When one of my best friend asked me to write, “My Experience About Working As A Nurse In America.” I recalled everything flash back to 2004 when I took the first step. It was fresh just like happened yesterday. I got an idea to work in U.S.A from visiting our family who worked as Pharmacist here.
America open and welcome everyone (No they’re not!) but you had to have RN license to work. So I started the first step to take class, review nursing course for N-CLEX, it took me six months, it was a great program that I need to recommend everyone who is still working as a nurse, even in Thailand, should take one.
I got knowledge and confidence in my career that I had never feel that way before. I enjoy the class and stress up with the exam at the same time because I had to spend time for many hours each day to practice the test. It was a ton of test and never ends.
The school helped me apply for N-CLEX test and schedule the test date in U.S.A when the time has come I was not ready, and never been ready at all, but the show must go on.
I went to U.S.A for the test. This time my feeling is so different, it was not for a vacation, I did my best and went back home waiting for the result. I failed at the first tried, I didn’t give up, I stared to study and practice harder. It was not me, I’m not a school person, my friends knew me, I preferred to go to a the party than study at home.
Three months later…. I took the test again, I passed the test this time! From now on, my life is changed forever. I had to come to U.S.A and activate the result, before it expire, which is within two years. I waited, and waited until the last minute because I didn’t want to leave my family. I packed the luggage with tear and leave home for U.S.A.
I had the agent took me to interview for the job. After the Manager and her assistants for an hours. I was accepted and started working as OR nurse since 2006.
Right now I’ve been working as an employee of county hospital names… Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) for two years. This step is not easy to be one of them. I had to passed nine months probation period. According to ARMC’s high standard policy of the teaching facility, I faced many problems to adjust myself to my new world.
The main problems I faced were homesick and language. Language was the main barrier to try to learned new kind of working system and communication with other co-workers. For example, OR instrument that we use to called in Thailand, were called different in U.S.A.
The workload is extremely high. My hospital is a government hospital, we have patient from everywhere, including jail patients and we are trauma center as well.
Even though, we got the higher pay compare with nurses in Thailand but we worked triple as hard. We have to do everything from assessment pre-op patient, transport patient to OR, intra op nursing care and transport patient to recovery and give them the report. Especially, the documentation part, we have to protect our license from being sued.
Now when I look back from where I started, its not smooth path, but you have to work hard and continue to work in order to be successful. There are always the wall, but don’t let it block you from achieve your goal.