A lucrative career awaits Indian nurses in the United States with the healthcare sector in America looking at tapping the nursing talent available in India.
According to the estimates of the US National Centre for Health Work Force Analysis, US healthcare sector would need 125,000 nurses and this is expected to touch 1 million by 2020.
Besides, many vacancies are likely to be created as a majority of the serving nurses in the US are in the age group of 50-55 and are fast approaching retirement.
While the immigration of paramedical professionals into the US has been there for a while, what is catching up fast is the interest in India for such professionals. The increase in nurse-training colleges and the favourable response the profession is getting in urban India are resulting in a fad for immigration, according to the analysis.
"The training being offered in India is taken in good stead in the US. The good English-speaking skills are also an added advantage to Indian nurses who eye a career in the US," Sri Harsha, General Manager, Apollo Group's Healthcare Staffing International, told PTI.
Currently, about 50,000 qualified nurses are stepping out of colleges every year. Those nurses who nurse a dream to work in the US have to qualify an aptitude test conducted by the Commission for Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) which is conducted four times a year.
"With a little preparation, our nurses can qualify this test," adds Harsha.
According to immigration department sources, the process of immigration is a little less complicated for nurses than other professionals.
"Trained nurses are eligible to be granted EB3 visa that entitles them to a permanent employment in the US and a green card," said sources in an immigration consultancy in Hyderabad.
The annual remuneration package for nurses in the US currently is lucrative -- in the range of $30,000 to $42,000.
