Archive for July 29th, 2010

Many months ago, the thought ofnursing overseas was just a thought. Something that I dreamed of doing and wasexcited about, a new adventure that the Lord would take me on. I wouldexperience a new culture in a new way, with the foundation of nursing as astarting point. Today I want to share with you just a little about how nursingoverseas has impacted me thus far. I want to share stories with you andencourage all who have a thought right now for something new and challenging. Iwant to encourage you to surrender to the Lord your plans and passionatelypursue Him as He guides you along the journey.
First, nursing overseas provides many challenges with differences not only indiseases but also in the names of common medications. Several months wererequired for me to figure this out, but eventually I have become accustomed tothe common illnesses and treatment options.
The environment that I am nursing in right now is different than from backhome. Although I never worked in a hospital as a full time nurse prior to thistrip, with several hospital placements in nursing school, I do have a base ofcomparison.

One day, as Margaret and I werepreparing medication in the stock room – without even blinking an eye I said toher, “Would you look at that, a gecko is in with the Gentamicin ampoules!” Webroke out laughing at the thought – that we have become so comfortable nursinghere that, even a small animal amongst the medication doesn’t phases us. Agreat memory!
Graduating with a nursing degree has enabled me to work alongside the Matron,Nurse in Charge – a Registered Nurse with further education and much experience.With this opportunity, I have been able to assist in rounds with the doctor andthe other nursing staff, walking from patient to patient in the mornings. Atthe beginning, these moments were very stressful as reading the charts andunderstanding the health situations were new, but now these are memorable timesof the day. We get to interact with staff and patients at the same time – evenencourage different treatments or make suggestions based on previous regimens.
Currently, the need at AICT Makongoro Health Centre is to work on updating datamanagement, thus Margaret and I find ourselves helping with information detailson the computer. We are working on imputing admission, diagnosis, and dischargeinformation for patients that come through the clinic. This will allow themanagement staff to have a better idea of overall patient management and willencourage the Health Department to purchase more computers for the clinic.Using my gifts, even if they are not directly related to nursing, is what I havecome here to do. I am so thankful that the Lord has placed me where I can beused the most. From typing out reports for the HIV/AIDS counselling clinic toorganizing medication on an updated flow sheet, I am learning. I hope to beable to share this knowledge with staff at the clinic and look forward to moreopportunities to share in my gifts in the coming months.

Working as a nurse overseas is an economical and sustainable way to fund your overseas experience

Nursing is a transferable skill, especially if you are a fluent English speaker because Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK and the USA are all experiencing an acute shortage of qualified nurses. This has resulted in an immediate opportunity for English speaking nurses to travel and nurse overseas.

Securing yourself a nursing job overseas will allow you to base yourself in a different region of the world and travel abroad from there. If you get a nursing job in the UK you will be able to easily explore Europe using the network of budget airlines that fly between the major European cities. If you base yourself nursing in Australia you can easily explore the South Pacific and Asia. I have done this successfully in the UK and am now based in Asia.

Working while you travel enables you to spend an extended time away from home and gives you a way to replenish your funds when you are running short.

There are three strategies you can use when nursing to fund your long term trip abroad.

Firstly, you can get a nursing job abroad, work full time and travel in your regular vacations. With shift work and overtime it is easy to earn extra vacation days to add onto your trips. With this strategy you have the security of having a job to go back to and a regular income. The downside is that you have to plan your trips around your employers needs.

Secondly, you can work as a contract nurse. With this strategy you sign a contract for a limited period of time. Usually you will earn more money per day than you would if you were employed on a permanent basis because you probably won't qualify for vacation or sick pay; the higher daily rate compensates you for this. In some countries, like the UK, you can employ yourself through your own limited liability company when you are a contract nurse and this means you can pay minimal income tax.

Thirdly you can work for a nursing agency on day by day basis. With this strategy you will probably make more per day than you would if you were permanently employed, the same as a contract nurse, because the nursing agency may not pay you for your vacations or when you are sick. Also you may not receive work every day because the agency can only place you when their clients need you. However, as there is a severe shortage of nurses worldwide, it is unlikely that you won't be able to work whenever you want to, and probably even when you do not!

Which strategy you can use where is dependent on the visa restrictions placed on overseas nurses in each country. For example, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK offer travelers under 30 a working holiday visa which means nurses can work for any employer. If you are over 30 and you want to work in one of these countries, your working visa will probably be linked to a specific employer. These visa restrictions limit which employment strategy you can use when nursing overseas.

For more detailed information on using nursing jobs overseas to fund your overseas experience get Kelly's Nursing-Overseas Ultimate Job Hunting System detailing how to become a registered overseas nurse in more than 10 countries worldwide!

“Escape the Rat Race – Nurse Overseas” available FREE

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Blackwell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Using-a-Nursing-Job-Overseas-to-Fund-Your-Overseas-Experience&id=977405

If you are looking to move your nursing abroad to the UnitedStates of America, then now is the time to do it. Hospitals in the USA areexperiencing a staffing crisis, and this crisis is predicted to become worseover the next decade.

The nursing shortage in the USA is said to be caused by the manyfactors. On one hand there are many nurses reaching retirement age or choosingto retire early, and there simply aren’t enough newly graduated nurses to fillall the gaps. And there is more strain being placed on existing medical staffbecause of the bubble of baby boomers reaching retirement.

This is great news for internationally educated nurses becausethey can now find nursing positions in US hospitals with ease. Hospitaladministrators are aggressively recruiting foreign nurses.

To nurse in the US, legally, there are many papers to fill outand different states have different rules. In order to qualify to register as anurse in any state in the US you must meet the following criteria:

* undertaken post high school nursing education. This means youmust have graduated high school and then gone on to do your nursingqualification afterwards.

* be a registered nurse or hold a license to nurse at home. Thismeans that you are legally allowed to practice nursing in the country where youtrained or the country where you currently live.

* have 1 year experience nursing in your specialty. If youaren’t a specialist nurse in, for example, paediatric nursing, psychiatricnursing, neo natal nursing, etc, your specialty would be as an adult nurse.

* be able to communicate clearly in English. If English is notyour first language, you will be required to provide evidence of your abilityto communicate to the required standard. This means that you’ll have to take anEnglish language test in speaking, reading, writing andlistening.

Should you meet these 4 critical pre-application criteria, youcan be assured that you’re a good candidate for getting a nursing job in theUnited States.

There are three visa options for nurses who want to work in the US.

Firstly you can apply for the much coveted Green Card. In orderto qualify for a Green Card, you must meet all the criteria above, and sit andpass the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS)examination. To get this visa takes the longest of the three options, but it isthe better option for you if you want to make a long term move to the US. It ispossible, with a Green Card, to move your nursing career to the US permanently.

Secondly, you can apply for an H-1B visa. To qualify for an H-1Bvisa you need to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in nursing. If you have avocational nursing qualification you will not be granted this visa.

The last visa option for nurses is the H-1C visa. The USgovernment issues 500 of these visas to healthcare workers each year.

If you thought that getting a nursing job in the USA was animpossible dream, you were mistaken. You need to get started on yourapplications right away because medical recruiters in the US are desperate toemploy you right now!