Combined Education and Practical Training - The program requires a multi-year commitment to both academic study and practical training at a U.S. hsopital. You will be required to attend school fulltime in an advanced nursing degree program and apply your newly acquired knowledge part-time through restricted practical training or on-campus employment at a university-affiliated hospital. 

The sample timeline below represents a realistic time frame for the program, although the length of each stage may vary and the "Pre-Arrival" stage may be significantly shorter for applicants who have already passed NCLEX® and IELTS®.

Relocation and Resettlement - Upon arriving in the United States, GSA representatives will help you settle into your new community, establish a new household, and enroll in your initial classes at the univresity. 

Education - You will be required to be accepted and admitted to a GSA partner university and enroll full-time in a GSA approved education program.  In order to continue in the program and receive scholarship funding, you must attend classes as required, follow the rules of the college or university, maintain an acceptable grade point average, and remain in visa status throughout the education program. Participants must demonstrate academic progress and graduate within acceptable time frame.

Practical Training - Part of your initial training will typically include a practicum or clinical orientation at the partner hospital, similar to that which US educated nurses are required to complete as part of their undergraduate education. You will be trained to use the tools and technology in use by first-world healthcare institutions, receive instruction and mentorship regarding scope of nursing practice differences from your home country, learn hospital and nursing unit-specific protocols, receive thorough explanations of U.S. pharmacology products and standards, and work with some of America's best nurses, physicians and allied healthcare professionals. Most importantly, you will begin practicing the concepts you will learn through your graduate education in your assigned unit under the close supervision of a preceptor.

Rigorous Program - Many GSA Scholars have told us that they are challenged by GSA programs. Participants must adjust to living in a new country and often away from family members. They must adjust to U.S. cultural norms, customs, and communication styles.  GSA Scholars must meet the challenge of graduate level education, using the Internet, computers, classroom participation, and project assignments. And, they must adapt to a clinical environment that is likely different from the clinical practice environment in their home country. 

As a nurse-scholar in GSA’s program, you will be exposed to the latest advances in U.S. medical technology, practice, and procedure. You will learn from veteran nurses who have provided bedside care to patients for many years. You will work hand in hand with some of the best physicians and medical specialists in the world. Most of all, you will advance your skills, fortify your experience, and become extremely marketable at the completion of the program.