Today there is a huge shortage of nurses all over the world. Yes, imagine that our girls who have successfully graduated from medical schools and have only two years of specialized education are essential specialists throughout the world. For example, the United States currently lacks more than a million nurses. Nurses are needed in Canada, England, Ireland, and many other countries around the world. Nursing is one of the most popular professions.
In America, the approach to nurse qualification is somewhat different from that in the CIS countries. Foreign Consultants, Inc. directly performs the equivalence of any foreign diploma to its American equivalent. Evaluation is the determination of the compliance of education received in other countries with American norms and standards: in terms of the essence of the specialty, the nature and number of disciplines studied, the number of academic hours attended and practical classes completed, and examinations passed.
In the CIS countries, a nurse is a person who has completed 8 or 10 grades of school and studied at a medical school for two and a half years. Such a diploma, after undergoing Evaluation, is equated to an Associate’s Degree in Medicine.
So, a nurse has arrived in America who completed a ten-year school and studied at a medical school for two and a half years. We have equated her diploma to an Associate’s Degree in Medicine. What can she do here? Remember the main thing: her education is fully credited, she does not need to study anew. But in America, a diploma alone is not enough; she must pass an exam for a nurse's license in order to have the right to perform all the work in this specialty. If a nurse wants to obtain this license, she can prepare on her own or take special courses (usually these are the so-called Kaplan courses) and prepare for the exams for $3-4 thousand. I have not yet met a single nurse who completed these courses and did not pass the exams. They usually pass them on the first or second attempt. They are not at all as difficult as the doctor's exam.
Now, when you have passed the exam and have an American nurse's license in your hands, you are one of the most sought-after specialists in America. The starting salary of a nurse is $36-40 thousand per year. She has the right to overtime - overtime work, which is paid additionally. And if a nurse works in an intensive care unit, she can receive up to $60 thousand per year.
Is all of the above the limit of dreams and possibilities? By no means! A nurse who has an Associate’s Degree in Medicine can go to university, study for another two years and obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing. In America, nursing is a separate profession that has the same degrees as others. Obtaining an Associate’s Degree in Medicine requires two years of study, a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing - four, a Master’s Degree in Nursing - six years, a PhD, Doctor of Sciences in Nursing - that is another four years of study. In America, a nurse can continually continue to study and improve her knowledge and degree. At the same time, her license remains the same; it is called a Registered Nurse License. A nurse can be an Associate’s Degree Registered Nurse, have a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, PhD, but she has already passed the exam for Registered Nurse and no longer needs to take it.
As a rule, every nurse strives to improve her degree. This is necessary to get a promotion at work, for example in her hospital. After all, you can be just a nurse, or the head of the nursing department in a unit (for this you need a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing). Or you can become the head of the nursing department of the entire hospital (for this you need a Master’s Degree in Nursing). Having a PhD, you can give lectures to nurses and other medical staff at universities and hospitals. The opportunities here are unlimited, and the salary meanwhile is from $45 thousand to $150 thousand.
You can take a very good job in the Home Care system. These are specialized services that organize the work of nurses with patients at home. In order not to keep a patient in the hospital for a long time, he is often transferred home, to the so-called Home Care. A nurse is assigned to him to, for example, make dressings and monitor his health. A nurse in Home Care receives from $60 thousand per year, and she is reimbursed for gasoline and telephone calls. This job allows the nurse to devote more time to her family, independently planning her daily schedule.
I must note that very often doctors approach our company with a request to lower the level of their diploma, that is, to equate their medical diploma to a nurse's education. The fact is that we cannot do this. Yes, a nurse studied only two years at a school, and a doctor - six years at an institute, and, of course, a doctor can work as a nurse. But under American laws, a doctor does not have the right to do this, because for this he must complete a special course - Nursing. Nursing is a separate profession, and it does not intersect with any other, just as, for example, the specialties of a chemical engineer and a programmer do not intersect. Of course, a doctor can use his Master’s Degree in Medicine and go to study. In a year and a half, oddly enough, he will become a nurse, that is, he will receive an American nurse's diploma. Then he will also have a quick opportunity to get a good salary. An Evaluation of his diploma will help save time, money and effort spent on education: when he goes to study as a nurse, many subjects may be re-credited.
I want to emphasize once again that all the talk that our Ukrainian diplomas are valued nowhere, are not equated or accepted in the West, is completely groundless. Education is a true value that is always in your hands.