i am registered nurse from india...i have 3 years of experience..now i m planning to move to switzerland...i would like to know that being an overseas nurse is it possible for me to work in switzerland as a nurse..what are the requirements to be fulfilled to beome eligilble to work there as a nurse..
waiting for reply in anticipation
A solid knowledge of German and French is most likely required. As for aquiring the appropriate working visa and wether your qualifications as a nurse are accepted here? Perhaps another member can help you there.
Good luck.
You need to check that your qualifications would be accepted here, otherwise you might be expected to retrain/retest.
If the qualifications are okay, you’d then need to find a job. Bear in mind that the Swiss rules are that Swiss and EU nationals must be considered first for any jobs here. Only if an employer can’t find one of these, can they then look at employing someone else. So if there are plenty of Swiss/EU nursing staff available to the job market it will be much harder for you to find a position.
As Jack of all trades said, an excellent knowledge of spoken and written German and/or French would be essential I would think. Can’t have mistakes happening due to the lack of understanding of Swiss languages so I would guess this would be a high priority for any employer.
You need to have your qualification looked at and accepted by the Red Cross (Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz) before employment.
Have a look at www.redcross.ch and www.bildung-gesundheit.ch .
For the Red Cross to look at your qualification and give a decision that it is accepted in Switzerland, will cost you CHF 500. This is not just you degree. You need to show what the course covered and how many hours you spent on each part and of course your gradings.
If you wish to work as a registered nurse you will have to have a B2 level of German or French (whatever language is spoken where you decide to work). If you wish to work as a nurse helper or assistant you will require at least a B1 level of the language.
I have found that working a nurse in a hospital type environment that very little if any English is spoken. You really need to speak more than just the basic German / French if that is the environment in which you wish to work.
I hope this is helpful and good luck.
I have my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Michigan since 1990, have my Anerkennung als Diplomierte Krankenschwester since 1993 and will be moving to Switzerland in the fall.
Any tips or suggestions as to where I could find a well paying and challenging new position?
Vielen Dank,
Thankyou,
Shelly55
Um, unless your OH is Swiss/EU national or you/he as a non-EU get a job here first you won’t be moving to Switzerland. Third State nationals are last in the line for jobs here and as a American you are one of those.
If the move is already sorted out, then it depends on where you’re planning to move to here. Obviously the German speaking part would be better for job opportunities.
Her profile says she’s been living in Germany for 23 years and speaks German so I presume she’s fluent Odile. Says she who’s been here 14 and still can’t speak French. But I’m not a nurse so it’s not so vital.
Yes, I am fluent in German since I have been living here 23 years. I have
Unbefrisstet Aufenthalterlaubnis, so I think I should be having no problems settleing in.
After almost 25 years in the nursing field I will not be working in an acute setting anymore. I have been in home care the last 13 years and am narrowing in down to a Pflegeheim at this point in my life. Long days are fine but at a slower pace. I know there is the right place for me out there and I will find it.
Thanks for the responses...
Have you looked via Spitex? This is the overall organization, but I believe that services are organized regionally.
Good luck!
There are SO many possibilities that I AM having a hard time narrowing it down.
I came across a Job Agency and will be contacting them before I send any of my CVs out. I don't want to make any beginniners mistakes.
I am interested in making number one...more money. And two, finding a place to settle down in, finish up this last phase so to say of my nursing career. I am 54 and very fit and have a good 10 years left to offer.
Like I said and I know it to be true, there IS a place for me out there. I just need to have patience, I need to be careful and search for the best options.
I do like Home Care nurisng, I'm good at it. Hmmm.....
Yes, I have been thinking about this.
My German is very good. But I of course notice the difference in the Swiss German.
I remember very well my initial years in the German system. I understood so little. Then year after year I got it, it became a part of me.
My German is good enough to get started down there, I know this. I understand quickly and when the tough gets going...well, there is always a way. Practice, practice, practice and then some more...No one said it would be easy. It never is. Life is a challenge and the next one awaits me.
I find older people very interested for the most part in my accent. When they ask me where I am from their eyes usually light up and they enjoy showing me their limited use of the English language. Even in the beginning, when I spoke German soooo poorly, it never really worked as a negative in the hospital setting. Not enough to stop me in any case....
I find all people can be strange really.
I have been working with very old people for 13 years in Home Care. They do get set in their ways, they are less willing to try something new. But changes are possible for the better if one uses the right finesse with them. I can honestly say that my accent and being an American has been an advantage in Germany. In all my years working here there have only been four times where it was a disadvantage, because the patients had a problem in general with Americans. Don't forget the war and its repercussions.
I don't view my small weakness of not understanding everything in German Swiss, a big handicap. I consider myself fortunate that I understand German at all after all these years, I can articulate my opinion and so on. But I have to fes up, writing in German is a nightmare for me. Here they got me hook, line and sinker. But I always know where to get help, like with writing my CV and so on.
I am not very disciplined about it, this is my biggest weakness.
Es war schön mit Euch zu reden.....
Sorry, OH means husband or partner.
Be aware that Swiss banks are not kind to US citizens at present due to the incoming FATCA law. Most will not accept you as a client and for those that do you will have to sign a waiver form allowing them to pass your bank info on to the IRS.
Two of my friends have recently moved into Tertianum residences, one in Enge and one in Pfäffikon, and are happy with what these Altersheim offer. (Tertianum runs several Alters/Pflegeheim throughout Switzerland.) I've come away with positive impression when visiting... and I heard a lot of high German spoken by the staff, btw. (But obviously one would need to understand SG.)
I have no idea what it would be like to work there, but perhaps worth looking into:
http://www.tertianum.ch/de/jobs-karriere/freiestellen
As I was researching possibilities for my in-laws, it seemed that just about every Altersheim I looked at - public and private - had a open jobs listed on their website. Nursing care for the elderly does seem to be a growing need.
Good luck.
Meloncollie, thanks for the link and tips. Due to the fact that the list is endless with openings I am going to start with a job agency that I located on the net. He is German and has been working down there for several years and it doesn't cost anything.
As for the banks having issues with me due to my citizenship, hmm, I truely don't know. I have been living in the German system for 23 years and have not worked for the USA in over 25 years. So, time will tell. I will certainly find out. But I feel that none of these issues and there will be others I know, will prevent me from finding that right job. I am persistant, know what I don't want thats for sure. The paper work and hassels about insurances, cars, phones and so on will just get worked out. One after the other.
I'll keep you all posted and share my progress, one step forward, two back kind of thing. But I will land somewhere, I always do.