aineberg

My husband has the opportunity to move from London to Dallas with he's company, I want to make sure it's financially viable and realistic! We have 3 kids one who has Down syndrome with a past history of heart problems and breathing problems though now is well. He does have severe learning difficulties. I feel he may be our biggest stumbling block I was wondering No.1 will he be insurable, I'm not sure how much medical my husbands company will provide though they are a big bank. No. 2 what's the story with special Ed schools and do you have to pay? No.3 I'm presuming he will get an L1 visa and can I work as a nurse on this aswell? I don't have a degree but I do have 20 years experience mostly in Oncology. any advice much appreciated.

Noorah101

You need to find out the details of hubby's medical coverage in the USA. Get in touch with HR or the Benefits Dept and get all the costs and coverage details.

If he gets an L1, you will get an L2, which allows you to apply for work authorization after arrival in the USA. It can take up to 3 months to get the EAD in hand, so you'll be unemployed for a while, prepare accordingly.

I don't know for sure, but would assume special ed school would be expensive.

Rene

GeoffM

Hi and welcome.

2. As far as I know, the school district has to do their best to accommodate special needs students as normally as possible - "least restrictive environment" - and can't charge for this in the public school system. There was news of a family winning a case for the district to pay for a private school recently but I suspect that's rare. Presumably you have an IEP in the UK? They're also called IEPs here, and you as parents, the school, and (sometimes) the school district work together and agree on the best way forward for your child. But, as I've found out, schools and school districts vary on their provision, knowledge and practice.

3. I assume you'd need to pass the NCLEX to practice as an RN in the US (plus work authorization of course). It's apparently not an easy exam but if you've been practising for 20 years then I would hope a fair chunk comes as second nature! However, there are sections of the exam that perhaps you wouldn't deal with on a day-to-day basis, and those are the areas in which my wife worried about (but passed first time).

Uncle_Bob

Licensing varies by state but most if not all require that the NCLEX test be passed prior to issuing a nursing license (Registered Nurse).

Also prior to taking the NCLEX it is likely that the OPs nursing qualifications will need to be evaluated to see if they are up to what is required. This is done by CGFNS organization and takes a very long time. With no formal qualifications i feel this may be a show stopper. Its tough one though because 20 odd years ago there wasn't a degree in nursing in the UK. My wife had a degree in health and social studies for which we had to locate the syllabus and provide to the CGFNS.

Maybe there will be a possibility of some other kind of lower level work. I know my wife was working at the hospital for months before she finally got her license and RN position. Luckily her hospital paid for additional training and all the costs involved.

Registered nurses here do more than nurses do on the NHS, for example they are expected to put in catheters and draw blood etc. My wife had to do some additional training courses prior to taking the NCLEX. Also courses internal to the hospital.

Its definitely worth having a crack at. Its amazing how much my wife is getting paid here compared to what she was getting on the NHS. Nurses here are also held in much higher regard than in the UK also.

Good luck to the OP

Uncle_Bob

I think if he is on an L1 visa then you can apply for an L2 visa. That allows you to stay in the US, but not work. But you may be eligible for EAD (Employment Authorization document). But you have to file for it.

See the following thread

http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...e-work-113070/

GeoffM

CGFNS depends on the state (though Texas is one of the CGFNS states). My wife had to provide transcripts and records from the UK and the Philippines, just to make things easier (NOT!), but it was the California BoN that deals with that here, and took about 2 months - CA BoN is seriously understaffed.

Noorah101

L2 visa holders are eligible for an EAD.

Rene

Uncle_Bob

Thats odd as i see Texas on a list of CGFNS states here, although things change.

http://www.nursetogether.com/list-of...s-requirements

It gets confusing depending on which country you come from and if English is your primary language or not.
Also people talk about needing CGFNS do not often clarify on if they are referring to the CGFNS credential evaluation service (CES) or the actual CGFNS exam.
If a state does not require a CES through the CGFNS then its likely they will use some other form to evaluate qualifications. Our experience of the (non profit) CFGNS organization was not pleasant. They were hard to get in touch with and never explained the situation very well. The whole process took forever.

The OP would do well to gather up any employment records, training records, course syllabus and such before they leave the UK.

GeoffM

I said Texas IS one of the CGFNS states!

Yeah, as I say the CA BoN are understaffed so they would take 2-3 weeks to reply to a simple snail mail and wouldn't answer the telephone or emails. Perhaps it was just luck that we were able to provide what they needed in about 3 exchanges.

+1

I think you mentioned this earlier but apparently some nursing schools around the world (including the US, though not relevant to NCLEX) aren't delivering all the subjects required these days so newer graduates tend to have to take extra classes. Fortunately my wife had everything required.

Probably too soon to mention this but if the OP does get an RN job, she needs to make sure she is paid as an experienced nurse. My wife was treated as a new grad by both HR departments in the hospitals she's worked at in the US, because of her lack of US work history. Fortunately both times that got sorted out - in the 2nd case meaning a 50% wage increase over the initial rate offered. The other thing is to network with medical staff otherwise - as the 1st HR department did - she was almost rejected at the first hurdle because they didn't have a clue about overseas hospitals and their reputation: the clinical staff saw her resume and knew the hospital.

penguinsix

Public (i.e. government) schools are required to offer education to all, including those with special needs, but not each district does it as well as they could. Your best bet is to check with some of the parents groups in the town where you intend to live to find which school districts offer the best opportunity.

Take a look also at City Data forums too, which often has more neighborhood-specific information:

Good special ed schools / school districts in DFW (Dallas, Irving: appointed, rentals) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Uncle_Bob

Yes you did

augigi

I can confidently say that there is zero chance you can work as an RN in the US without a degree or diploma.

What type of nurse are you that you don't have any degree? I mean, what kind of training did you do, hospital-based? You'd need to have transcripts listing what was covered in each class and how many theory and clinical hours were involved.

There are very clear guidelines as to the theory and clinical hours you must be able to prove in order to even be eligible to take the licensing exams here. You can find more info on the international forum at allnurses site forums also.

Pollyana

Just FYI, many UK trained nurses don't have a degree.

augigi

Yes I'm aware, but they probably can't work as RNs in the US either. I am not criticizing non-degree nurses, I was just trying to clarify exactly what training she received as it materially affects the chances of becoming registered in the USA.

aineberg

Thank you for all the fabulous information, I really appreciate you alm taking time out to give your advice) I'm a fully qualified chemotherapy/ oncology specialist nurse. When I trained back in Ireland 20 years ago the only qualification available was Registered General Nurse which is a Certificate in Nursing, from a School of Nursing. I have done degree modules working towards a degree but with family commitments and a disabled child I don't have enough time to sleep never mind study!! My biggest concern is the provision of services for my son, you can't beat the good old NHS!