To take or not to take. That is the question.

I wrote suzanne, moderator of allnurses.com to enlighten me about the importance of taking the CGFNS exam because a lot of my classmates keep bugging me about taking the CGFNS exam in November. Well, I received a funny yet enlightening reply. Here it is:

"Those friends of yours are not friends and have no issue of what they are even talking about. First, there is no such thing as a working visa for the US. the only thing that is available to you is the green card, or immigrant visa. No other choices. CGFNS will not give you a license, it is strictly a screening test. You must take NCLEX to work in the US and get a license. The more legitimate facilities will only hire with a passing score on the NCLEX exam, they can care less about CGFNS exam. It is only required for about five states, so unless you like wasting money, there is absolutely no reason to take it, and it also requires that you take and pass your local exam first, NCLEX does not. I never, ever recommend CGFNS exam unless you are going to work in a state that requires it, even with endorsing. I suggest that you do your own homework and not listen to your supposed friends..unless you have extra years to spare."

FYI: One of the most important certificate that we should have is the VisaScreen.

U.S. immigration law now requires that healthcare professionals, other than physicians, complete a screening program in order to qualify for certain occupational visas. VisaScreen: Visa Credentials Assessment, a program offered by CGFNS' division the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP), enables healthcare professionals to meet this requirement by verifying and evaluating their credentials to ensure compliance with the government's minimum eligibility standards.

Applicants who successfully complete VisaScreen receive a VisaScreen Certificate, which can be presented to a consular office, or in the case of adjustment of status, the attorney general as part of a visa application.

Screening includes an assessment of an applicant's education to ensure that it is comparable to a U.S. graduate in that same profession; verification that licenses are valid and unencumbered; English language proficiency; and, in the case of nurses, verification that the nurse has either earned a CGFNS Certificate or passed the NCLEX-RN.

The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) was named in the legislation as an organization qualified to offer this federal screening program. In response to this legislation, CGFNS created a new division, the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP), which administers VisaScreen.