Hi ratan-ga
I have divided your question into four parts for ease of
understanding.
Q-1: Is the nursing degree obtained from India acceptable in the US?
If so, what are they and can they be taken in India?
Ans: Yes, the nursing degree obtained from India is acceptable in US.
"This degree must be provided by a government recognized nursing
school. Before starting the degree course, you must have completed
senior secondary school education. After getting this degree, you must
have a minimum of two years of experience. This experience should not
be restricted to only one area of medicine. You must also have
surgical experience. Suppose you have worked only in pediatrics
department and you have medical and surgical experience in pediatrics.
That will not be of any help. You must have experience in most spheres
of healthcare (medical / surgical aspects) of adults, children and
maternal areas and in psychiatric and mental health care.
Even candidate with diploma in nursing from a government recognized
institute / nursing school can also apply for the job in USA. The
duration of diploma course must be of at least 4 years. However,
before applying, you must have at least a minimum of four years of
experience. Again, this experience must not be restricted to only one
field of medicine."
Source:
“Process Details - www.namasthenri.com”
http://www.namasthenri.com/nurseusa/education_nurse.htm
Q-2: What is the procedure for a medical nurse educated in India to
qualify
for a similar job in a U S hospital?
Ans: The first thing that you have to do is to get a passport. A
passport is a document issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, the
government of India. Most state capitals have a passport office that
issues and renews passports. You can approach these offices and get a
passport.
The second thing to look for is a job abroad. There are many ways
available for you to search for jobs abroad. In US, there are more
than 6,000 hospitals and many of them have vacancies for registered
nurses. Some of them are ready to support you in getting a green card.
Incase if your friend is working in a hospital abroad, you can request
her to look for a job in the same hospital. Employee references always
help in getting a job easily. Following web sites, which deals in
nurse placement:
http://www.nurseweek.com
http://www.nurseemployment.com
http://www.medhunters.com
http://www.nursesworld.com
http://www.nursecareer.com
http://www.healthcareerweb.com
http://www.nursejobz.com
http://www.healthcarejobstore.com
http://www.nursingnet.org
Once you find a suitable job, you can send your application directly.
Nurses can work for a minimum period of 40 hours per week. You must
enter into an agreement with the hopsital. In US, each state has a
Board of nursing. This board has the legal authority to regulate
nursing in that state. The board is the authority that issues licenses
to nurses. Therefore, you have to fulfill formalities that these
boards specify before you start working there. While some of these
formalities are related to your nursing profession, other formalities
are aimed at entering and living in US.
The professional formalities that you have to fulfill are three in
number:
-- Getting a CGFNS certificate ( http://www.cgfns.org/cgfns/index.html
)
-- Passing the NCLEX-RN exam
-- Getting a VisaScreen certificate.
Other formalities related to entering into US are the formalities
about getting a visa and other requirements. The entire process will
take a minimum time of about one and a half years.
“TEST Details - www.namasthenri.com”
http://www.namasthenri.com/nurseusa/process_nurse.htm
Q -2: How would one prepare for these tests and approximately how
much time it would require to do so?
Ans: Getting a CGFNS certificate: This test is conducted by the
Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). This test
is a part of the CGFNS certification program. This program is meant
for those general nurses who are educated and / or licensed in
countries other than the USA. To get an application form for the
program, you must approach CGFNS. You can send a letter / fax / email
or you can down load the application form from CGFNS web site (
http://www.cgfns.org/cgfns/index.html ). The application form will
contain detailed instructions about who is eligible to apply for the
program. It will also tell you about how do you get your credentials
reviewed. It will give you detailed instructions about how to send
your mark sheets / nursing school certificates / registration and
licenses. It will indicate the type of questions that you will face in
the qualifying exam.
Who is eligible?
You are eligible if you are educated to be a nurse.
Besides education, you must have a registration and must hold a
license to work as a nurse.
If you satisfy all of these conditions, then you can apply for the
CGFNS certification program.
The CGFNS program comprises of three parts:
1) Credentials review of your education, registration and license
2) A one day qualifying CGFNS exam that aims to test your nursing
knowledge.
3) Attaining a minimum prescribed score in Test of English as a
Foreign Language (TOEFL) / Michigan English Language Assessment
Battery (MELAB) as a sign for showing your English Language Skills.
Credentials review:
In this part, CGFNS wants to review your educational documents – marks
sheets, certificates from your schools, college and nursing schools.
You must request your nursing school to send the marks sheets, and the
degree certificates / diplomas directly to CGFNS. You must be sure
that these certificates are send in English. You must also request the
license board to send a letter to CGFNS. The letter must state clearly
and categorically state that you have a full and unrestricted license
and you have a registration to work as a registered nurse. You must
request the licensing board to send the letter directly to CGFNS.
Suppose your marks sheet/certificates are not in English, then,
request your school / college /nursing school to send a word-by word
translation. You must request the registering authority / licensing
authority to do the same. In case if they are not able to do that,
CGFNS can provide the service. However, you have to pay a fee for
that.
After receiving these educational and license documents, CGFNS will
analyze them. After receiving the documents from you, your school and
licensing authority, CGFNS will send a letter to you. The letter will
specify all the documents that were received by CGFNS. The letter will
also specify what are all the documents that are still needed. Once
all the documents are received, CGFNS will scrutinize them, and asks
you to appear for the test.
After sending your application form to CGFNS, in case if you wish to
make any changes in your CGFNS application, then, only the following
changes are allowed. They are – change of name, change of address,
change of exam date or exam location. However, you must send your
application in writing to make these changes. You need not pay any
additional fees for these changes. CGFNS has also fixed a deadline for
making these changes. Your handwritten application must reach CGFNS 10
weeks before the date of the qualifying exam.
Qualifying CGFNS exam:
This qualifying exam is conducted three times a year.
The third part of the program:
The third part of the program is to appear for an English competency
exam. You can appear for the TOEFL or MELAB exams. CGFNS recognised
only these two exams as a measure for assessing your English
competency. For more information on these exams, refer to chapters on
TOEFL and MELAB. CGFNS also prescribes the minimum scores that you
have to achieve in TOEFL / MELAB exams.
Scores:
For TOEFL including TWE and TSE
: 540.
For computer based TOEFL
: 207,
TWE
: 4.0,
TSE
: 50.
MELAB - Parts I, II, III
: combined minimum score of 79
For the speaking test
: 3+
Remember an important aspect. The scores that you have achieved in
both CGFNS qualifying exam and TOEFL / MELAB are valid for only two
years. Hence, make efforts to see that you complete all the
formalities and join in a job before this validity ceases. Other wise,
you will have to appear for the exams again.
If you have completed all the three parts of the program, then, CGFNS
will award you a CGFNS certificate.
You must submit this CGFNS certificate to get your visa. Once you get
the CGFNS certificate, you have more chances of passing the NCLEX-RN
exam and get a license to work as a registered nurse. (About 88-92%
of those nurses who have secured the CGFNS certificate has passed the
NCLEX-RN exams.) To appear for an NCLEX-RN exam in most of the states
in USA, one of the eligibility norms is to have a CGFNS certificate.
Once you achieve the CGFNS certificate, your employer will also have a
greater confidence on your working skills. There is every possibility
of getting better pay. CGFNS certificate is also essential to
complete the VisaScreen: Visa Credentials Assessment. Hence, by
getting this certificate, you have crossed a major hurdle in your
effort to go abroad to work as a nurse.
Other sites of interest:
"Conducts CGFNS exam preparation course in India:"
http://www.usaprofessionals.org/india_recruitment.htm
“Provides Details on Immigration Rules & Regulations:”
http://www.immigration.com/
Search Strategy:
nurse usa immigration formalities
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indian nurse usa immigration
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=indian+nurse+usa+immigration&spell=1
indian nurse usa job formalities
://www.google.com/search?q=indian+nurse+usa+job+formalities&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1
Hope this helps
OnlinExpert |
