uk nurses who have come to the usa

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I am in the usvi, and have been here nearly a year, maybe all the nurses who have posted their news about immigration, can now post about the differences in the us hospitals. I dont think that american doctors and nurses fully understand where we come from, and the working environment of the nhs, its only when we get here that we can understand the differences. I am sure that stateside hospitals are different even from here. and that they also vary from state to state, but maybe nurses who are waiting to come will be able to pick up some tips and know more than us what to expect.

christine....from wales to scotland to united states virgin islands, and then to the states, in january.

yes, uk nurses need lots of advice as regards taxes, its a bit difficult to get our heads around, as we are so used to pay as you earn.

[color=#556b2f]its a great system if you get a rebate, but sucks if you have to pay them back.

[color=#556b2f]last year when i had to make repayment then i thought of all the extra hours that i had worked in the hospital to get extra money, and then have to return it to the government! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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memorial day weekend over here, lots of sales in the shops, and extra pay if you are scheduled to work on monday, but no extra day off.

[color=#556b2f]loving our new house, which we could never have had back home, definetely a plus for living here.

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Specializes in Geriatric, Longterm Care.

Hello to you all, my name is Gavin and I'm a 31 year old qualified nurse from Scotland (thats the UK to those of you whom arent sure!!!??). I've been living in Dundalk, just outside of Baltimore City, MD, for about 1 year or so.

I qualified under the UK regisatration programme back in June 2005, but due to the timing of my course end and the fact that I was in the process of immigratring to the USA to live with my American wife, I have yet to actually work as a nurse - which is utterly frustrating. Having spent 3 1/2 years doing my nurse training and working as a care assistant during my training (and afterwards for a period of time), it is a nightmare having to continue in a non-clinical field i.e. customer service, because of the length of time and money spent trying to obtain my license to practice (and of course sit my NCLEX before I can even obtain licensure).

About 2 years ago, during a trip over to see my then fiancee (now wife), I spoke with Johns Hopkins Bayview Center, who were full of promise and hope of assistance that they could offer me once I had completed my Nurse training, however after I arrived permenantly from the UK, they were less helpful and so far I am still unable to find a single hospital or organisation that is willing to offer me any kind of help in obtaining my license or offering me some kind of refresher course / NCLEX training - I would even happiuly sign any kind of length of guaranteed / binding employment contract. All I want to do is kick off my nursing career and better provide for my family.

So that's me! A frustrated nurse-wannabe stuck in a customer service call center!

If anyone knows of any hospital / organisation that might be able to help me advance in the right direction, I'd love to hear from you.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hello to you all, my name is Gavin and I'm a 31 year old qualified nurse from Scotland (thats the UK to those of you whom arent sure!!!??). I've been living in Dundalk, just outside of Baltimore City, MD, for about 1 year or so.

I qualified under the UK regisatration programme back in June 2005, but due to the timing of my course end and the fact that I was in the process of immigratring to the USA to live with my American wife, I have yet to actually work as a nurse - which is utterly frustrating. Having spent 3 1/2 years doing my nurse training and working as a care assistant during my training (and afterwards for a period of time), it is a nightmare having to continue in a non-clinical field i.e. customer service, because of the length of time and money spent trying to obtain my license to practice (and of course sit my NCLEX before I can even obtain licensure).

About 2 years ago, during a trip over to see my then fiancee (now wife), I spoke with Johns Hopkins Bayview Center, who were full of promise and hope of assistance that they could offer me once I had completed my Nurse training, however after I arrived permenantly from the UK, they were less helpful and so far I am still unable to find a single hospital or organisation that is willing to offer me any kind of help in obtaining my license or offering me some kind of refresher course / NCLEX training - I would even happiuly sign any kind of length of guaranteed / binding employment contract. All I want to do is kick off my nursing career and better provide for my family.

So that's me! A frustrated nurse-wannabe stuck in a customer service call center!

If anyone knows of any hospital / organisation that might be able to help me advance in the right direction, I'd love to hear from you.

hi and welcome to the site :)

You have already done half the battle and have your GC. What you need to do is apply to the state board of nursing and follow requirements for foreign trained nurse, You may need CES done by CGFNS and because you trained only a couple of years ago you may (and I mean may) be required to make some hours up in other specialities ie Paeds the best thing is get CES done. Once you have gone through the BON and meet requirments you will get permission to sit the NCLEX and then need to register with pearsonvue and arrange to sit the exam, they will give you your ATT which you need to take with you on the day of the exam. Once you have passed the exam you will probably find it easier to get a job especially as you have your GC. Because you are married to a USC then you do not need to get visa screen certificate.

Hope this helps

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Hiya,

This is a brilliant way to talk to other nurses. You've probably been asked this like a thousand times. I'm a BSc pre-registration third year British student nurse, eager to begin applying for work in Florida. I am presently doing my last module (the management/leadership module). I have also applied for work in my local teaching hospital and it looks hopeful. However, I don't want to delay too much. Where do I begin? Help!

Regards,

Caraibrit

P.S. I have an LLB(Hons.), LLM, PGCE and a former magistrate for my local Bench. Is there any way I could apply for work combining my clinical skills and my legal knowledge?

(This is a really brilliant way to talk to other nurses - keep up the good work!)

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hiya,

This is a brilliant way to talk to other nurses. You've probably been asked this like a thousand times. I'm a BSc pre-registration third year British student nurse, eager to begin applying for work in Florida. I am presently doing my last module (the management/leadership module). I have also applied for work in my local teaching hospital and it looks hopeful. However, I don't want to delay too much. Where do I begin? Help!

Regards,

Caraibrit

P.S. I have an LLB(Hons.), LLM, PGCE and a former magistrate for my local Bench. Is there any way I could apply for work combining my clinical skills and my legal knowledge?

(This is a really brilliant way to talk to other nurses - keep up the good work!)

:welcome:

The first thing to do is once you have qualified is apply to CGFNS and get CES full course report done and it will tell you if you are short in any areas in hours, unfortunately UK training does not always meet US requirements. You also need to apply to Florida BON following instructions for foriegn nurse (also get CES report sent to them). Currently you are looking at a process of 6 months ish to get the OK to sit NCLEX once you have passed that you can then approach employers for petition for green card, just to make you aware that currently there is a retrogression in progress and no visas so for a lot of us it is a case of site and wait. Some how have been waiting since beginning 2006 ishe are just beginning to get interviews for their visas.

Would suggest plenty of reading both on here and the International forum plenty to read

Good luck

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

mean't to add, if you get a few more posting (15) you could join us in the chat room every tuesday night

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Thanks for that Silverdragon 102,

I'll go onto the CGFNS website for details. From that I've read in the threads, Florida is probably not one of the best places to work (ie., salary, working conditions, hours..). I have a chance of acquiring a property there. I would consider selling and moving elsewhere, if it was worth the upheaval. Where might I feasibly look for a reasonable-to-good standard of living?

Regards,

Caraibrit

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Thanks for that Silverdragon 102,

I'll go onto the CGFNS website for details. From that I've read in the threads, Florida is probably not one of the best places to work (ie., salary, working conditions, hours..). I have a chance of acquiring a property there. I would consider selling and moving elsewhere, if it was worth the upheaval. Where might I feasibly look for a reasonable-to-good standard of living?

Regards,

Caraibrit

it really depends on where you want to live and what you want out of it

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This has been a very interesting and useful thread, so thank you!

My fiance and I are planning to move to Alaska after I qualify - I am a 3rd year pre-reg doing the degree - and it seems so complicated :uhoh21: However, I don't have to worry about getting a visa for myself, as I am already a uk/usa dual-national with an american passport and a social security number.

I was just wondering if there is any way to tell if you are missing any theory/practice hours before I graudate?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
This has been a very interesting and useful thread, so thank you!

My fiance and I are planning to move to Alaska after I qualify - I am a 3rd year pre-reg doing the degree - and it seems so complicated :uhoh21: However, I don't have to worry about getting a visa for myself, as I am already a uk/usa dual-national with an american passport and a social security number.

I was just wondering if there is any way to tell if you are missing any theory/practice hours before I graudate?

The only real way is to get your transcripts assessed by CGFNS (CES) and you can't do that until you have finished your training. You could get a copy of transcripts from uni whichcovers what you are currently doing which could give you a rough idea but each BON has their own requirements

You will still have to sort your fiance/husband before you can move to the US

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Thanks for the reply :)

And the husband bit I know about, as I know people who have gone through it recently....so much paperwork :eek:

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