UK qualified PACU nurse - move to america

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Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm looking for advice from my fellow nurses and health care assistants.

So my boyfriend is American and I'm British we are going to be moving to rockport texas next year and I really want to be a nurse in America.

I know I have to pass the nclex in order to do this. But do I need anything else? I'm not sure if my nursing qualification will hold up in America. It makes it sound bad but I am a general nurse so in the UK we specialise in adult, mental health, child or do a completely different course for midwifery. So I have only ever touched on the other but I couldn't have passed if I hadn't done it.

What do you think my first steps should be?

Should I contact the human resources dept at a local hospital in TX? I am a PACU nurse and have a years experience so I would like to do what I know best.

I also have purchased a book and some flash cards for meds to study.

I'm really excited to get the chance to be a nurse in America. In the mean time if I didn't pass nclex 1st time would I be able to be a health care assistant? I think you call them lpn's or nurse assistants? How would I go about doing this?

TY in advance :D jo jo xx

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

US nurses are generalist trained. If you had generalist training with clinicals in peds, maternity, psych, and adult -- you may not have to take those classes. You need to call the Texas Board of Nursing to figure out the specifics.

What type of visa are you coming over on? You won't be able to work for several months if you come over on a K1. If you come over on a CR1, I think you can technically start work as soon as you get a SSN which does not take long...

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

I'm originally from the UK too. Things have changed since I came over to the US though. The most important aspect is the visa, and it's a lot harder these days to get one than it was when I came here. I would think it might be easier and quicker to get married and get a visa through that, as the wait can be a long one otherwise. The British Expats forum is a really great resource for visa info. This forum is great for the nursing info. Good luck.

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Hi ya thank you for your reply. Yeah it would be on a marriage visa or fiance visa. I shall check that out thank you. Ohhh it's nice to talk to people who have done it and made it as a nurse in the US. x

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Ok I shall have a look in the new year at the texas board. Will be a marriage or fiance visa we will come over on.yay very exvited thank you for your reply x

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

K1 is fiance, CR1 is marriage. You might try visajourney for those issues. You need to start planning about a year in advance for everything.

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I will look into that now thank you. He's in the America army will they help us do you know? X

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
I'm really excited to get the chance to be a nurse in America. In the mean time if I didn't pass nclex 1st time would I be able to be a health care assistant? I think you call them lpn's or nurse assistants? How would I go about doing this?

Just to clarify, LPNs and nursing assistants are two different things. LPNs are licensed nurses, and to practice as one you have to qualify for and pass the NCLEX-PN.

Nursing assistants are unlicensed, and typically perform duties like ADLs, simple housekeeping tasks (clearing table, tidying the room, bagging laundry), sometimes taking VS and FSBGs...depending on the facility. I have known RNs to work as CNAs temporarily until obtaining an RN position, but not all facilities allow this due to liability issues. I've also heard of new grad nurses working as CNAs if they were hired before taking the NCLEX but don't pass.

You should be able to ask the TX BON what the regulations are

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

I guess an LPN is equivalent to what we used to call the Enrolled Nurse in the UK, although they don't exist anymore.

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Thank you for clarifying for me.

Ahhhh ok I shall have a look. I'm still trying to navigate my way round so I will have a look on here for that. I do feel a bit overwhelmed. I do think gaining experience as a cna might be good for me until I do pass just so I can get my head around things like insurance and some of the lingo and spelling.

In the usa do you have to keep a portfolio of reflection and evidence of yearly home study as evidence to a governing body?

We have a governing body here called NMC (nursing and midwifery council) do you have to pay a fee to be a nurse? We get charged yearly here. I was just wondering if it was the same there. Thank you x

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
Thank you for clarifying for me.

Ahhhh ok I shall have a look. I'm still trying to navigate my way round so I will have a look on here for that. I do feel a bit overwhelmed. I do think gaining experience as a cna might be good for me until I do pass just so I can get my head around things like insurance and some of the lingo and spelling.

In the usa do you have to keep a portfolio of reflection and evidence of yearly home study as evidence to a governing body?

We have a governing body here called NMC (nursing and midwifery council) do you have to pay a fee to be a nurse? We get charged yearly here. I was just wondering if it was the same there. Thank you x

You have to renew your license through the State and some states require that you complete CEUs (contact education units). My state doesn't have that requirement but it's good to keep up-to-date. I get free contact education hours through my specialty organization so I can go online and do them if I need them. You do have to work the minimum hours in clinical practice per year but that's easily attainable.

I still keep my NMC license valid even though I haven't worked in the UK in over 13 years.

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Ahhh so it is like here then. Do you know how I go about contacting the texas board? Is it just a Google job and then give them a call? What's it like to nurse over there? I'm excited but scared of the whole move and will I make friends etc. :-/

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