The Nursing Route to Residency for IMGs: Part 1
I am gonna waddle in some untried waters here..., writing and researching about Nursing for IMGs, so do bear with me as I perfect the post in time - but any start is good..ain't it ?.
As the IMG competition has heated up exponentially, double 99s and US experiences have become commonplace. A most amusing new strategy that I have been noticing with increasing frequency is IMGs using Nursing pathway as a fast means to acquire green cards. Of course it would be less faster than marriage to a US citizen, but still pretty fast - A green card within 2.5 to 3 years of starting the degree program. And we already went through how a Green Card/ U.S. citizenship status is a pretty effective weapon for any IMG seeking a residency program.
It isn't that nursing was not done before by IMGs - many Filipino and Russian docs have migrated to USA as nurses before, frustrated with low doctor salaries there - but using Nursing as a route exclusively to get a green card to make a Residency easier is what I am talking about here.
There are at least three advantages that this track offers over the GRE Route to Residency:
a. You get valuable direct US Clinical Experience while you are training as a Nurse
b. Thanks to the terrible nursing shortage, the US has relaxed the Green card process for nurses and made it very fast too.
c. Even if a residency does not work out for a given year, IMGs with nursing degrees can continue to work and earn decent money as Nurses - about $45,000 to $60,000 a year in starting salaries. Contrast this with the GRE Route, where IMGs must either extend their student visas and continue working those peanuts-paying student jobs or hunt for a job in their non-nursing fields (MPH, MHA) - which really ain't as easy as finding a nursing job. Having a nursing degree is almost a guarantee for a job in the US.
Q. So How does the Nursing Route to Residency Work for IMGs?
- IMGs enroll and complete a appropriate nursing degree program will qualify them to take the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure EXamination-Registered Nurse) exam later. This is done on a F1 student visa
- Take the NCLEX-RN exam to get certified as a Registered Nurse (RN)
- Apply for a state license where employed (during OPT Visa status)
- File for a Green Card petition (during OPT visa status)
- Get Green Card and apply for Residency
Note that Rules for nurse license and the NCLEX-RN exam eligibility vary highly from state to state.
Doing a nursing degree within the US, rather than outside, though more expensive, is a much faster and easier way to a nursing green card.
Q. Where can IMGs get such Nursing Degrees in the United States ?
A. The Nursing degree process in the United States are a complex lot - LPN, BSN, Associates Degree, RN, etc....its a maze out there. While I am in the process of digging out more information, so that I am sure about its accuracy before putting it up, here are some programs for interested IMGs to explore :
- Florida International University : Foreign-Educated Physician (Academic)-to-BSN Track
- This one is online ! : University of Texas Health Science center - Laredo Campus : contact Cain by e-mail or at 956-523-7456 or 956-236-1617, as the site says
Both these offer the BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Track - which normally takes 4 years, but reduces to 2-years for physicians.
- A associates degree offering program - like the University of South Dakota, might make it even shorter and faster.
More details later on Part II
Nice Books:
- NCLEX-RN: A Comprehensive Review for the Registered Nurse Licensing Exam
- Becoming a Nurse in the 21st Century
- How to Get a Green Card
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posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 8:34 PM
Comments on "The Nursing Route to Residency for IMGs: Part 1"
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Anonymous said ... (November 22, 2007 1:48 AM) :
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Anonymous said ... (July 14, 2009 9:35 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (July 27, 2009 8:26 AM) :
Post Your Comment !ill be a doctor in india for my life instead of being a nurse in the US
this is complete utter madness
how much time i will wait for green card after starting nursing program?
HI, I AM INTRESTED IN THIS nURSING ROUTE FOR THE RESIDENCY. I AM DESPERATE TO GET IM RESIDENCY, I DONT HAVE THE GR8 SCORES TOO....I CURRENTLY FACING THE SCARCITY OF GETTING INTERVIEW IN THE 2008 MATCH,,,I AM UNABLE TO DECIDE WHICH IS BETTER OF THE THREE
1.MPH/MHA
2. RESEARCH
3.NURSING
I think it might be worth a shot. Could you give me some idea as to how much it would cost (approximately) until i get the green card?
Don't do it, guys. I've been a nurse for two years and it's just a distractor from what you really should be doing. It's a boring routine job, where people call you by your first name and you're just a server to your patients and a server do the doctors. But it did make me very proud once i got ECFMG certified and the prescious letters MD just seem... something outragoes!
Hey guys look into this program MEPN do a google search on it. This gives you a Masters degree in Nursing in 20 months. Beind a foreign MD helps getting addmission. Its better then MPH MSHA. MEPN is where the money is.
Ta Ta
This is a nice option. You can definitely consider it, if you have low scores in your exam and you are in a hope of not getting the residency. I do not have courage to do nursing after MD+MPH. What people will say about you and how you are really going to face your relatives and friends? What are you going to tell them?
I am an american, born and raised in Indiana. I went to Indiana University School of Nursing and graduated in 1996. In 2005 I went to the caribbean to attend medical school and I am currently finishing my 4th year, and studying for step 2. I must say that it makes me quite upset to read the initial comment because it makes it seem like doing nursing will be so easy for someone who is already a doctor. Most doctors are oblivious to the nursing process. Yet you will be superior with the physiology behind everything, if you do not have good bedside communication skills, hold true compassion for those who are suffering, recognize your own cultural biases, be ready willing and able to perform basic tasks when there is no nursing assistant around, and finally be able to manage and prioritize multiple tasks constantly while being interrupted by every kind of person on the health care team. When someone else does not do their job, remember it now becomes the nurse's job to make them do it and to fix all problems that arise not only with regard to patient complaints but breakdowns within the system itself. Everything gets shunted to the nurse. Dont think that nursing is so easy just because you are a doctor.