HOW TO APPLY TO NEW YORK BOARD OF NURSING AS AN INTERNATIONAL NURSE

Congratulations on your resolution to become a Registered Nurse (RN) in the United States. It is one of the best decisions I consider having ever made in life.
I was like you some years ago, having many questions on how to apply to New York Board of Nursing as an international nurse.

In 2017, such information was difficult to find so I determined to help my fellow nurses from abroad to get clear information on the process of transitioning to America very easily.

For your caution, New York Board of Nursing is not an official name. New York State has one department that deals with all education and professional regulation issues, THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (NYSED).

So instead of New York Board of Nursing, it is rather correct to say New York State Education Department-Nursing Unit.

Remember to follow Nursing Embassy on all social media handles.

I am going to outline for you easy steps to apply to New York Board of nursing as a nurse from abroad but first, let us explore what this article is going to cover.

You can apply to the State directly of you can apply through TruMerit (formerly CGFNS)

OUTLINE (Applying to the state directly)

1. Step 1: Fill Form 1 (The online licensure application form) and pay $143
2. Step 2: Do the required short online courses (infection control and child abuse) and get certificates.
3. Step 3: Download Form 2F and take it to your nursing school to verify your education.
4. Step 4: Download Form 3F and take it to your Nursing council for license verification.
5. Register with Pearson Vue
6. Advantages of being a registered nurse in New York State
7. Disadvantages of being a registered nurse in New York State
8. Conclusion

STEP 1: FILL FORM 1: THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM FORM

As an applicant to become an RN in New York state, the first step is to fill the online application form normally referred to as Form 1

Start your application here

After you have filled in all the required information, you will be required to pay a fee of $143 (As at the time of writing this article).

Caution: An issue with names

Remember to be accurate on how you fill the form. Names must appear exactly as they appear on your official documents such as passport, birth certificate and academic documents

The big issue with American system: Rember in the United States when they ask your “First Name” it means the given name or in many countries the “religious name”

In USA, last name is what is referred to as the family name or surname.

So if the name on your name on official documents is Mandela Christopher, submit Christopher as your first name and Mandela as the last name when filling your online application form.

Your passport can also help you to find which name to submit as first and last name because last names are referred to as surnames, while given name is your first name.

STEP 2: DO THE REQUIRED ONLINE COURSES

Getting a New York nursing license will require you to do two courses;

1.The child abuse course

2. Infection control course

These courses can be done online on platforms like NetCE

Once you have the certificates for the two courses, submit your online application

You will need to have your certificates ready before submitting the online application form.

Remember , the application fee for now is $143

STEP 3: DOWNLOAD FORM 2F FOR VERIFYING YOUR EDUCATION

Now that you have submitted the online application form, New York Board of nursing will be waiting to receive your official documents. These are;

1. Filled form 2F together with official transcripts from the university/college where you got your nursing qualifications
2. Form 3F filled and stamped by the nursing regulatory body in your country

Let us talk about form 2F

This form is downloaded from the NYSED website and filled with accurate information by your registrar. Critical courses relevant to the nursing profession are displayed and how many credit hours you earned in your studentship.

In simple language, this form helps New York Board of nursing to ascertain that the education system in your country is equivalent to that of the American system.

Steps:

-Download form 2F from NYSED website
-Fill in relevant information e.g your name and other identifying information
-Take form to your university registrar and explain purpose of form

-Pay fees for the service. Some universities already have an amount of money defined for this service. For other universities the service may be free. So the cost varies.
-Some registrars may send you to the nursing department to fill the technical academic part of credit hours per course.

-From the nursing department, take form back to the registrar’s office

-The registrar will fill the last section and affix the official seal/stamp of the university/college.

-New transcripts of your academic records will be printed and official seal affixed on them as well.

-form 2F and the transcripts will be put in envelope which will be sealed and stamped at the seal lines as proof that it has not been tampered with.

-NYSED address will be written on the envelope

-The document will be given to a courier service such as FEDEX or DHL for sending to USA.

STEP 4: DOWNLOAD FORM 3F AND TAKE IT TO NURSING COUNCIL FOR LICENCE VERIFICATION

New York Board of Nursing uses 3F to verify that you are a licensed nurse in your country and that your home license doesn’t have any encumberances.

Steps:

-Download form 3F from the NYSED website

-Fill in relevant sections like name, etc

-Take form to nursing council and explain purpose

-Pay required fees. The amount you pay varies from country to country.

-The nursing council registrar will fill remaining sections of the form and and affix the nursing council official seal/stamp

-the form will be put in an envelope and properly sealed.

-Ensure the correct address has been written on the envelope

-The parcel will be given to a relevant courier service and mailed to the United States

STEP 5: REGISTER WITH PEARSON VUE

Now that all documents have been sent to New York State Board of Nursing, wait for 4-12 weeks to get a response.

Meanwhile as you wait, it is a good time to open account with Pearson Vue. This is the agency that administers the NCLEX on behalf National Council for State Board of Nursing (NCSBN).

Once your education is approved, you will apply for your Authorization to Test Letter in your Peason Vue Account.

Indicate your state as New York and since they already have your education approved, it will take a short time to receive your ATT

I received my ATT within just 24 hours.

Now schedule to take your NCLEX at a test center of your choice

Congratulations on passing your NCLEX in advance.

After these steps, you are now a registered nurse in the state of New York.

ADVANTAGES OF BEING A NURSE IN NEW YORK STATE

1. The state has own credential evaluation system. As we have seen above, you don’t necessarily need to use CGFNS/Trumerit
2. New York nurse pay rates are some of the highest in the country. Some nurses leave nursing jobs in their states to take up jobs in New York to earn better wages.
3. You will witness the unfolding of all the 4 seasons ie, Winter, spring, Summer,and fall/autumn. This may not happen gloriously in every American state
4. Diverse patient populations. New York has a population of mixed cultures and diverse backgrounds
5. Nurses in new York state have a union (New York State Nurses Association). This is the main advocacy body for nurses’ rights. It is good to be in a state with a body that fights for your rights. Members can also get exclusive benefits.

DISADVANTAGES OF WORKING IN NEW YORK AS A NURSE

1. High nurse patient ratios: It is common to find assignments of 1 nurse caring for 6-8 patients especially night shifts on a med surg unit or 3 patients for 1 nurse in the ICU. This not safe staffing. States like California are pro-safe staffing with 1:5 max nurse to patient ratios
2. Weather can be harsh with severely cold winters, temperatires going as low as -15F with heavy snow fall which makes movement difficult, and very hot summers with temperatures rising as high as 90F.
3. The legalization of recreational marijuana. This addictive substance use brings about consumption of cannabis and other substances that makes patient care very complex especially pain management.
4. High cost of living especially in New York city
5. State taxes. While there are no state income taxes in some states like Texas and Florida, part of your income will go to taxes in New York
6. Not a compact state

CONCLUSION

Good job! you have now learned the process of applying to New York Board of nursing as an International Nurse.
The process may appear overwhelming but every step you complete brings you closer to your dream of becoming a licenced nurse in New York state.
Remember that although, your credentials have now been evaluated, you will still need to submit your credentials to CGFNS/TruMerit during the VisaScreen process.
This is the reason I don’t advise nurses to use New York Board of Nursing for credential verification but rather, use CGFNS and indicate to them that you want to get licensed in New York state. This saves you going to your university and Nursing council twice.

Hopefully this article was helpful, and I look forward to welcoming you as one of the many international nurses in the United States. share this article with another nurse who might need it.