Career Pathways for International Nurses in the US

 

Good morning everybody. It's Friday and it's 7am so it must be our weekly show onwards and upwards. The on Line live show for global nurses all across the world. Welcome, welcome. I am your host Danielle Chasin. For those of you who haven't been watching the past few shows I am one of the newer hosts on the shows. Tanya Friedman is my mother. So I have been growing up with Connetics my whole life. I joined the team a couple of years ago, and have been so excited to be hosting some of these shows and been joining you all on Friday mornings. Today, we are going to be talking about a very exciting topic, we're going to be talking about the career path of a registered nurse. So I know for a lot of our viewers around the world, you might be thinking, you know, when I come to the US, what else am I going to be able to do? Am I going to be able to change my path? What other options do I have? Am I going to be able to continue my education? You know, as somebody who has changed careers multiple times, I know some of those thoughts might go through your head, what if I want to change? What if I want to, you know, earn some extra cash, whatever that reason may be, we are going to be talking about those options today. So get excited, we are gonna have some great guests. And we are very excited. To get started. Please put in the chat where you're watching from I love to see where our audience is. I'm gonna call out some names. Let's see, is there anybody up there yet? Oh, we got some great people watching.

So before we bring on our guests, I know for some of our nurses who are watching, you might not be in the US yet, that might be your American dream. And I want to go through what the steps are going to look like. So before you start thinking about your career to the US, we're going to be thinking about your path to get here. So this is what we call our success path. For some of you who have watched the show before I'm sure this looks familiar, we're just gonna do a quick run through. This is a graphic that you can find on the Connetics website. It goes through each step on what a global nurse needs to do in order to come to the US. So your first step is you're going to pass the NCLEX that's the number one step every nurse needs to do. After that you are going to prepare for the interview.

This is when our career matchmakers are going to work with you to find your perfect match. We work with hospitals all across the country, literally every one of the 50 states. So we're going to help you figure out where's your best match. Once you get a job offer, you're going to move to our phase three, which is going to be your visa framework and licensing and credentialing. This is where our team is going to help you through that process. We're going to help you through the immigration through the licensing and credentialing, you're going to have a dedicated person who's going to be answering all your questions, making sure you're meeting all your deadlines, we are there with you every step of the way. Then once you get your green card, you're going to do a little happy dance because now you're getting ready to come to the US. And it's the Get Ready game plan. So we're going to help you get ready, you're not just going to arrive here you know not knowing where to go. Connetics nursing recruiting agency is going to be there through that whole process. Step six is the arrival sequence. That's when you get to the US. You've landed on US soil, you've realized your American dream. So exciting. We are so happy that you are here after this long journey. And then Step seven is enjoy and prosper. And this is actually really what we're going to be focusing on today. How are you going to enjoy and prosper? How are you going to grow your career as a nurse? What are going to be your options? When should you start thinking about this? All of these questions we're going to answer today. So let's bring out our guests. All right, I see everybody popping up. Good morning, Holly Deirdre, and Mica. We are so excited to have you guys here this morning.

Good morning. Good morning. Why don't we take a second for everybody to introduce themselves, and maybe just share you know a little bit about your path, or why you are here to talk about the career path of nurses and what insight you're gonna be able to give us today. So, Holly, do you want to get started for us?

Sure. Hi, everyone. My name is Holly Musselwhite. I am a US educated RN and I'm here to talk about career paths, and options. And I think the amazing thing when you're a nurse is that you can have an interest today and go into that area of nursing. And then if you know a few years later, you're like, I want to try something else or whatever. Nobody thinks twice about that. That's normal. But my path, I actually went to school in the US for two years became an RN after two after a two year or associate's degree, at the time, they offered more of those. And then, while I was working full time, as a nurse, I went back to school and attended, attended courses to complete my Bachelor's degree in nursing. And then, I don't know I guess I liked learning. So I kept on going, but I took a Masters in Business degree. And then I was at the bedside for probably about a total of seven years before I decided I wanted to try something different. I became an NCLEX instructor for a company that did international staffing, did that for a couple of years, and then moved into doing more clinical programs for international nurses, PTs, OTs, and enjoyed helping all of those professionals, prepare to go to work here in the US and we'll get here, prepare and then and then actually onboard successfully and build their careers here. So I'm friends with many of those nurses through social media today, I love seeing the different pathways that their lifes have taken both professionally and personally. So sometimes they'll post you know, new positions that they're taking or family changes that they've had and, and then seeing their own children sometimes become healthcare professionals. And so it's definitely become a passion to see people progress and build a life here and all the interesting things that they can do with it.

Amazing, Holly, so sounds like you have had a very long and fruitful career. I'm sure when you started you probably didn't even know where you were onna be going. But that is going to be some good insight for us today. Thank you, Holly. Miko, do you want to go next.

All right, my name is Mikko. I'm one of the internationally educated nurses here in Fargo. So I started my nursing career with my bachelor's degree in nursing. And then I took up our license in the Philippines and then after maybe a few years, I decided to take the NCLEX and then I'm here currently and I'm it happened that our education in the Philippines is qualified for the US. So my pathway is I had an experience in intensive care unit in the Philippines for two years and then moved to a different area. Its Neonatal Intensive Care step down unit for six years and then again, here I am in the US here in Fargo practicing my intensive care experience. And then at the same time my supervisor or my manager asked me if I'm willing to do educate educator role in the unit. So currently I am in I am now the department educator chord Education Coordinator for those new nurses residency program for nurses, international educated nurses, those nurses who transplanted from other unit to our unit I am the one who is making their schedule and some follow upward education for me and assist in assistance with my athlete Nikhil educator in our unit.

So wow, Miko that is amazing. If you think back a couple of years to when you were living in the Philippines. Did you ever imagine that you would be a nurse living in Fargo helping other nurses figure out their schedules and what they should be doin

Thank you for having me, Danielle. I love being part of these shows. So I'm Deirdre O'Regan, I am not a registered nurse, but how I've been with the organization for over 16 years. So collectively O'Grady Payton International and Connetics AMN healthcare International. You know, just a what the favorite part of my of my job is seeing nurses like Miko, and you know, how they are progressing here in the United States, and the opportunities that are presented to you, not just for your initial commitment, but long term. I myself came from Ireland many years ago. So while I'm not a registered nurse, you know, a lot of the great support that you get from a mn healthcare International is really true experience about what that process is like. And of course, you've got wonderful clinical support, like Holly who's on the call with us today. And so really, you've, you've got it all with I am in health care International. So thank you very much for joining today. And I'm excited to share some of the stories that I love to share about personal experiences that I've had with our international nurses.

Amazing. Thank you Deirdre, so Deirdre is from OGP. For those of you who didn't catch that, which is kinetic sister company, we are all a part of a AMN we are all part of the AMN healthcare family. And she has got some great insights of what different career paths have looked like for a lot of her nurses who she's helped throughout the years. And also about Amen, generally, and how you can you know, keep in the Amen family once you arrive in the US. So excited to hear about all of that. So thank you to our wonderful guests, we're gonna get started. Before we jump right in, I just wanted to say if anybody is watching, and thinking, Oh, that sounds like something that is good for me. You should apply, apply, apply, our recruiters are on hand and they are waiting and ready to look at your applications. Conneticsusa.com/apply. So you could be like Miko here in the US helping other nurses. So please go ahead and do that. So let's get started. So Holly, I have a question for you. A lot of our nurses are watching from other countries, you know, for them, they're not actually here yet. They have a lot of other things on their mind, we just looked at the success path for a lot of nurses, they're thinking about their NCLEX, you know, at what point should they really be thinking about their career path? And how they are going to navigate that once they come to the US? Any words of advice there?

 

Um, yeah, that's a great question. And it's, I think that it's always wise to be thinking about what will interest you and what your opportunities will be, because kind of to the point of like, Mikos experience, you never know, when an opportunity may come along. And if you already think, Hey, I might enjoy that, because I know I've been thinking about something similar or, you know, you may want to kind of have an idea. And think about timing wise, maybe something that you can even start investing in prior to arriving in the United States, there may be some smaller trainings or some experiences that you can have that would prepare you for that eventual pathway progression. And the other thing you may want to be thinking about is being open. So many of the nurses that I've worked with, as well as myself, you mentioned earlier, long that I had a long career. Yeah, when I came out of nursing school, I was dead set, I was going to be a midwife. And clearly I'm not. And there's nothing wrong with that. But um, opportunities came my way at certain points in time worked with some great people in, in the hospital setting where I was. So that is, you know, being open to what might come your way and being willing to consider it may put you on a path that's even better than what you imagined. So, yes, think ahead, but also be open to new ideas, because there's a lot of opportunities out there.

 

I think that is some good advice. Holly I think for you know, a lot of the nurses that are watching this, they're probably thinking I've already got so much on my plate and the NCLEX and, and the English exam and whatever it is, but it's always good to be thinking, you know, what might come next and how am I going to better position myself? Am I going to take certain courses or am I going to take certain you know, specializations or whatever it may be always good to be thinking ahead and like you said, always good to be open. Because whether you're a nurse or not. When you're moving to a new country, you never know where your path is gonna go. So that's some good advice. Dr. Dre, do you have anything to say? say on that I see you nodding your head as well.

You know, things that I hear from international nurses is, you know, I really want to do this, but it's so hard and it takes such a long time. And what I would say is that you really have to trust in the process and with a partner like Connetics and O'Grady, Payton International, you'll know that you're going to get that expert advice, and really guide you to what's going to be best option for yourself and your family. Collectively, we have been, we've been doing this for many, many, many years, and we've helped 1000s of nurses relocate successfully to the US. And yeah, you know, sometimes it's hard. And that's why you really want to choose a partner that's going to help you every step of the way, not just for your commitment period at your hospital that you are placed at, but long term, right? So we've had the distinct pleasure of watching families grow and watch them achieve different milestones like graduate college, buy their first home. So you know, you really want to be with a partner that's gonna help you long term and not just be there for you for the duration of your commitment to whatever facility that you are placed at. And you know, to to Holly's point, I would say, remain open, right? So you may have something in your mind that you're like, This is the only place that I want to be, but be open to the many opportunities that are available here in the United States. There are 50 states, just like Danielle mentioned when she kicked us off this morning is and each state has its unique nuances. When I first came to the US many years ago, I started on I lived in New Jersey, and then I moved to Pennsylvania, and then I lived in California for a time and now I'm here in Georgia. So lots and lots of opportunities around the United States. So remain open.

I'm so and, and maybe it's not an accident to be here in in that department. And my piece of advice for those nurses who are willing to be in the United States is like, don't forget about NCLEX. Because NCLEX is very important. And it is your foundation for for your good career in the United States. You may not get what you really want. I'm in the area that you really want to go. But there are lots of opportunities here in the United States. So be flexible, and yeah, be open everytime and think positive. And for sure if you are determined and very eager to get what you want. And, yeah, trust and trust, your trust the process and everything. So you will prosper.

I think that is good advice to be flexible. Because sometimes what you think you might want actually turns out to be very different. And things end up working out even better. I mean, I love looking at those pictures of you traveling all around the US in the snow with your new car. You know, it's amazing what you can achieve if you're just open. So I think that's some good advice. So now that you're thinking, you know, you're here and you're this department coordinator, what are your future plans? Have you started thinking about that?

 Right now, because I'm doing some of the I mean, computers staffs about the calendar. So that's the best time for me to learn what are the things that I need to do in the future if ever I become a clinical educator like colleagues, and I don't know actually I'm really really excited for what's coming and I'm really enjoying what I have right now in intensive care unit. I'm it's been a year and right now it's just me It's it's in this moment that it's just making sense of the things that I do in the in the ICU, which is like, oh, that's like, like, for example, the giving sedation to the patients. I mean, I've after a year, that's the time that it really makes. It's really, it really makes a sense to me. Like in the past, I don't know what's happening. Why are we giving this kind of sedation to the patient? But now I understand why is it? So things are starting to click? Yeah. So that's great. I mean, it takes time. Yeah, definitely. I believe it takes time for me or for anyone.

 I think that's, I think that's really good advice. Miko sometimes when you come here, and I'm sure you experienced it as well. You kind of arrive and you feel like, ah, what did I just do? What happens? Now I know, I'm an immigrant teenager, as an immigrant. I know, when we first came here, you sort of feel like, Oh, my goodness, was this the right move. And sometimes it takes a little bit of time to really settle in and really understand what you're doing a new job, a different job. So I think it's good advice that you have to just be in the present, and enjoy it and wait for that moment where things start to click Yeah. And it starts to make sense. Yeah. So that's great advice. Holly, can you maybe speak to what are some career path options for nurses outside of the hospital setting? I know you're a clinical nurse educator, what else could our registered nurses be thinking about, you know, might be interesting to them. Once they're here.

 There are more than I could definitely cover even if I had the whole hour. So some nurses choose to go on for additional formal education when they're here. And when mica was talking about giving sedation. The other thing I was thinking is hmm, you know, a lot of ICU nurses once they've had that year of experience. If they're interested in becoming a CRNA, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, they may start to consider some education for that pathway. And what that would take, usually it's pretty intense, but again, understanding that there may be something outside of the hospital or it may be within the hospital in a different role. clinical instructors are typically in hospital settings. But also, you know, in the classroom in sim labs, we have we have people who specialize in becoming nursing simulation, lab, instructors, and there's so much technology around that. There are nurses who work in health informatics, or clinical informatics, both in the hospital and outside. Home health, we see sometimes nurses like the way that home health is structured and scheduled. And they want to change that significant they'll go into home health. A lot of my my contacts who have worked oncology will eventually want to transition to an outpatient infusion center where they're giving the medications and they're seeing patients who are a little more mobile, going through their cancer treatments, but still keeping some of those skills up. And maybe their schedules are a little more of a nine to five instead of the 12 hour shifts, and maybe they like that better. We see nurses who become entrepreneurs, I'm watching on social media, it's very interesting to see how many nurses have taken their skills and become YouTubers and developed products that are useful both in hospitals and in communities to help people be more functional or healthier. So I think that the sky is the limit. And the opportunities both in and out of the hospital dialysis nursing. I know it's not on the list, but outpatient dialysis centers, usually are looking for nurses and they're typically in more of a leadership position in there because we have dialysis technicians that are also present and helping with some of the some of the treatments and a little more hands on way. So it's, it's pretty amazing. How, how much opportunity there is. And some of those specialties are harder to get into. Some of them are easier. Some of them take more formal education, some of them take certifications. So it's also important to educate yourself. Once you think about what's important to you a D mentioned, you know, if you're wanting to maybe grow your family that there may be certain things that work better for your personal life than others. But, you know, most nurses I think are used to being lifelong learners as well. So whether that's going to Semin ours are preparing for training that way or doing formal education or just saying maybe you just want more of a lateral move. I have colleagues who have been at the bedside and nursing. They love what they do. They're excellent. But they were doing med surg for a few years and then said, maybe I'll go try pacu. And so they're not managers, even though they've been nurses for years, but they love what they do. And they explore different settings throughout their career. And that affords them the opportunities that interests them personally.

 Thank you, Holly. Wow, I loved that graphic with all of those different options. That is amazing. I should have been a nurse, so many different options that you guys have so many cool, interesting options. Yeah, look at that graphic, again, advancing nurse degree, nurse practitioner, nurse educator, so many different options, which is amazing. Holly, a lot of these titles on there got me thinking, and I'm sure for a lot of our other nurses, they were continuing education. So probably having to go back to school is that the case for a lot of nurses in order to advance their career path, do they have to go back to school to do that, if they're looking to become more autonomous in their scope of nursing, oftentimes, formal education at either a master's or doctorate level is required. So I mentioned like the certified registered nurse anesthetist, there's formal education beyond the required hospital critical care experience that you would need. However, if I said, I want to, I want to get a certification, I want to be a certified oncology nurse, that's actually not formal education, to in a sense, you can self study, or you can go to companies that provide training specific for that specialty certification exam. And once you have it, you now you know sort of have that extra credential behind your name. And it kind of shows your dedication to that particular specialty preceptors usually, the training to be a preceptor is something that your facility offers. So there's internal training, usually no cost. I will say this, Daniel, sometimes career moves are because people are looking for additional leadership responsibility, or they're looking for additional autonomy in their practice. Sometimes they're looking for schedule flexibility, not every single move results in higher pay. So you may want to think, well, if I invest in formal education, how will my pay increase if my goal is I want to make more money. That's That's my goal. And I understand that maybe the motivation for some folks, that sometimes what you're going to spend on your education, you may find that the role that you're in, it's not that different on your salary. And so then you want to go what are the other benefits to me changing into this role to invest in yourself or to have sometimes hospitals invest or other employer opportunities for those additional formal trainings? might be out there, but is that really going to get you that outcome that you specifically are looking for?

Some good advice, Holly, sounds like our nurses should really take stock of what am I trying to achieve? Am I trying to get a higher salary? Am I trying to get a better work life balance? Do I want to be able to work from home, whatever it may be? They need to you know, weigh the pros and cons before really pursuing a path. So I think that's some good advice. Miko, I'd love to turn to you and ask what other rules have you seen Have you seen nurses do in the hospital setting besides staff nurses?

 Oh, I'm like for my co ie ends here like Yes sir. And Janessa Janessa is from pediatrics and she had the the certification for pediatrics and I guess at the the certification coordinator and about me, neonates, so which is good advantage, but I'm not quite sure how different is the salary for those certification and another one from the cath lab it's, her name is Lee. I actually I invited her to like the top here to do to be a guest, but she's taking up nurse practitioner and some of my colleagues in ICU they are taking critical care certified critical care RN, so it will you need 1700 hours for experience to be CCRN and right now I lead my actually I have taken my preceptor or ship training. So I'm precepting. Now the new ie N and some of the new graduates in our department. So yeah, and people are encouraging me also to take the CRN a path, but it's really expensive.

Well, hopefully you will have a long and fruitful career and you never know where it's going to take you but always good to have those options in your back pocket. So, Deirdre I know for a lot of our nurses that are watching, they're probably thinking, you know, how is my my visa sponsor, my employer? How are they going to help me on this career path journey? Are they going to support it? Is it something I, you know, shouldn't be talking about? Do you have any words of wisdom on that?

Absolutely. Absolutely. You can't see, but I just got goosebumps because I'm about to share my very favorite story. I won't share her name. But we had one of our international nurses went through our NCLEX program. And one of the things that she was most nervous about was EMR. Alright, so electronic medical record, the hospital that she came from, did not use there was still paper charting. So she was very, very nervous about it. But it is something that she had to really embrace and, and master. But her nurse manager had so much faith and confidence in her and in her ability to be able to master the EMR that she really just worked with her very closely, a lot of encouragement, and fast forward to a number of months later. And this particular nurse is not only a nurse manager, but she is teaching informatics. So and probably wouldn't have been able to accomplish that had she not had the support of her nurse manager and other leaders at the at the hospital. But she's now able to help other internationally educated nurses to embrace the EMR knowing and being able to share her experience. It certainly wasn't easy for her. But it was one of those things that when you really put your mind to it, and you have the support, you can accomplish anything.

 Wow, what a full circle story. That's really amazing. And what an amazing way for her to give back to other nurses that that's an amazing story. Any any other words of advice of you know, what your visa sponsor or your employer might do to help you on your career path is anything at all?

 Absolutely. So, so when you work with and then healthcare international fortunate enough that you get to work with a team of clinical managers. Many of our clinical managers who we have working with O'Grady, Peyton international today are actually internationally trained nurses who went through the OTP program. And so they can give you firsthand information firsthand advice about what you can do to advance your career while you are here in the in the United States. But also we work very closely with your unit managers to make sure that a you're doing well on orientation and beyond. But we also want to stay close to what your career aspirations are. And you know, once you come here to the US, you are on a permanent resident green card and depending on what your commitment is either three years or two years after that the opportunities that are available to you are endless, right, particularly with AMSN HEALTH CARE International. The first 10 and a half years of my career I worked in the travel nurse industry with Amm. And so many many opportunities are available to once you have that us experience after you have fulfilled your commitment period, but a lot of our nurses choose to stay where they are right so you have families your kids are in school, your spouse is working and so you may choose to stay in that facility where you are placed originally. But then, you know you we talked, Miko mentioned that he is now involved in the education and we see many of our nurses move into preceptor roles, nurse manager roles. So there are many many opportunities available Once you are here in the US, I would say work closely with your clinician Support Specialists once you are here, but when you work with a mn healthcare International, it is not just for the duration of your assignment at that facility, it's long term. And Danielle had mentioned at the beginning of the call, we are your career matchmakers. And we want to make sure that you that you do achieve that career progression that you are looking for when you come to the US. So I hope that answers your question venue.

 Definitely Thank you Deirdre. I think that's a very good insight for our nurses. It actually it made me think so if you missed the beginning of this, this live show, my mom is Tanya Freedman. So she's the the usual host of the show, but here I am. And I was talking to her last night about a nurse who she helped bring, I don't know, maybe like 10 years ago that I was talking to on the phone, who's now becoming a nurse practitioner. And it just really resonates with what Deirdre said, you know, when you come to am an international, it's not just for the duration of your contract. Oftentimes, we're in contact for a lot longer than that. We'd love to keep in touch with our nurses, we love to know where you're going, we love to, you know, keep you in the family, maybe we can help you with travel, whatever it may be. So I love that you say that D because that's exactly exactly true. Holly, I was wondering if you could speak a little bit about if there are any awards in the US that nurses can look to achieve to help with their career paths.

There are definitely awards, there's a lot of different things. So the DAISY Award is a common award that's given you get nominated by your by your team and your facility and patients, sometimes their feedback goes into that nomination. And so that's a well recognized award nationally, that we see being being awarded to nurses in practice. i We have a nurse who I think the hospital has a program they call the good catch award. And she got awarded that at her hospital in Texas. And so she had a situation where she caught a potential problem and was able to follow steps to alert it alert it to the right people. And those things. Often, organizations here in the United States, hospitals, especially are looking at how to leverage the knowledge of their nurses that are at the bedside to make things better some of them have Nurse Practice councils that you can beyond that, it's not so much of an award, but it's a it's a program to participate in that is actually supposed to help improve things based on what nurses experience at the bedside and on the unit. So rather than maybe having your leader at the hospital come to you and say, we're going to make this change. And this is how it's going to work and get all excited. And you go but we've we've tried that actually and I have I have a different idea. But will you listen, actually, what they look for is that the nurse participates in those in those Nurse Practice councils. And they come up with the suggestions for how to better the standard of care, the outcomes for the patients, the time management for certain procedures, the safety of patients and visitors. The patient experience how do we make that better. And so looking at it from someone who is living it every day is usually where you're going to get the most practical, valuable suggestions. But hospitals are coming up with ways to facilitate that whether it's a Nurse Practice Council, a good catch award process. In the hospital that I worked at for many years, we had a professional practice program where there were tears and you would achieve certain tears, you might get a little bump in pay. But it may be that you were part of the preceptor program and things like that. And then they had, oh, what do you call it, sort of like a role model award that they would give to team members usually on an annual basis, they got this particular award. It might come with a financial award as well as a plaque and your name and some recognition. But many many organizations find ways to recognize the employees who are contributing in very special ways to to that organization to their patients and the families and making the workplace a better place to be. Nationally there are nursing awards, often those are within specialty. So for instance, if you're a critical care nurse, there are critical care nursing awards that you can be nominate Did for and again, putting those on your resume certainly goes a long way towards saying, Okay, this is a top performer in this specialty. And they have contributed in a way that their peers and their leaders have seen. And they want to recognize that formally. So national recognition, local recognition. The other thing is, sometimes your if your outreach is tied with certain community or charitable projects, those organizations often tend to want to recognize people who've really made a significant contribution. And there are certain things that nurses tend to get more involved with, whether that's helping people overseas, maybe taking mission trips, or helping here there are local organizations that try to offer opportunities for nurses to to give back to their community with the services that speak to their skill set.

 Wow, amazing Holly, a lot of very good information there about the different awards locally. And, you know, just in the US in general, that nurses can look to achieve Miko, I'm curious about your experience at your hospital, have there been any opportunities for you in terms of you know, kind of career advancement or helping your career path or, you know, kind of what's, what's been your experience there?

Well, I'm glad that a lot of my friends have been nominated for the DC award, especially those international educated nurses, and Sanford a really do a good job in recognizing those awards. It even the small things like a good catch, like Holly mentioned, like, and some of the medication safety that you need to scan 100% their patient, just to give the right medication, something like that. And if you are able to complete their one year experience with Sanford, they will recognize you they will give you a certificate, they will give you a gift card, something like that. So that's a little thing. But to me it, it makes a difference. And it will uplift my experience, of course.

So yeah, everybody likes to be validated for their hard work. Right. That's great. Well, thank you for sharing that. I'm curious if you have any thoughts on how internationally educated nurses can help you know, others who are coming to the US in terms of helping with, you know, advancing their career or making their experience better? Do you have any thoughts there? Miko?

 Well, to me is word of mouth, that's very important, and how can they achieve what the other people achieve? It's more, it's more of the guidance and supporting your friends on how they can get that position. And to me, as internationally educated nurses, I am here to like to support them, like if they are really shy to, they'll do their manager like, I can help them to like to bring the message to the manager.

So we can, we can make it possible. So yeah, that's the thing that I can ensure that's very helpful for a lot of nurses. I'm sure you know, Miko when you came. It's scary at first. I just feel like I don't know if I can speak up. And I don't know if this is the right thing. So it's really nice to have a friend who's gone through it, who feels comfortable, maybe talking to the managers and passing along the message or telling you this should be this or this shouldn't be that just you know, somebody who's gone through it before.

Yeah,being one of the pioneers, we really need to be independent. And I know we experienced those trials and errors, but we use that we use our experience, I believe in the saying that experience is the best teacher. So we we use that to help other people and to lead them. Yeah,

 I think that's a that's a really amazing way to give back to your fellow countrymen who are newly arrived now to support them and share your experience with them. Show them what's worked for you what hasn't worked for you. Showing them the ropes, really. So thank you. That's good advice. So we've talked about a lot of different options, a lot of different career paths, a lot of different ways that your employer and your sponsor may help you, you know, advance your career paths. I'm sure for some nurses, they're also thinking, what if I just need a break? You know, is that going to be okay? Is that going to hurt me in the long run? What can I do? Can I end up coming back? Even if I'm abroad? You know, is that going to hurt me in the long run? So I think that's probably a question for a lot of nurses, especially after, you know, coming out of the pandemic. Holly, I see you shaking your head like this and agree is, do you have any thoughts on that.

 Um, so in terms of like, maybe leaving nursing for even a shorter period of time, it's important to know, if you have a US license, what that particular board is going to require you to do in order to either inactivate your license and reactivate it later. You know, put some some people retire. So they put it in retirement status. And others are able to keep it active simply through continuing education units being completed annually and submitting that and their fees to renew their license and keep it active. So it's important to know what your state board licensure requirements are in that respect. Many facilities prefer to see that a nurse has recent experience within the last year, there are some state boards that will say if you're endorsing a license from one location to the next, you need to provide your most recent work experience, some will have certain hours requirements. And if you don't meet those, you will need to go through a nursing refresher course those are not free. They can be $1,000. And up plus, you're not paid for your clinical time while you're in those courses. So you'll usually do like a classroom training, to refresh your knowledge of nursing if you were away. And you'll you'll also have to do some clinical hours for traditional there are some that maybe you just do a bunch of online continuing education and you're okay, but it's going to be Speight, state specific. And the other thing I want to kind of emphasize here. When you're a nurse, if you leave hospital work or bedside nursing, I'm doing what I'm doing.

And I have a nursing license and I am practicing nursing. I am not doing it in patient treatment. But I am doing it from an education perspective, I have knowledge in my scope, that's part of my license that entitles me to be able to still call myself a registered nurse, and continue to maintain my licensure in that way. So if I'm submitting my work experience to a board that is saying we want to know whether you have recent nursing experience you want to look at do they define that really tightly by saying hospital bedside nursing experience? Which in some cases, that's rare, but they might? Or are they just saying you have to be in the practice of nursing. And if you'd like to know how we define that go and look at our regulations, which oftentimes it's extremely broad. nurses who work for insurance companies, nurses who work in health informatics nurses who are their own boss and are doing something with their nursing education, and they're self employed.

So I think the most important thing is to educate yourself about the state that you're licensed through. And potentially, how you can maintain that license and to keep your hand in, in some element of nursing is usually always advisable. During the pandemic, we saw a lot of nurses were actually able to get back into nursing without having to go through a refresher because there were some waivers made available. Those don't exist now in most states. But in instances where there are emergencies and nurses who have been out of nursing for a little while are being asked to return and they're willing, sometimes pathways are made for those to be for there to be exceptions.

 Thank you, Holly, I think some good thoughts there some good considerations for our nurses, when they're kind of weighing the options thinking about, you know, what they're going to be doing, what their futures are going to look like. Deirdre I saw you also kind of nodding your head. I want to give you a chance if you had anything to say on this topic about you know, nurses potentially taking a break if that's okay, can they still practice? What that kind of looks like?

 Yeah, and I addressed that question for nurses who are not currently here in the US but are still still abroad. So you know, preferably you are still bedside, particularly if you have not passed NCLEX yet, because it is really important that you read attain that scale. And when you do transition to the US, you will be working bedside. And most facilities do require that current experience like Holly had mentioned in the in the previous year. So preferably, you do stay in some sort of bedside capacity. However, that's where it's really important that you work closely with your if you are already in the process, that you work closely with your either Connetics team or your OGP team, on really ascertaining your unique case, everybody's different, and everybody's case is different. And depending on what your ultimate goal is, when you arrive in the US, there may be options, you may not need to work full time, right? So that's really important that you speak with the experts that are going to be able to guide you appropriately in saying that, are there opportunities for registered nurses who are licensed in the US who want to take a more extended break? Yes, there are. And but again, they the opportunities are just more prevalent for that for those nurses who have that, who have that experience that current experience. But I'll finish this off by just saying that it's really important that you discuss your unique case with your advisor, either at Connetics or already Peyton we will advise what is best for you and your unique situation, and make sure that you have the correct information. Because there's a lot of misinformation out there, particularly now in this world of social media. We want to make sure that you have the most updated and correct information based on what your career goals are.

 Well said Deandra, trust the experts trust your career matchmakers. We are all here for you. We have tons of experience. We've been through it all and we can advise you, you know what is going to be a good career path for you. So once again, if you want to apply to Connetics that's Conneticsusa.com/Apply. We also have our sister company, O'Grady, Peyton, if you haven't checked out our, our show, I think it was what two weeks ago, and it was on the differences between direct hire and staffing. There's some really good information on there about staffing with OGP direct hire with Connetics and there's Deirdre is actually on that and she shares a lot of information on how you can decide you know, what's going to be the right career path for you. But like Deirdre said, leave it to the experts trust in us, we will help guide you. I know we only have a few minutes left, and I want to see if there were any questions in the chat. I see Antoinette is watching here from Saudi Arabia. I see Jack here is watching from Bangladesh, I just heard says useful information. So that's exciting. I'm glad a lot of our nurses are thinking that this show has been useful for them. I'm seeing a couple of specific questions about a nurse educator. So Holly, maybe you can speak on this just for a couple of minutes, just what is required to become a nurse educator? How does one become one after passing the NCLEX? Any words of advice there? I'm sure it's a very interesting career path for a lot of people who are watching.

 Okay, so really quickly, it depends on what kind of nurse educator you want to be. If you want to work in the university and college, typically, the minimum degree they want to see for an RN type of program is going to be that you have a master's in nursing. So you got to be thinking about where is it you'd like to be a nurse educator. For me, I, as I said earlier, I have a master's in business. So my experience is going to work well for the role that I'm in. But there are roles that sometimes that is a minimum requirement, even within the hospital, they will either post it as a position where you have to have the master's degree or you have to be willing to go back to school and work on it and achieve it within a certain period of time, and they may or may not help you with it. So Rooney's question about how to become a nurse educator after passing NCLEX. If you're still overseas, having some experience being a nurse educator in your college system or some other maybe you're maybe you're educating patients, you're a nurse educator and you're doing like patient education for certain things. Those typically are not positions that we see being open for international nurses to come directly into. So they want you to learn the system and understand how it works before you start to be someone who's educating others about it. So those I'm not saying never ever but there are less common. And typically, that's why having that bedside experience is important. If you're a clinical instructor, you may be at the bedside with student nurses and then getting some separate experience on your own still treating patients at the bedside. And that may help you for future plans that where you want to be a nurse educator, like at a hospital or within the within the higher education options, so like colleges, universities.

All right. Okay, thank you, Holly. So lots of things to consider or think through. I think it really just depends. So good thing is we got a lot of experienced people on our teams on the Brady Peyton team on the Connetics team, and we can help you kind of figure out, you know, where might your career lead you? So I know we're almost at the hour, I want to give everybody a chance to share one final piece of personal advice, you know, what should our audience be thinking when they're thinking about their career path? About when they come to the US? What should they be considering? So Miko, I'm going to turn to you next. Any any words of advice that you think our nurses should be considering? what should be their takeaway?

Stick with your goal and be willing to learn always, and, of course, be humble and wait for your time. There's time for everything. Maybe that's that's what I want to say. So yeah, that's it.

 I love that Miko and I love seeing those pictures of you reaching your American dream. I think, y'all and there you go in Canada, because you're right near the border. I think that's amazing advice. You know, stick with it. If it was easy, everybody would do it. It can be a hard road. But it will be well worth it at the end. Look at those pictures of MIKO traveling all around the US in New York and Chicago. It looks like you've been to some very fun places in the last year or so. Definitely making the most of your time which is amazing. Deirdre, let's go to you next. Any final. Any final thoughts for our audience?

 Absolutely. Well, first of all, I think Miko has seen more than us and I have been here much longer so great to see you. Living the dream adventuring out there. You certainly inspired me to do more traveling, looking at those pictures. I would just say, you know, get your place in line today. Don't wait. It can be it can be daunting, it can be scary. I know that personally, I wish that I had a partner like mn healthcare International. When I came to the rest. I know I'm not a read a registered nurse. But it's really not just that clinical support that that you receive. And you know, I think give yourself some grace is a marathon. It is not a sprint, but I can guarantee you and Miko is a shining example of this. It is all worth it.

Thank you Deirdre. I appreciate that. That piece of advice I'm sure our nurses do to get your place in line. I think that's a great takeaway. You know, we're going to talk about immigration. I think it's next week. And we're going to talk all about retrogression. I know that's a hot topic. But I think the takeaway that I've seen from all of those shows is control what you can control, get your place in line, make sure that you are following your goals, you're taking the NCLEX you're finding that employer and you know, just secure your place. So when your time is up, you're ready to go. Holly final pieces of advice.

So I know I said earlier, be open. But I think it's also about investing in yourself and putting yourself in a position to have those opportunities. So if you haven't done your NCLEX the opportunities come a lot faster when you when you've already passed your NCLEX. If you've got your NCLEX done and you haven't done your English exam, the opportunities come a lot faster if you you know have achieved or are in the process of achieving that. If you only close yourself off to certain locations and certain scenarios for work, you may be narrowing your opportunities significantly and you may find that life will bring you some amazing things. If if you open openly explore and be in a position to do so. So get your place in line through doing those milestones, but be be in a position to take advantage of those by being flexible and being open.

Beautifully said Holly I think for everybody, whether you're a nurse or not, it's good advice. Be open, be flexible. You never know what life is going to bring you. You never know what joys and beautiful things can come your way. If you are open if you are flexible, and you just let life kind of come to you. So thank you, Holly. I think that was a really beautiful way to end. So thank you to my three lovely guests. I have thoroughly enjoyed our show today. It was amazing to hear all of your stories, all of your advice. I'm sure all of our nurses around the world are very appreciative. And I hope that to all of our nurses around the world, this has been a helpful show. We love doing this. We love seeing all the comments and the questions and making sure that we are here for our nurses. That is what Amen International is all about. We are here to support our nurses. So thank you all for being here. And thank you to everybody for watching. Before we close out, we're going to just bring up what are our upcoming shows so everybody knows the schedule. Next week we have our immigration q&a with our experts, we're going to be talking about retrogression, a hot topic on August 18. We have our Connetics Career Day. This is speed dating for you, our nurses around the world, we're going to have some of our top employers come on, and they're going to sell their sup themselves to you. So you're going to be able to ask them questions.

Why should I choose you? So make sure to tune in there on August 25. We have stateside northeast. I know there's a lot of interest in the northeast, we heard you and we listened. So make sure to check out that show. Now we're going into September we have the CGFNS English exams, you're one check in. So it's been a year since the CGFNS announced that they would accept other English exams. We're going to talk to our partners over at CGFNS. See what's going on there. September 8, understanding your job offer everything you need to know everything you need to ask again September 15. We're going to be checking in immigration q&a. I know retrogression it's a hot topic, and then September 25, another state child show and then we also have our once a month before a talk show on August 8, working alongside preceptors. So that's our onwards and upwards show at 7am Every Friday. We also have our Connetics college every Monday at 6am Pacific. These are free shows everybody take advantage from our partners at Schneider RN swoosh, Niners, and I pass free information on the NCLEX and the English classes. So make sure to check those out. We also have our Connetics initiatives. So this is everything that we are offering to our nurses. We have a free English scholarship for all Connetics nurses. So if you come to Connetics, you do your processing through us, we offer you a free English scholarship. We have our $1,000 referral bonus for any nurses with NCLEX extended until the end of this month. So please refer your friends. We have a podcast nursing in America, our nurse aide program, our onwards and upwards live show every Friday for global RNs who are coming to America, our ConneticsCollege, we just gave you the schedule and we are also looking for allied health care workers. So if you are a med tech, you are a medical lab technician, any of those that are listed on the Connetics initiatives. We would love to help you through your processing and help bring you to the United States. So thank you, everybody. I appreciate everybody's time. And once again, if you want to apply to Connetics it's Conneticsusa.com/apply  We look forward to helping you reach your American dream just like Miko. So thank you, everybody. Have a good rest of your Friday. We will see you next week. Onwards and upwards.