Work as Nurse Practitioner in Switzerland

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So I am curious to know if any American is doing this? Perhaps I will be the first.

I have previous lived in Germany 3.5 years and speak fluent German. My boyfriend is German and lives in Stuttgart and we are trying to figure a way to be closer together. I am currently living in the US. I have student loans and don't want to downgrade my 10 years of education to the level of nursing that is practiced in Germany. I have discovered Switzerland has something similar to Nurse Practitioners, and I hope to find out more about exactly what their scope of practice is after apply to a few positions.

I have also read one must pass a language test at a certain level, which will not be any problem since I already studied in German at a German university and was previously accepted to medical school in Germany.

The switzerland equivalent appears to be called a Pflegeexpert/-in, and they use the abbreviations HoeFa II and MNS (Master of Nursing Science).

So far the positions I have seen are pretty general and don't really explain what I would be doing, and I am thinking a lot of it will be management, even though the Nurse Practitioner is attempting to be developed there.

I practice now doing mostly Urgent Care, doing some Occupational medicine, and my next job will be ER. (I do locum tenens/travelling work and love it) I have studied to long and worked too hard to give up my role, so I need to find something similar.

At the same time I will be applying for positions in Germany at military bases, but so far that has been a dead end, despite actually having interviews in person at a few bases in Germany.

If there are even any nurses working in Switzerland who know how Pflegeexpertin are being utilized I would greatly appreciate it, and any networking tips would be appreciated.

Esp. if there are any US nurses working in Switzerland I would like to know how you went about doing it, how are you dealing with paying taxes in the US as well.

I may even make my situation more unique and complicated by possibly living in Germany on the border which i believe means i have to pay German taxes, work in Switzerland, and because I am American I have to pay US taxes as well.... I am trying to pay off student loans so I need to make a similar income to what I am here in the US.

Thanks for any input.

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I happened upon your post as I am interested in working in Switzerland. I have just began researching it, but I do have a little information for you about taxes. As an American abroad you don't have to pay taxes on the first $90,000 you earn as long as you are out of the country for 330 days in a tax year. You should only have to pay swiss taxes.

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I am a Swiss citizen and I work there as a RN. Nurse practitioners( or Pflegeexperten as we call them ) usually don't work in immediate patient care here. It's mainly in management, research,etc...Living in Germany( border area) and working in Switzerland is a pretty good thing if you can do it. You pay less tax in Germany and also the costs of living are not even close as high as they are here....BUT you get a Swiss salary every month that you can live off.I would do that too...(-:

You can contact me anytime you want and hopefully I can help you with some of the questions you have.

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yes I have a question I am graduate nurse from Bulgaria with bachelor degree in medical university-I have 3 years experience and now I am working in ICU-intensive care unit,I have experience as a dental nurse

what is my chance to work in switzerland and how can do it?

thanks

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My husband and I will be moving to Switzerland in 1.5 years. I will have my Associates RN by then and may be working on my BSN. As and RN will I need my BSN to be hired? Will a BSN make me more attractive to employers or increase my salary as it does in the US?

I appreciate any information or guidance.

Shanda

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I would love more info on Nursing in Switzerland and the qualification requirements to work and make a decent wage. My husband and I have 3 children so we need to be able to support them. We know that Switzerland will certainly be more expensive than Nashville, TN and want to calculate the costs.

We considered working in Switzerland and living in Germany or France but we really want to live in an area where we can be make a permanent home. We have friends in Lausanne that we will be visiting in December. We have considered living in Vaud or Neuchantel.

Please feel free to email me any tips, tricks, dos and don't . I am a sponge, and I am trying to get everything in order so we don't make too many mistakes in this endeavor.

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Specializes in intensive care, recovery, anesthetics.

Do speak one of the swiss languages? Are you aware that swiss german is a dialect not easy to understand with school german?

You have to contact the swiss red cross to find out if your education is equal and accepted there, if yes and language is not a problem you have to get a work permit (often goes with an job offer), or how is your legal status there?

5cats

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I will speak French before leaving the US and know I must speak it in order to get a job in one of the French speaking Cantons. After we are there we may pick up on some German but we will likely live/work in a French speaking Canton so the need for High German may not be as pressing.

I would have to get a B-permit as I am a non-EU citizen. I have done quite a bit of research on that part but nothing that I have found lets me know how a NCLEX tested RN translates to working in Switzerland.

The Swiss Red Cross wants me to fill out paperwork and pay 120ch in order to determine if my education is transferable but prior to paying it I was hoping someone had some information on how the education translates.

Shanda

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Specializes in intensive care, recovery, anesthetics.

Sorry no clue on that one, best way to find out pay the fee and see what they say.

5cats

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Can I contact you about Switzerland? I have some questions...

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I am a Swiss citizen and I work there as a RN. Nurse practitioners( or Pflegeexperten as we call them ) usually don't work in immediate patient care here. It's mainly in management, research,etc...Living in Germany( border area) and working in Switzerland is a pretty good thing if you can do it. You pay less tax in Germany and also the costs of living are not even close as high as they are here....BUT you get a Swiss salary every month that you can live off.I would do that too...(-:

You can contact me anytime you want and hopefully I can help you with some of the questions you have.

Hi, I meant to quote your reply lol. Can I contact you about Switzerland, I have some questions?

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My husband and I will be moving to Switzerland in 1.5 years. I will have my Associates RN by then and may be working on my BSN. As and RN will I need my BSN to be hired? Will a BSN make me more attractive to employers or increase my salary as it does in the US?

I appreciate any information or guidance.

Shanda

Dear Shanda,

I read all your postings,

I am a Registered Nurse, living in Texas with my family ( husband and two daughters). We are discussing in our family also to move to Switzerland or border area to Austria to work as RN in the next couple of years. My husband and I lived before in Zurich area for couple of years and we know the life there. My husband has some business there and he travels every month fro Dallas. The most difficulty in that part of country is to get any information precisely, specifically on how to register with US degree RN with Swiss Redcross and to seek work permit. The rule changes periodically. The inforamtion in Swiss society is not free flowing like in USA government websites, and is only need to know basis. Moreover language problem is always there for people coming from English speaking countries,. Did you check the website "nursesnet.com". There is some information about Nurses seeking job in Switzerland. My husband has requested some information from his friend, who lives in Zurich and I am waiting before I start my application to Swiss Red Cross. Do you have any information on this? may be we can exchange our information to help each other? Any help you need I will ask my husband to find out for you as he travels every month to Switzerland on business. Waiting for your reply. with best regards, cmurthy

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