₦airaland Forum

Honlucas:
Wait u spent 6yrs in imsu before leaving?

Wow

yup. the knowledge helped me breeze through nursing school here though

I lost access to my account but I'm back now.

BunmiBie:
What do you advise for passing NClEX?

Study everyday. I used uworld and I passed on the first try.

Originalsly:
Wow!... I've no ot visited this thread for yearsss ,... and it happens you're back! Should we still call you Frank?... or Dr Frank? ...Senator Frank? ..Honourable Frank? ...Sir Frank? Let's know where you at now....then retrace the steps and gist us on how you got here. Or are you back for wedding announcement?

I have started a new thread o

FrankNetter:
My first full year working as a nurse, I made hella money. Specifically $133,000. Armed with my USA passport, I have traveled to Ethiopia, Mozambique, Portugal. With each trip, my mindset changes. I currently have no regrets ditching medical school and leaving Nigeria.
Maybe one day, I will write about my trips. Maybe I will fall back in love with writing. For now, I will read through my posts and relish the simpler times.

That time has come

cococandy:
Oh You’re set! That California one can take long to get. You’re more than ready.

My Washington license is compact as well. The sky is the limit.

When I intend geting a California contract, I would reach out for tips

My program had a syllabus and rule book that governed the actions of the students, staff and faculty. Stuff like dress code, attendance policy etc. If you had any issues that you could not resolve with the instructor, you would check the rulebook and if they erred, go above them to the program coordinator and your issues would be addressed. I had an issue and here's how I got it fixed.

My program had a rule that states, if you missed class or clinical rotations 3 times in one semester, you would have to come back at the end of the semester to make it up - kinda like an extra day or two, just to fulfill the hourly requirements to pass the semester. If you chose not to do that, you would fail the class and get kicked out.

Due to some small wahala here and there, I had two absences for the semester. The semester was coming to an end and I had filed my paperwork to get my citizenship as I was still a green-card holder. The last clinical day for the semester coincided with my swearing in ceremony to become a citizen and seeing the scheduling conflict, I reached out to my clinical instructor and the lady told me I would have to come in extra and make up the extra day or I would fail the class. So I checked and according to the rule book, you could have an excused absence if you were in the US military or if you got called for jury duty.

I pointed out the fact that these excused absences were for people who were citizens already and for a school that prides itself in the International student population, this was unfair. My instructor no wan listen o. She said she would fail me if I missed the clinical day. I sure as hell was not going to miss my swearing in ceremony.
I went above the instructor and reached out to the program coordinator (kinda like HOD for Nigerian universities) and she referred me back to the program rulebook and told me that I would fail the class if I did not show up for the clinical day. This gave me lots of sleepless nights and affected my grades and mood up to the point that my study buddies noticed the difference.

As the president of Phi Theta Kappa (my school honor society), I was involved with some programs on campus that offered me the privilege of mixing with the top officials in my school. We had a fund raising lunch that I was invited to, and by pure coincidence, I was seated on the same table as the college president (kinda like VC for Nigerian Universities), so after small talk, I brought up my dilemma and the rest is history. The program rule book was updated to include excused absences for greencard holders and international students. I take pride in that a lot.

FrankNetter:
Thus began my journey. I took the placement tests and began school. I'm not gonna bore you with the details but I eventually finished my prerequisites without taking any student loans; I did this by working with UPS who at that time, had a program for that.

I got my CNA license, started wiping ass for a living. I worked the midday shift 2pm - 10pm. Then I'd go to UPS Chicago area consolidation Hub (cach) for night shift, 11pm - 4am. Mind you, between both jobs, my drive time was like 45 mins. I used to be so tired and sleepy and it was only by God's grace I didn't crash my car multiple times.

I finished my prerequisites in 2 years, applied for the nursing program and finally got in.

The nursing program itself consisted of me going to school for lectures twice a week. One more day for practicals and one day for clinical rotations (hospitals or nursing homes). The clinical rotations varied based on the material we were being taught at each time. So, if we were learning about Obstetrics, we would get a clinical rotation to the Obstetrics and Gynecology units of different hospitals in the area, if we were being taught Geriatrics, we would get a clinical rotation to Skilled Nursing Facilites (nursing homes) and Assisted Living facilities for the duration of that material (and so on and so forth). The clinical groups consisted of six to eight students and one instructor. For first year, the clinical rotations lasted 8 hours (1 day) every week, but for second year, 12 hours (1 day) every week.

The total number of students was 60, 4 were guys and 2 of the 4 guys were Nigerian. We were tested every week on the material learned the previous week and these tests included the written portion and the practical portion. For the practicals, you had 3 tries after which you would be kicked out of the program. For Maths tests, you had 2 tries and you had to score 100% or you would be kicked out of the program.

It was kinda tough, but having schooled in IMSU, this was nothing to me. which brings me to my next topic: Relativity.


My classmates used to complain a lot during the program but for someone like myself who had a background in Medicine and had thugged my way through IMSU with their stupidity, this was nothing. If a particular portion of the material was proving too difficult, I just devoted more time and effort to it. I'd send emails asking the lecturers to clarify or smooth out stuff for me. I'd go on YouTube, I'd reach out to classmates to elaborate but no matter how hard the material was, I always found a way to get past it. For them, this was the hardest thing ever, but relative to my experience, this was nothing. The program wasn't perfect and some weeks when we had different opinions on the answers, the faculty would do "quiz autopsies" where we would discuss the rationale behind each answer and see where the class went wrong on the quiz.

I ended up having a study group consisting of myself, the other Nigerian dude- Ikechukwu, one white lady - Genevieve and another black lady - Alyssa. These were the core participants and constants (if you may) for the study group. Other times, some people would join us but for the most part, it was just us 4. We would meet up every sunday at different locations (panera bread, Library) to brainstorm, ask each other questions and gain a solid understanding of the material because we had quizzes every monday. We maintained steady grades and made it through the program unscathed. I ended up becoming my class president and the honor society president (Phi Theta Kappa) as well.

I must point this out though, my faculty consisted of mostly black american ladies and they loved me , I used to get away with some stuff they would give the ladies headaches about and it used to piss my classmates off

ffo:
is the pay different? foreign trained and America trained. who earns higher?
another question, what is the difference between LPN, ADN, and BSN? who earns higher?
if you upgrade your degree from associate to BSN, do you earn more?
does Associate Nurses get Green card sponsorships?

Travel nurses, Dental, Pediatrics and Anesthetic nurses, rate their wages.

This is a compound question.
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPNs) are the lowest paid in the hierarchy of nurses and they typically are stuck in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. You spend typically around 1 year getting this license.

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is your entry level into the good life, you spend two years getting this from a community college, its cheap, easy and your best bet.

Bachelor's degree in Nursing (BSN) is gotten from a 4 year university and is typically the best paid amongst these and for a travel nurse like myself, is the best option.

My track was WAEC from Nigeria, ADN, then BSN online.

Bossman:
We still dey here oh. Good to see that things have gone really well for you. Still in Chicagoland? I remember back then you were in the South Suburbs when you first came. Still here in the NW Suburbs oh. Wifey is an RN with 28+ years experience. So I can understand your journey a bit. I'm still in IT myself, though I am in management now. After about 29+ years of writing code.
FrankNetter, you have done really well for yourself. And I am sure you are an inspiration to a lot of folks here. Well done my brother.

Thanks my brother, we should link up o! Which suburb you dey?

DAramis:
Op has gone on sabbatical leave and forget about the thread.

Abeg, any way to get admitted into college of education for nursing? Do they offer visa for that route? And most importantly, for someone with first degree, is it possible to secure? Abeg those with knowledge should chip in please

CC Cococandy; Franknetter

Shush, no one has gone on a sabbatical. I have a life outside nairaland. shut it

cococandy:
OP make your way to California on your travel route. After 3 consecutive contracts, most facilities will be willing to help you stay permanently. New inexperienced grads start at around $75/hr. With a few years of experience, you’ll be at over $100/hr plus all the benefits, mandated ratios and breaks. All those 25 year olds you’re working with who have 5 years of experience and only an ADN are all making around $200k annually without overtime and they don’t have to leave their homes to go travel. It doesn’t get better than that.

Most of our travelers don’t leave. Or they do bicoastal nursing by keeping their tax home of record (usually in Texas or Florida) and block their shifts so they can go back and forth while working in CA indefinitely. Sutter, Kaiser and Stanford is where you have to look for those high numbers. Dignity is okay too but they start newer grads around $60/hr. Not terrible but kinda low compared to the others.

You might be discouraged by people telling you CA is super expensive. That’s because they’re only thinking of San Diego, San Francisco or LA. You don’t have to live inside those cities. Outside those major cities, cost of living (especially rent/mortgage) is similar to what you’d find in other so called low cost of living states. And employers will pay you the same as those who are in SF because the unions mandate them to.

Good luck in your travels. Following your journey.

Thanks for following my journey. Here's my nursys page, my Indiana license is compact

trilacos:
Do you mean you have absolutely no background in nursing? If yes which study background do you have? Must it be related?

I was in medical school before I left to the USA. IMSU had a backlog of students to graduate and I couldn't see myself spending 12 years studying one program so I left after my 6th year.

merits:
Wahalla I can only go for vacation overseas work is never appealing to me but nevertheless best of luck to you.

Lol shush. How many countries have you been to?

NiceLegs:
Congratulations to you on ur job.

Help me find out.

If one comes to USA with an Masters degree in Nursing from Nigeria, does that make one a Nurse Practitioner in USA?

If No, how does one become one with a foreign MSC in Nursing do that.

No, it doesn't make you a nurse practitioner. That's a different specialized pathway. You would just be a foreign trained nurse with a master's degree AFTER you pass the board exams (NCLEX).

Where all my fans dey?? Come Mark attendance

Guys, let us try to get along this time. The other thread was a hot mess of arguments and insults.

Thus began my journey. I took the placement tests and began school. I'm not gonna bore you with the details but I eventually finished my prerequisites without taking any student loans; I did this by working with UPS who at that time, had a program for that.

I got my CNA license, started wiping ass for a living. I worked the midday shift 2pm - 10pm. Then I'd go to UPS Chicago area consolidation Hub (cach) for night shift, 11pm - 4am. Mind you, between both jobs, my drive time was like 45 mins. I used to be so tired and sleepy and it was only by God's grace I didn't crash my car multiple times.

I finished my prerequisites in 2 years, applied for the nursing program and finally got in.

So yeah, here I was, in a new country. Starting afresh! It took me two years to realize continuing my education via my transcripts was a no go area. Armed with that realization and the resolve to succeed, I enrolled at the community college closest to me Prairie state college, Chicago heights, Illinois. Mind you, none of my transcripts were accepted, all my GSTs, English, Maths, none were accepted. I had my WASSCE results evaluated by WES and had it transferred to the school.

But with community colleges, I had to take a placement test which would determine the classes I could register for. The Maths placement test was called aleks which involved algebra and high school maths while the english placement test involved comprehension and writing.

What made me choose travel nursing?


Some might say money, and they won't be wrong. But like anything else in my life, each big decision I make has to be backed by two solid logical rationales.

I graduated as a nurse with my associates degree in nursing in 2022 and since then, I have used my nursing degree A LOT!

The associates degree in nursing, in my opinion, is the fastest ticket to financial freedom in the USA. Let me explain further... Due to staffing shortages nationwide, nurses are always in high demand and owing to that fact, the wages are somewhat consistent. So once you graduate as a nurse with an associates degree, you could get a hospital job that starts you off making $35/hour and in my case, since I was working niight shift, I got $4 more and when I worked weekends $2 extra which is a total of $39/hr everyday and $41 on weekends.

The associates degree is a 2 year degree which is gotten from community colleges, (somewhat identical to Polytechnic education in Nigeria) but contrary to popular opinion, the associates degree in nursing has a sleeper build 😉. I say this because the hospital I worked at would start everyone on the same wages, so even I who had my associates degree, was getting paid the same as someone who had their master's degree in nursing.

When I moved from Nigeria 9years ago, I attempted, to no avail to send my transcripts from Imo state University (IMSU) and Imo state University teaching hospital (IMSUTH) to the USA so I could have my college dream continued here. After two years of trying, I decided to ditch it all and start afresh to chase a career in nursing.

Good day everyone, this thread will be used to document the stories and excapades surrounding this new phase in my life. As the name implies, I am now a travel nurse which means I go to different cities on a contract with the hospitals for a period of time to work. Follow me on this journey and don't forget to follow me on Instagram @obinetter

I have stories for you guys but I'm undecided as to how to go about that. Should I create a new post?

gees101:
Frank Obi Netter
How far nau 😊 longest time no hear. What's up? Wetin dey happen? You get plenty update to share oh. See as I happy 😂

I go try

Firefox01:
Wow. You're still with us

Sometimes

Alearna:
It's been quite a while, Señor.
Good to have you back.

It has. How body?

hey guys

My first full year working as a nurse, I made hella money. Specifically $133,000. Armed with my USA passport, I have traveled to Ethiopia, Mozambique, Portugal. With each trip, my mindset changes. I currently have no regrets ditching medical school and leaving Nigeria.
Maybe one day, I will write about my trips. Maybe I will fall back in love with writing. For now, I will read through my posts and relish the simpler times.

Going back and reading through my posts, I must say, my thinking has come a long way from the wide eyed kid who fled Nigeria 8 years ago. ‘

Hmm

MackyNaija:
Welcome Sir, read your thread all the way until you went awol..

As I see your Camry, I tell myself say when I grow up I go like buy another one for myself.

Hope you are doing good.

Come buy my own, i wan buy electric car

Lilmessis:
oga obi where u dey since na u forget us before welcome back

I bin dey chase plenty things at the same time bro. I go dey get small small time now

kumbhuru:
Congratulations.
How was the NCLEX? Can you give tips?

I mostly used uworld and mark klimek’s tips. Passed with 75 questions