but we have found things much more expensive than we imagined Utility bills are more expensive than the u.k for example. Plus the fact that you have no credit at all is a bit scary when hit with big ()car bills unexpectantly.

Hopefully I will get a job very soon like this month and that will make things much easier for us. Ihave always worked. School wise our 2 kids 9 and 7 didnt settle well in public school and we ended up putting them in a small private school which they love. It is much much less expensive than a private school in the U.K

We are in Houston Texas are delighted we have talken the opportunity to get some life experience. If sounds lke ive been moaning im not Im just trying to let yu have a true idea of what its like. We love it here, the kids love school and all the opporttunies they get. We are going to move back to the U.K in 2 years thouigh!