Arka Healthcare

Are you a nurse and want to make >$100,000?
Do you want to practice independently?

Nurse practitioner

Nurse practitioner job is one of the most lucrative healthcare careers in the United States. There is an acute shortage of nurse practitioners that provides an ample opportunity for foreign nurses to take up these jobs. There are several benefits of working as a nurse practitioner in the United States.

Work like a physician: Nurse practitioner role is a highly rewarding job as you perform clinical tasks just like a physician. Nurse practitioner can evaluate patients, write prescriptions, perform procedures and provide counseling. They can prescribe narcotic medications as well.
Independent practice: In 23 states in the United States, nurse practitioners can practice independently and own a clinic without a supervising physician. In rest of the states, they can have a reduced or restricted practice.
Earning potential: Nurse practitioners in the United States earn $100,000 to $150,000 depending on their experience and place of work. Acute care nurse practitioners working in a hospital setting usually earn higher than nurse practitioners working in an outpatient setting. Most of the nurse practitioners can earn a beginning salary of more than $100,000 which is significantly higher than an average salary of a nurse.
Variety of roles :There is an opportunity to choose a clinical role that better suits you. There are different nurse practitioner jobs depending on the place of work and type of patient population served – acute care nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioner, midwife nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner etc. It is very fulfilling to be able to work in the setting of your choice.
Career advancement: Promotion from a nurse to a nurse practitioner role maybe the first major step in your career. There are several career advancement opportunities once you become a nurse practitioner. You can be an educator, if teaching is your passion. You can advance into administration and join senior executive leadership. Case management, research and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) specialist are few other options.

Steps involved:

Arka Healthcare provides you full assistance throughout your journey at every step. If you are foreign nurse, first step is to get licensed as a nurse in the United States. Details are presented below how to get licensed in the US. We will help you with immigration to the US. Once you move to the US, you need to complete nurse practitioner training. You can work as a nurse, earn money while getting trained as a nurse practitioner or complete the training straight. We provide you advanced training simultaneously so that you are comfortable working as an independent practitioner right after your nurse practitioner course.

TOEFL/IELTS exam: This may be the first step in your journey to the United States. TOEFL or IELTS is required by nine states for nurse licensing. Few English speaking countries like United Kingdom, Australia, Barbados, Canada (excluding Quebec), Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago may have an exemption for English proficiency test for nurse licensing. If you would like to pursue nurse practitioner program in the United States, most of the universities require either TOEFL or IELTS. Both these tests are usually valid for two years. You can take this test in your last year of nursing school, if you would like to save sometime. TOEFL/IELTS is administered in Prometric centers all over the world.

Credentialing verification: TAll foreign credentials need to be verified to ensure that they are equivalent to US educational standards. You can apply at Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) of Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) or World Education Service (WES) or Educational Records Evaluation Service (ERES). If you need a Visa Screen as described below, CGFNS is a preferred organization. For foreign nurses going to the United States on a student visa (F1 visa), any credentialing agency should be fine. As it takes few months to get credentialing verification completed, once application is submitted, candidates can start preparation for NCLEX exam.

NCLEX exam: Once credentialing verification is complete, application should be submitted to the State Board of Nursing where you would like to practice or pursue further studies. Multiple applications can be submitted to multiple states at the same time, if you would like to. Once approved by the Board of Nursing, Authorization To Test (ATT) is sent to the candidates. You can use ATT to register for NCLEX exam. NCLEX exam is administered in Prometric test centers in most of the major cities across the globe. You can prepare yourself using study material or you can join training centers like Kaplan. We provide you educational and test material for your preparation.

Healthcare worker Certification/Visa screen:

All foreign health care workers other than physicians are eligible to enter the United States only if they present certification by an approved credentialing organization verifying that the worker has met the minimum requirements for training, licensure, and English proficiency. A health worker must present a valid health care worker certification or a visa screen each time he or she

seeks admission into the United States,
changes visa status,
extends visa status, or
adjusts status for green card

The certification requirement is no longer applicable once the worker is a lawful permanent resident (green card approval).

There are several agencies that are authorized to issue a health care worker certification. For foreign nurses, the best organization is Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). CGFNS verifies foreign nurses’ educational credentials, English proficiency skills and issues a Visa Screen certificate. For more information on Visa Screen, please visit:https://www.cgfns.org/services/certification/visascreen-visa-credentials-assessment/

Health care worker certificate should be presented at the time of visa issuance to the consular officer in the US embassy without which US visa will not be issued.

Health care worker certification is valid only for 5 years. Certification can be renewed if green card is not approved within 5 years of the initial date of issuance.

Indian and Chinese nurses going to US on a student visa do not need a Visa Screen. Credentialing verification can be done by Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) of CGFNS or World Education Service (WES) or Educational Records Evaluation Service (ERES). You will be able to obtain an I-20 from the universities with these credentialing services.

Immigration to the US and green card processing: If you are from few of the countries like India and China where there is a significant backlog for green card processing, it is better to arrive in the US on a student visa (F1 visa). For foreign nurses from most of the other countries, we start your green card processing while you are in the home country. You will arrive in the US on EB-3 visa. Your spouse and children can come with you to the US. Your spouse will also be able to work in the US.

Nurse licensing: Once you arrive in the US, you will probably need a bank account and Social Security Number (SSN). Most of the states need an SSN number before issuing nurse license. Except for six states (Colorado, Wisconsin, New York, Vermont, Maine and Hawaii), fingerprints are also required before obtaining a nurse license.Without a valid nursing license, you will neither be able to work as a nurse nor pursue nurse practitioner program.

Nurse practitioner (NP) program:

Application to a NP program: You can apply for nurse practitioner program from your home country and obtain an I-20 from the University here. You will need this I-20 to enter the US. You will not need a Visa Screen as you are coming to US on a student visa. Eligibility criteria for most of the NP programs are similar:

1) Credentialing verification as discussed above

2) TOEFL or IELTS exam for English proficiency

3) Nurse license before the actual start date of the course

4) Letters of recommendation

5) Statement of Purpose

6) Few universities require pre-requisite courses if the courses were not studied in your Bachelor’s degree

7) Proof of immunization

8) Letter from a bank for proof of funds

There may be few other criteria depending on the university you choose.

H1B Master’s quota programs:

Please make sure that the nurse practitioner program that you choose meet the following criteria:

1) Not for profit or a public organization.

2) Accredited by nationally recognized agencies like The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)

To be eligible for H1B Master’s quota, you need to receive your Master’s degree from an organization that meets the above two criteria. We can assist you in finding a reputable and more affordable programs in the United States. We do have relationships with the universities in the United States and we offer complete assistance until you get an I-20 from the nursing school. H1B Master’s quota applies only to NPs on a student visa. If you are already going through green card processing or if you already have a green card, this does not apply to you.

Duration of the program: It takes about 2-3 years to complete nurse practitioner program in the United States. Few programs are online and few programs require onsite classes. You can work as a part-time nurse while you complete this program. It gives you a flexibility of earning income to afford the nurse practitioner program and also provide for your family without any debts.

Unfortunately, for Indian and Chinese nurses, as you arrive in the US on a student visa, work opportunities are not the same as other nurses while you complete nurse practitioner program.On the other hand, as you focus primarily on education, you may be able to complete the nurse practitioner course much sooner and be prepared for your job.

Optional Practical Training (OPT): NPs who are on a student visa can apply for OPT during the last semester of the program when you can start working as a nurse practitioner.